Rangers suffered a serious blow in the final warm-up for their Champions League campaign when Carlos Cuellar pulled up during their comeback victory at Starks Park.
The Spanish defender was playing his first pre-season game after being troubled by
a calf injury, but he lasted just 29 minutes.
Rangers then fell behind to a Kevin Smith goal but substitutes Nacho Novo and Daniel Cousin spared their blushes in the final quarter.
Walter Smith had planned to start with the bulk of the team that will face FBK Kaunas at Ibrox in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round on Wednesday.
But he was missing Lee McCulloch and Kevin Thomson from a midfield that was already looking under-strength following Barry Ferguson's ankle surgery and the failed bid to sign Steven Davis from Fulham.
McCulloch has a throat infection and Thomson picked up a knock, although the former Hibernian midfielder is expected to recover ahead of the visit of the Lithuanian champions.
Smith selected Kenny Miller on the left wing and Steven Whittaker on the opposite flank, with Brahim Hemdani and Charlie Adam in the centre.
Adam survived a penalty scare when he appeared to push Smith before strike pair Kris Boyd and Jean-Claude Darcheville both had good chances saved by David McGurn.
Rangers were still reeling from the loss of Cuellar, who was replaced by Christian Dailly, when Smith netted in the 32nd minute following a fumble from Allan McGregor.
The Irn-Bru Second Division side held out until midway through the second period when Novo netted against his former club. The Spaniard slotted the ball through McGurn's legs following a precise pass by Miller.
Cousin scored the winner in the 79th minute when his strike was flapped into the net by McGurn following a cross by Kyle Lafferty, who impressed off the bench along with young midfielder Dean Furman.
Andrius Velicka missed a chance to stake his claim for a place against his former club on Wednesday when he headed wide from five yards following a Cousin cross.
The full article contains 356 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
