THERE were a number of satisfying aspects of the 1-0 win over NK Osijek in the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round tie in Croatia on Thursday for Rangers manager Steven Gerrard.

Seeing his defence, which comprised new signings Jon Flanagan, Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, withstand extended periods of pressure and keep a clean sheet away from home in Europe was pleasing for him.

As, too, was the accomplished display of debutant Ryan Kent, the winger who had joined on loan from his former club Liverpool just days before, out wide.

Yet, the biggest positive to come out of the 90 minutes for Gerrard was undoubtedly the showing of Alfredo Morelos.

He had publicly bemoaned the lack threat his team posed in attack following the meetings with FK Shkupi of Macedonia in the previous round – which was a direct dig of his mercurial and often moody forward.

But the Colombian certainly responded in the right manner; he put in a tireless shift against Osijek up front by himself and netted the only goal of the game, a glancing header from a James Tavernier cross in the first-half, to secure a slender win.

Every side needs a proven scorer to be successful and the outing augured well for the rest of the 2018/19 campaign.

Jamie Murphy, who played alongside Morelos, was pleased his team mate, who has had a tendency to frustrate and delight supporters in equal measure since arriving in this country last year, had silenced his detractors and is confident his strike will be the first of many.

“I was chuffed for him to score,” he said. “All strikers like to score goals and for him to get his first one and play really well was big for the team. He is always capable of scoring, but to get the first one of the way was a big thing. He will go onto score a few."

Murphy, who was involved in the build up to the goal, believes much of the the criticism the player, who only turned 22 last month, has been subjected to since joining Rangers from HJK Helsinki last summer has been unfair.

“To score that many goals last season (he was on target 18 times in all competitions) was very impressive,” he said. “He is still training hard and I am sure if he gets the opportunity he will score plenty this year as well.

“But he is still learning. If you are a striker and you score every single chance then you are at the top level, Cristiano Ronaldo stuff. It's a bit unrealistic. He's going to get chances and he's going to score some and he's going to miss some. That's the life on a striker. Ally McCoist never scored every chance he got.”

Morelos speaks limited English and Murphy feels that has meant he has been oblivious to much of the sniping about his play.

“I'm pretty sure he doesn't think about all that,” he said. “For him to just go out and put on performances, and not worry about what's happening, that's what you want as a team.

"You don't want players worrying about outside influences and things like that. So to see him good out and put on a great performance, and score a goal was good for us.

“I think his English is coming on. He's obviously working at it. He understands most things you say, and he's getting a few more words in."

Scoring goals wasn’t, due in no small part to Morelos’s personal contribution, a problem for Rangers last season. The Ibrox club were leading scorers in the Ladbrokes Premiership despite finishing in third place behind winners Celtic and runners-up Aberdeen. No, it was at the back where they struggled.

So keeping their third consecutive clean sheet on Thursday evening has given Murphy hope that they can fare far better both domestically and in Europe in the coming months.

Having played alongside Goldson, who looks to be the sort of commanding centre half that the Ibrox club have been crying out for for some time, during his time in England with Brighton, the Scotland internationalist is unsurprised.

“Connor was a good friend of mine down at Brighton,” he said. “I was delighted to see him coming up. He has got his house sorted now and has brought his family up. He is settling in well.

“When I heard he was going to come I knew he would be a good signing for us. He showed that in the first couple of games. I am sure he will keep that going for the rest of the season.

“At Brighton he was behind Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk who are really good. He was unlucky not to get more opportunities. But he was good enough to play in the Premier League. He just never got many chances.”

Murphy continued: “Defending was a big part of the emphasis when the manager came in. We scored the most goals in the league last season so it isn’t that area that needs to be improved. We have to keep them out.

"We have been working hard on defending as a team. But when we have got a back four or five like we have then it makes things easier.

“It could be frustrating last season. We were either winning games 3-2 or losing them 3-2. That isn’t ideal. The first thing is not conceding. If you do that you aren’t going to lose the game. We need to go out there and entertain and score goals. But hopefully we can be secure at the back as well as doing that.”

Gerrard has expressed his desire for his team to defend like Rangers greats Richard Gough and Barry Ferguson. Murphy watched those legendary players from the stands as a boy and knows just how difficult it will be to emulate them. But he believes it is an admirable ambition.

“That is what the expectation is here, to be as good as players like that,” he said. “They are players that everyone who grows up a Rangers fan in Glasgow looks up to. You want to do your best and hopefully our best gets us to that level. But if not we will certainly be trying.”