Connor Goldson was praised by his manager after an 'inspirational' debut for his new club in Cyprus.

The former Rangers defender finally made his bow for Aris Limassol after moving to the Cypriot club at the end of July and helped his side to a 1-0 win over Omonia 29is Maiou.

Goldson left Ibrox after six years and 309 appearances for the club for a new challenge on the Mediterranean island with ambitious Aris.

He suffered a setback after picking up an injury in pre-season training and missed the start of the season, but was declared fit for his first game.

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And manager Alexei Spilevski was delighted at Goldson's start after revealing the 31-year-old had demanded to play.

He said: "Connor Goldson is solid and quality. He had an inspirational debut.

"He is like a machine in the air. He showed his quality in the first game.

"I didn't want to push him to play because he had an injury and we thought it was better for him to play for us after the international break.

"But he persuaded me and demanded to play and so I gave in! He was excellent."