Falkirk 1-1 Rangers

Rangers missed the chance to move above Hibernian and into second in the Championship table after being pegged back by Falkirk.

Darren McGregor gave Rangers the lead on 20 minutes, but the Bairns responded just two minutes later through the impressive Rory Loy.

Neither side could fashion a winner in a scrappy second-half.

The Ibrox side remain one point adrift of Hibs, with Falkirk now in the play-off places.

The home side were stylish and accomplished for much of the game, while Rangers were limited at least until they employed some grit and intensity after the break.

Falkirk began as if spirit alone might distinguish them. The sprightliness of their play, the eagerness to win the ball and distribute it with a menacing intent, seemed to cause Rangers to recoil from any sense of their own ambition.

McGregor celebrates putting Rangers 1-0 up

The Bairns spent much of the opening half sending regular forays towards the Rangers penalty area. With the squat, lively John Baird burrowing into space in the channels, and the rangy Loy looking to stretch the Rangers centre-backs, Falkirk were able to make headway.

Too often, though, these attacks failed to deliver an end product.

Several crosses were blocked inside the penalty area, and Luke Leahy strode upfield from left-back to lash two efforts over, but Falkirk had to be stung into decisiveness.

They fell behind when Kris Boyd won a free-kick in the air, with the ball then bobbling around inside the Falkirk area. It eventually ran to McGregor, and the big centre-back gruffly shrugged off any pretence of graceful aplomb and blasted his foot through the ball to send it spinning past goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

The goal excused Rangers their tactical and style limitations. It could not rescue them from that lack of assurance, though, since Falkirk took only two minutes to equalise.

Baird was prominent again, scurrying down the left before hurling a cross into the centre and Loy stole in between the two centre-backs to deftly steer a header past Lee Robinson and into the far side of the net.

Having traded goals, the two sides also shared chances before half-time. Boyd saw a header palmed away from the top corner by MacDonald, while Will Vaulks drilled a shot from distance just past Robinson's upright.

Loy pulled Falkirk level two minutes after they fell behind

Rangers had been woefully detached from their composure and authority, but they at least recovered some intensity after the break. They caused Falkirk's play to become untidy by harrying their opponents. It made for a more dynamic encounter, as play moved more readily from end to end, but it also reduced the decisiveness of the two sides, meaning that there were fewer scoring chances.

Even then, the better opportunities were still claimed by Falkirk. Leahy rifled another shot over from distance, while Loy looked certain to score when the ball was worked to him inside the area, but with a clear sight of goal his effort was blocked by a desperate intervention near the goal-line by Stevie Smith.

A familiar free-kick routine saw Boyd steer a shot wide, but Rangers generally lacked a spark of creativity.