By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Emmanuel Fernandez marked his first start since August with a goal as Rangers maintained their perfect Scottish Premiership run, defeating Livingston 2–1 at Ibrox.
The Nigeria-eligible defender made an immediate impact, heading in a James Tavernier corner within the opening 10 minutes to set the tone for Rangers’ fourth consecutive league victory under manager Danny Röhl.
“It has been a while, I enjoyed it out there,” Fernandez told RangersTV after the match.
“I was getting into the rhythm of things, obviously I haven’t played for a while, but I am very happy with the goal and the result.
“We played against a resilient opposition, and we had to stay focused when we went 2–1 up. Games like these can be tough, but at least we came out on the right side.”
Fernandez earned the start due to injuries to John Souttar and Derek Cornelius and seized the opportunity with a composed and assured performance.
“It is tough when people are doing well in my position, but the main thing is just training well and waiting for your chance.
The coaches have been great, very transparent, and I’m grateful. Today, I got my opportunity, and we got a good result,” he added.
The defender expressed hope that his performance will lead to more consistent opportunities as Rangers continue their pursuit of the Premiership title.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
