EDUARDO Herrera's night flipped from one of jubilation and triumph to panic and sorrow with the blink of a text message.

In the away dressing room at Firhill, a scene of revelry was well underway. Inside the tight chamber, Rangers players celebrated a hard-fought 3-1 win over Partick Thistle, a victory that would lead them to the Betfred Cup semi-final. Among their number, though, Herrera was in a state of fear.

The Mexican, who had just scored his second goal for the Ibrox club during extra time, had picked up his phone to be greeted with the news of an earthquake striking his home of Mexico City. A tremor measuring 7.1 had struck the capital with more than 270 people reported to have died. Many are still missing while parts of the city lie decimated.

"First of all I want to express all my support to my fellow people in Mexico who have suffered losses in this terrible earthquake," said Herrera. "Also, I feel really proud of how the people are reacting to this. A lot of people have been helping, donating not only food but also essential items and money to help the people who have lost family and homes.

"It’s good to see how the people are united. And also that people outside of Mexico are helping. I invite all the people to donate. That’s the good part of this terrible event.

"I have spoken to my family. Tuesday was a very bittersweet day for me. We were playing when all this happened, we won in extra-time, I scored a goal and I was happy.

"But when I got to the dressing-room I saw my phone and all these messages about what had happened. The first thing I read is that all my family were OK. But when I saw the news and all the buildings that had collapsed I was really concerned about all the people who have suffered losses.

"I wasn’t feeling happy about the game. I had switched off from the way I was feeling. And to this day it has been really tough for me to read and see everything about this terrible event.’

"It’s really close to where I lived. The thing is the city is built from an old lake so it is really susceptible to earthquakes. It’s really shocking to see buildings you know collapsed. I just want to extend my support to all the people who have had losses."

In a cruel twist of fate, the events on Tuesday came exactly 32 years after an earthquake took the lives of 5000 people. Back then the quake measured 8.0.

"I only have heard about the earthquake in 1985," said the 29-year-old striker. "It was a really big coincidence that it happened on exactly the same day. The 19th of September 32 years ago.

"It happened again on the same day. They were commemorating the 32-year anniversary and two hours later this happened. I haven’t experienced anything like this. I have heard from relatives who were alive when that happened and I know it was a really shocking incident. This is quite similar.

"We are all looking forward to a big game and events like this makes you think. It puts it all in perspective. We know football is passion and a really important thing for us. But when you see these events and see how fragile life is, it makes you appreciate what you have, all the minutes and days to have in life."

Speaking about the reaction to the disaster from fellow compatriot Carlos Pena, Herrera added: “Carlos was really concerned. Maybe not the same as me because his family is not from Mexico City but he’s concerned about our fellow people. It’s really difficult as a Mexican to see other Mexicans suffer."

Back to the football, and Herrera is hopeful he and Pena can both forge a positive future in Glasgow and force their way into Pedro Caixinha's plans.

Up until this point both men have been used sparingly by the Portuguese who has seen Alfredo Morelos hit the goal trail since arriving from Finland in the summer. Despite that, the former Santos Laguna hitman remains upbeat about life in Glasgow.

“I’m really glad Alfredo is doing well for the team. He’s a natural goal scorer and it’s good for the team to have players with different attributes and characteristics. They complement each other for the good of the team," he said. "You always look to play alongside players with quality that can help you and bring more to the team.

“Carlos has a lot of quality, a lot of potential. He has shown it in Mexico. It’s been tough for both of us because we had a very long break, and we weren’t that fit. We needed to start playing really quickly because there was Europa League qualifiers.

“We didn’t have much time to have a proper pre-season. It was really tough for us to be catching up all this time. We feel we are at a good level, maybe we can improve a little more. Carlos has started to get more minutes, I’m looking forward to having more minutes and being in the starting XI and both of us being important in the team."