Findlay Curtis says he will treasure Sir Alex Ferguson’s words of encouragement after his first senior goal helped Rangers see off Panathinaikos at Ibrox.
On just his second start for the club, the 19-year-old changed the momentum of the game early in the second half with a brilliant solo effort.
With the Greeks then reduced to 10-men after Giorgos Vagiannidis was sent off, Djeidi Gassama marked his debut from the bench with a goal which handed new boss Russell Martin a two-goal cushion to take to Athens for next week’s second leg.
Manchester United legend Ferguson, who had visited Rangers’ training base last week, was present at the match together with new chairman Andrew Cavenagh.
The 83-year-old made a point of praising Curtis in person afterwards, a gesture Martin insists was the ultimate accolade and capped off the perfect night.
‘He just congratulated me on my goal,’ said the club academy graduate. ‘Coming from a legend like him, I’ll take it.
Findlay Curtis celebrates the goal which gave Rangers precious lead over Panathinaikos
Sir Alex Ferguson was a delighted observer as Rangers won the first leg 2-0
Teenager Curtis fires home the goal that rocked the Greek visitors to Ibrox on Tuesday
‘Obviously, it’s another dream come true, playing in the Champions League.
‘I’m on top of the world. I’ve been here since I was six and I’m just delighted. I’m still speechless, to be honest.
‘My mum and dad were both at the game, so were my girlfriend, her parents, my brother and sister and all my pals were here.
‘They waited after the game. I could see my mum crying in the stands. It was a good moment.’
Curtis’ moment of glory came after Rangers had weathered a storm in the first half of Martin’s first competitive game in charge.
Keeper Jack Butland produced two outstanding saves in the first period with two more coming early in the second period just before the teenager struck.
‘The first 10 minutes I thought we started well,’ he recalled.
‘Then there was a rough 10-15 minute period where it was dead sloppy. We came in half-time and had a chat about it and came back out in the second half and I thought it changed.
Findlay Curtis prepares to do a knee slide as he celebrates his Ibrox wonder goal this week
It’s the biggest moment of the youngster’s career so far after he scores an important goal
Nineteen-year-old Curtis will now be looking to play his part in the second leg in Athens
‘Jack was excellent. He made big saves. I’d say it was just about confidence. We got the ball down, started playing our way. Obviously, that goal spurred us on to try to score more goals.’
Martin’s men are in the box seat in the tie, yet still have work to do if they are to progress to the next qualifying round where Servette – 1-0 winners away to Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday – would likely await.
With temperatures in Greece potentially rising to 35 degrees, Curtis is adamant that nothing will be taken for granted.
‘I’ve heard it’s very hot, so it’s going to be hard,’ he said. ‘It’s just halfway in the tie and hopefully the boys get us through.’