RANGERS avenged their Ramsdens Cup final defeat to Raith Rovers and leapfrogged Hearts at the top of the SPFL Championship at the same time.

Goals from Nicky Clark, Ian Black and Nicky Law in the first half and a single strike Lee McCulloch in the second gave Ally McCoist's side a comfortable win.

They edged ahead of the Jambos, who take on Dumbarton away from home this afternoon, on goal difference at the top of the table.

The Ibrox club's lead may be slim and may well only be fleeting - but it will give them an important psychological lift as they bid to land the second tier title.

It also helped to partially erase the memory of the agonising extra-time defeat they suffered at the hands of Raith in the Challenge Cup final back in April.

Rangers had no league fixture last weekend due to the international break and this was an awkward away fixture for them to return to competitive action.

But they showed no signs of rustiness whatsoever at Stark's Park. Far from it in fact. This was the most impressive display they have produced this season.

The strong travelling contingent in the 6,250-strong crowd went home happy from Fife after a fine all-round team performance.

Gers manager McCoist made two changes to the side that took to the field against Queen of the South 13 days earlier.

Fraser Aird, who had managed to shrug off the hamstring injury that sidelined him for the Queens game, came in on the right side of midfield for Arnold Peralta.

Ian Black was restored to central midfield as captain McCulloch, who had been deployed there, dropped back to the heart of the defence.

Meanwhile, Marius Zaliukas, who was responsible for his side conceding two goals in their last competitive outing, was relegated to the bench.

The Lithuanian internationalist was joined there by Jon Daly who has made good progress in his recovery from the knee operation he underwent in pre-season.

It was the first time in the 2014/15 campaign that the Irish striker, top scorer last season, had been a member of the squad.

There was a well-known face in the Raith side for Rangers supporters - former player Ross Perry lined up at centre half for the home team.

Aird forced a decent save from Raith goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw after 12 minutes with a curling effort from the edge of the penalty box.

The winger teed up the opening goal shortly after that attempt, though, with a cross from the right flank.

Clark stole in front of his marker and then turned the ball into the bottom left corner of goal with a beautifully judged glancing header.

The visitors did not threaten their opponents goal after taking the lead until the 32nd minute when Lee Wallace supplied Lewis Macleod.

The 20-year-old tried his luck with a speculative shot that was fumbled out of the park for a corner by Laidlaw.

The Raith keeper had no chance to block Black's long-range shot in the 38th minute - it deflected off defender Paul Watson and arched over his head.

The scorer had the good grace to celebrate his strike -which owed as much to good fortune as the quality of his play - in a subdued manner afterwards.

There was nothing flukey about Nicky Law's goal just a minute later.

Law received the ball from Macleod on the edge of the area, took a touch and then rifled the ball into the top right corner of the net.

Raith came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second half and created a scoring opportunity in the first minute.

Mark Stewart whipped a cross in to Martin Scott whose header was on target but was easily gathered by Steve Simonsen in the Rangers goal.

Rangers took control of the game after that - only to squander several excellent opportunities to add to their tally.

Boyd, who is still waiting to score in the league this term, sclaffed one shot wide of the post and had another brilliantly denied by the keeper.

Grant Murray's side had a lot to thank their man between the sticks for. He was in inspired form and produced block after block.

Rangers finally forged further ahead in the 73rd minute when Brian Colvin awarded them a penalty.

Left-back Wallace, who was absolutely outstanding throughout the 90 minutes for the League One champions, was tripped by substitute Grant Anderson.

Skipper McCulloch made no mistake with the spot kick and drilled it low into the back of the net.

The four-goal advantage gave McCoist the chance to give Daly and Dean Shiels some game time. They replaced Macleod and Boyd respectively.

David Templeton had earlier taken over from Clark who hobbled off after putting in a powerful shift.

The failure of Boyd to score was the one area of slight concern for Rangers.

But the experienced striker, who has hit the target five times in the cup competitions since returning to his boyhood heroes, could not be faulted for effort.

The goals will surely come for him in the Championship if he continues to apply himself so diligently.