Rangers missed the chance to close the gap on Hearts in the Scottish Championship as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Hibernian on Monday night.

Steven Smith tested Hibernian shot-stopper Mark Oxley with a powerful free kick early on at Ibrox, but that promising start would soon be forgotten as the visitors took control.

The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute when Jason Cummings collected a long ball forward, before holding off the challenge of Arnold Peralta and beating Steve Simonsen at the second attempt.

Hibernian doubled their lead through David Gray, who proved to be too strong for Smith at the back post as he headed home his side's second.

Alan Stubbs then saw his side find the net for the third time in a stunning 14-minute spell when Lewis Stevenson drifted into space before delivering a cross which was calmly converted by Cummings.

Rangers threatened to launch an unlikely fightback early in the second half when Nicky Law took advantage of a poor Hibernian clearance to drill the ball past Oxley.

It was the home side who piled on the pressure as they desperately tried to force a dramatic finish, but Hibernian defended their lead stubbornly as they spent a long spell on the back foot.

However, it was the visitors who had the opportunity to score a fourth late on as Simonsen denied Scott Allan to prevent Hibernian from adding further gloss to the scoreline.