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Two late goals broke Forfar Athletic's resistance as Rangers stretched their League One lead to 20 points.

The Ibrox side's 14th successive away win came days after the club's financial problems resurfaced with the players refusing a pay cut.

And they struggled for any fluency against their part-time opponents.

A Stuart Malcolm header had struck the visitors' crossbar before Bilel Mohsni rose to break the deadlock and David Templeton supplied a sublime finish.

Rangers' unbeaten run was stretched to 26 games, but it was no formality until that second goal settled the match with a couple of minutes remaining.

Steve Simonsen had earned his first appearance for Rangers since arriving from Dundee in the summer, with first-choice goalkeeper Cammy Bell having been given the night off to attend the birth of his daughter.

He might not have expected to be too busy considering the 33-point gap separating the sides before kick-off.

But, despite having since been thrashed 6-1 at Ibrox, Forfar remain the only team to have defeated Rangers this season, beating them 2-1 in Angus in the League Cup in August.

Indeed, Forfar went close to making the breakthrough after only three minutes when Martyn Fotheringham's deep cross was kept in play by Malcolm and the defender's header across the face of goal came off the top of the crossbar.

Rangers responded as Nicky Law controlled the ball on his chest before firing an 18-yard volley that would have crept under the crossbar if former Celtic goalkeeper Rab Douglas had not stretched his 41-year-old frame to turn it over for a corner.

The visitors appealed for a penalty following a challenge by Darren Dods, but it looked like full-back Lee Wallace had merely ran into the veteran defender.

A superb 16-yard volley from Gavin Swankie forced a good block by Simonsen, while a fine double save at the other end by Douglas denied Fraser Aird and Mohsni.

The second half descended into a plethora of niggly fouls and yellow cards until Rangers captain Lee McCulloch blasted in a free-kick that took a slight deflection before skimming the top of the crossbar.

Rangers finally ramped up the pressure against a side seeking a third straight win to reduce the gap between themselves and fourth-placed Ayr United before Mohsni rose to head an Aird corner in off the back post with 15 minutes remaining.

Forfar were denied an equaliser when Simonsen superbly touched the ball on to the crossbar and over after a Mohsni header deflected back towards goal off the shoulder of team-mate Wallace.

Simonsen was beaten by a superb free-kick from Dale Hilson, but the Cristiano Ronaldo-style strike bent just wide of the far post.

Rangers raced up the other end immediately to settle the game when substitute Templeton drifted inside two markers before unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard drive past Douglas.