SHEYI OJO dedicated his winning goal to Fernando Ricksen as Rangers beat Feyenoord on an emotional night at Ibrox.
The Light Blues paid tribute to their former captain following his tragic death from Motor Neurone Disease on Wednesday.
Boss Steven Gerrard had urged his players to win it for Ricksen as they kicked-off their Europa League campaign and Rangers didn’t disappoint as they produced a rousing performance.
Ojo netted the only goal of the game with a stunning first half strike and said: “When we heard the news there were some sad faces around the building.
“Unluckily for me I never got to see him play football for Rangers but I did a bit of research about him when I found out the sad news and said if I scored in the game I would dedicate it to him so you saw from my celebration that’s what I did and I’m pleased and grateful we could send him off in the right way.
“He was a massive player for the club and did really well, fighting for a long time and it was important we gave him the end off he deserved.
“He (Gerrard) said it was important we did the right send off. We showed the fans we are fighting for him and we are fighting for the club. We did that and it was a credit to the team.
“When the ball went out for a throw in in the second minute players from both sides stopped for a few seconds. It just sort of happened. It was an emotional moment and it’s credit to Feyenoord for showing respect.
“The moment gave us a lift but all throughout the game everyone was thinking about Fernando and everything he did for this club. To get the win for him was massive.”
Victory over Feyenoord was the perfect start to Group G for Rangers as they continued their impressive form on the continent under Gerrard’s guidance.
And Ojo is confident there is plenty more to come from the Gers as they look to make their mark in European competition this term.
He said: “It’s massive that we’ve beaten Feyenoord. We’ve also got Porto but the next game is Young Boys away and it’s going to be hard. But with the bunch of boys we have got we are more than capable of getting an away win.
“We will just take each game as it comes but we want to get through the group and into the knockouts. But it’s a great start for us getting three points and we look forward to the next one.”
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