Rangers kept pace with Scottish Championship leaders Hearts this afternoon with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Falkirk at Ibrox.

After dominating the opening exchanges, the breakthrough came on 25 minutes when Nicky Law was fed by David Templeton and finished low and hard.

Templeton, brought back into Ally McCoist's starting lineup after he came off the bench to score against Cowdenbeath in midweek, continued to make a nuisance of himself in and around the Falkirk box, having an effort of his own stopped by Jamie MacDonald on the half-hour mark.

At the Rangers end, Joe Shaughnessy shaved the post with a close-range shot that really should have been on target, and Falkirk counted that as their closest chance of the half when referee John McKendrick brought it to a close.

The visitors showed signs of improvement after the break, with David McCracken's header from the centre of the box needing a good save from Steve Simonsen at his bottom-left corner.

Alex Cooper replaced Craig Sibbald just before the hour mark as Peter Houston's men tried to chase the game, and Rangers responded with an attacking substitute of their own, Jon Daly replacing Kris Boyd.

The substitute proved inspired as Daly made an instant impact with an assist for Lewis Macleod, who headed home from close range after reaching an inviting cross.

Kenny Miller made it 3-0 to Gers with 15 minutes remaining, and Nicky Clark made it four unanswered for the home side in the final minutes of the match, finishing smartly and putting the game well out of reach for Falkirk.

Ally McCoist's men remain in second place, four points behind league leaders Hearts who notched a narrow win over Raith Rovers.