Rangers striker Jermain Defoe has praised James Tavernier for letting him take a penalty at Ibrox on Saturday.
The Gers captain was on a hat-trick when he passed up the opportunity to take a fourth spot-kick in the win against St Mirren, handing the ball to Defoe and enabling the on-loan star to score his first goal at Ibrox.
It was a selfless act that went down well with supporters, many of whom thought it showed the kind of leadership qualities expected of a Rangers captain.
Defoe was quick to praise his teammate after the match.
As quoted by the official Rangers website, the veteran striker said:
For the captain to give you the ball when he is on a hat-trick it says a lot about his character and it says a lot about the spirit of the team.
I was surprised when he gave me the ball because he was on his hat-trick, not many people would do that! Credit to him, he is a great guy – he wanted me to get my first Ibrox goal. I can’t remember the last time a full-back scored a hat-trick but he got his two goals.
It was a magic moment and shows the unity between the players in the dressing room right now.
The squad are all pulling in the same direction and know we must work as a unit and not as individuals if we are to truly challenge for trophies this season.
Hopefully Defoe will go on to score plenty more home goals during his Ibrox career.
Could that penalty be the start of something special?