WINNING GOLD
Ex-Rangers star Connor Goldson hailed for ‘inspirational debut’ in Cyprus as he is labelled ‘a machine in the air’
Things didn't go so well for his former team this weekend
CONNOR GOLDSON was praised by his manager after an 'inspirational' debut for his new club in Cyprus.
The former Rangers defender finally made his bow for Aris Limassol after moving to the Cypriot club at the end of July and helped his side to a 1-0 win over Omonia 29is Maiou.
3
3
Goldson left Ibrox after six years and 309 appearances for the club for a new challenge on the Mediterranean island with ambitious Aris.
He suffered a setback after picking up an injury in pre-season training and missed the start of the season, but was declared fit for his first game.
And manager Alexei Spilevski was delighted at Goldson's start after revealing the 31-year-old had demanded to play.
He said: "Connor Goldson is solid and quality. He had an inspirational debut.
READ MORE FOOTBALL STORIES
"He is like a machine in the air. He showed his quality in the first game.
"I didn't want to push him to play because he had an injury and we thought it was better for him to play for us after the international break.
"But he persuaded me and demanded to play and so I gave in! He was excellent."
Meanwhile, Goldson's former team-mate and skipper James Tavernier will remember his weekend for all the wrong reasons.
Most read in Football
Unlike the centre-back, Tavernier had to endure another yet another sickening derby defeat to Celtic while Goldson enjoyed his debut in Cyprus on Friday.
The Light Blues lost 3-0 to their rivals at Parkhead on Sunday and the captain struggled to keep up with Daizen Maeda yet again, who scored the opener for the hosts.
Rangers star Connor Goldson reveals the biggest medal he’s won in his career – and it’s NOT the Scottish Premiership
And despite the result, things went from bad to worse for the right-back as he was involved in a heated exchange with a Gers fan outside Ibrox.
Philippe Clement's men returned to Govan after the game at Parkhead and were met with jeers from furious punters who were waiting to meet them outside Ibrox.
Footage widely shared on social media showed an individual hurling abuse at the skipper after waiting for him to emerge from a side door at the stadium before walking into the team bus.
3
The man screamed at the squad that it had been “f*****g embarrassing” before asking, “where the f*** is the captain? Where are you, Tav?”
And when the club captain appeared the man stepped closer to him and continued with his foul-mouthed diatribe, telling Tavernier to “do us a favour and f*** off. You’re nothing but a loser”.
Tavernier confronted the individual but he was shielded by Rangers security.
Our New YouTube Channel
Subscribe to our new Scottish Sun Sport YouTube channel for all the latest football news, views and amazing moments.
We've got every major development covered from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and the rest of the Scottish Premiership.
Plus we have TWO brilliant new podcasts to watch every week...
MONDAY
Go Ballistic with Roger Hannah and special guest Kris Boyd will dissect all the weekend action and deliver their no-holds-barred reaction.
WEDNESDAY
Robert Grieve and Bill Leckie chew over the tastiest topics in Scottish football and offer their unique takes in their Coffee Club.
FRIDAY
Go Ballistic is back with Roger Hannah and top tipster Jim Delahunt looking ahead to the weekend games and analysing the biggest talking points.
Subscribe now and don't miss a thing.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page