Rangers bounced back from an early penalty miss to take the lead against Dumbarton in this afternoon's Scottish Championship showdown at the Bet Butler Stadium.

The Gers piled on the pressure in the opening stages, with early chances falling to Lee Wallace and Nicky Law, neither of whom managed to find the target.

Dumbarton struggled to contain Rangers, but had a goalscoring opportunity of their own in the 14th minute as Garry Fleming gained possession in the danger zone and dragged a shot wide of Steve Simonsen's post.

Ally McCoist's side were awarded a penalty in the 24th minute when David van Zanten brought down Wallace in the box. Lee McCulloch stepped up to take it, but Danny Rogers saved well to his left.

The Gers would not rue the miss for long as striker Kenny Miller fired them in front two minutes later, turning in Steven Smith's cross at the back post.

Rangers almost added a second five minutes before the break when Smith found space out wide and whipped in a cross for Kris Boyd to meet with his head, but the veteran missed the target and failed to extend his side's 1-0 lead.