Rangers stuttered to a third successive Scottish Championship draw this evening, after Aidan Smith scored a late equaliser for Queen of the South.

A bumper crowd filled Ibrox following Dave King's takeover last week.

Rangers were on the attack early, with Nicky Clark directing the ball narrowly wide from 18 yards. Lee McCulloch's shot was blocked by a Queens defender 10 minutes later.

Lee Wallace was next to have a go for Rangers but his shot failed to test Zander Clark.

Daniel Carmichael had Queen of the South's first shot in the 24th minute, but could not hit the target from long range.

Youngster Andy Murdoch then had a go, but saw his shot go over the bar.

Rangers were looking to break the deadlock before half time, as first Newcastle United loanee Haris Vuckic's shot was saved, before Jon Daly missed the target.

It was Queen of the South who came closest to scoring though, with Michael Paton hitting the post from inside the penalty area.

Vuckic appealed for a penalty after a strong tackle in the 41st minute, but nothing was given.

Time and time again, Rangers players missed the goal with their shots and that trend continued in the second half with Vuckic, Daly and Kyle Hutton all missing the target before the 50th minute.

Paton tested Lee Robinson from long range, but the Rangers goalkeeper, making his fifth start of the season, was equal to the shot.

Queen of the South, who are looking to join Rangers in the Scottish Championship playoffs, matched their more illustrious opponents throughout, with Ian McShane, Carmichael and Paton coming close to scoring. They then failed to score with two successive corners.

Rangers snatched the lead in the 77th minute through Vuckic, who scored his first goal for the club.

Smith replied in the 86th minute, scoring into the bottom right corner to give Queens a share of the spoils.

Rangers remain in third in the Scottish Championship, two points behind Hibernian and 22 points behind league leaders Hearts.