Rangers goal was the best of Dundee star's career but he reveals he's haunted by the chance he didn't take
Ryan Astley scored the goal of his life at Ibrox - but was still devastated he didn't bag a winner for Dundee.
The Welsh defender was outstanding in their 1-1 draw with Rangers on Saturday and gave Steven Pressley's side a shock lead with a second-half header.
Astley hailed it as the best goal of his career so far and was able to celebrate it with family in the Dark Blues away end.
But after James Tavernier had levelled for Gers with a late penalty, incredibly, Astley had a golden opportunity to grab victory for the Dens Park side.
His effort flashed wide at the death and the 23-year-old admits he was gutted not to seal a memorable three points for Dundee.
Afterwards, he said: 'I know, I had the chance to win it. I'm going to watch that back - I still feel I should have scored so it's quite disappointing.
'The goal was definitely the best of my career so far. It felt so good because when I scored, I could see all my family who were here today.
'It was a special moment, I enjoyed it. They were stood right at the back of the Dundee end, so I'll always cherish that one.
'It was a tough game and we needed everyone to put a shift in.
'But it says a lot that we're slightly disappointed with the draw.
'When you come to Ibrox, everyone needs to work hard - do a job and a half - and I think we did that.
'I'm proud of everyone in that changing room because it was a real team performance.
'Are we disappointed not to win? Look, that's football and decisions like that happen, where you can't help it.
'But overall, we're really happy with the team performance.'
It was an outstanding defensive display from Dundee, led superbly by Astley and skipper Clark Robertson at the back.
Pressley's appointment at Dens was met with derision from the Dark Blues' support and they got off to a nightmare start - being knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup and losing to Hibs on the opening day of the Premiership season.
But the draw at Ibrox with Rangers - their first point in Govan since 2001 - should give them encouragement for the season and Astley insists his gaffer is the right man to lead them.
He said: 'Saturday was down to the work we put in on the training ground as the gaffer's drilled us really well.
'We knew we weren't going to have much of the ball against Rangers so it was all about concentration and sticking together.
'When it feels like everyone's on top of you, you defend well and stay focused.
'We're a threat from set-pieces because we work on them and one came off for us on Saturday.
'Hopefully we can keep progressing now and win our next game.
'From day one when the manager came in, all of the players bought into it straight away.
'We knew what he wanted us to do and we believed in it. Eventually, I'm sure you'll start to see positive results.'
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