Philippe Clement claimed Cyriel Dessers got his reward for “believing” he would get the equalising goal which came in the final seconds of Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv.
The Light Blues started positively in the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round in the Arena Lublin in Poland, as winger Ross McCausland hit a post with a terrific drive, but they found themselves behind at the interval to a 37th-minute goal from Kyiv captain Andriy Yarmolenko.
It looked like the Govan side would have to settle for a narrow defeat but with the last kick of four added minutes at the end of the game, the enigmatic 29-year-old Nigeria striker nipped in at the near post to knock in a cross from substitute Vaclav Cerny.
Rangers will bring Kyiv to Hampden Park next week – the national stadium will be used due to a delayed refurbishment to one of the Ibrox stands – where victory will take them through to the play-off, where Red Bull Salzburg or FC Twente lie in wait.
Boss Clement told BBC Scotland: “We kept on pushing to the end to get the result and I am happy about that because we want to get in every team at this club this mentality, to keep on working, to keep on going, keep believing.
“We have several new players now, we have young players and they did it.
“Vaclav Cerny with the very important assist and Cyriel also, kept on pushing to get a goal because he had a few chances which he finished really well and the goalkeeper saved really well.
“He kept on believing and I am happy for him that he scored the goal.
“If you compare him with seven months ago, he does many more things, he is really good for the team so people maybe have a perception about him but I know no defenders anymore who like to play against him and he is only growing and that’s what we want.”
Clement is looking for a big night at Hampden Park in the return game next week.
The Belgian boss said: “It is really good to take a result like that from here.
“It is now about getting more fans behind us at Hampden Park to make the difference and we have a 12th player on the pitch with all the noise they can make to push my team forward so we can qualify.
“It is going to be a really big night and I hope our fans make so much noise that the roof comes off.”
After scoring what could be a crucial goal for the Light Blues, Dessers hopes it turns out to be a momentum-changer for the Ibrox side, who started the William Hill Premiership campaign at the weekend with a goalless draw against Hearts at Tynecastle.
He told RangersTV: “It was a good feeling, I think everyone could see Dynamo are a very good team so we had to work hard and keep the spaces closed and happy to score a goal at the end and take a good result home.
“I think that this goal is a very good statement, and I think this could change the momentum, not only in this tie, but hopefully for us also for the next coming weeks.
“We’ve been working so hard, and maybe you don’t see the results immediately on the pitch, but there’s been a lot of work, and moments like this can turn this around and switch things and hopefully things start falling our way.
“I think you saw as well. You saw how they went in after the whistle, they were not happy. And let’s hope that the late goal changed the momentum in this tie.”
