Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A MAGIC SPELL
Dorrans double does the trick for Gers at Fir Park after strip gaffe
GRAHAM DORRANS admitted his two-goal debut was a dream true as Rangers fans sang his name – after the kit man MISSPELT it.
The Ibrox midfielder got his team off to a winning Scottish Premiership start with a double in the 2-1 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.
But only after his shirt had to be changed when it emerged ‘DOORANS’ had been printed on the back of his No.10 jersey by kit man Jimmy Bell.
Boyhood blue Dorrans took just three minutes to get off the mark for his new club and netted a second from the penalty spot (inset) after Ben Heneghan had levelled for the Steelmen.
The Rangers legions chanted “he’s one of our own” and Dorrans joked it was all down to his lucky shirt.
Asked if he noticed the mistake, Dorrans smiled: “No, Jimmy told me. It was fine in the end and the shirt I had on was lucky for me.
“I was excited before the game. It was something I’ve always dreamed of since I was a kid. But I’ve been a professional for a long time and I know what you need to do and what it takes to go out there.
“So I was focused and I was fine. It was good. A great win for us as well and it was good personally to get a couple of goals but more importantly good to get off to a good start.
“We spoke before the game and knew how important it is, even this early, if we drop points. So it was vital we got off to a good start and we did that.
“The manager said during the week we need to just take every game as it comes. That’s what we’ve been doing.
“It was a tough game but we will move on now. It was a good win and a positive but we’ve got another game now that we will move on to.
“The supporters appreciate it when we’re winning games and we’re doing well. They’re in loud voice when we’re winning games so hopefully we can continue to do that.
“It was our first game together and we’ve got some new players. We were under the cosh a little bit towards the end and we saw it out well.”
Scotland international Dorrans, a £1.3million signing from Norwich City, wants to chip in with goals from the middle of the park and reckons Ryan Jack’s presence will allow him to get forward.
Dorrans said: “I hope to score more goals. We’ve spoken, we’ve got Jacko in there too which gives me a bit of licence to get forwards. I’ll be delighted if I can add some goals into the game as well.”