Season 1972/73 by Alistair Aird It was all change at Ibrox in the wake of the brilliant win in Barcelona. Willie Waddell moved ‘upstairs’ to take on the role of General Manager, while the two goalscoring heroes, Colin Stein and Willie Johnston, departed not long after season 1972/73 started. Stein actually scored a hat-trick in a pre-season friendly against Stjarn Komb in Sweden, and made history too when, on 29 July, he scored Rangers’ first-ever goal in the Drybrough Cup. Introdced in season 1971/72, the participants in the tournament were the four top-scoring teams from Division One and the four top-scoring teams from Division Two. Rangers were drawn to face Stirling Albion at Ibrox, and Stein opened the scoring in the opening seconds of the match. Rangers won 3-1 but were thumped 3-0 by Hibernian in the semi-finals four days later. Two goals from Jim McCalliog gave Wolverhampton Wanderers a 2-0 win in a friendly at Molineux, and some were already starting to express concerns over the lack of firepower in the Rangers attack. But the guns started to blaze when the competitive action got underway. Drawn in a League Cup section that included Clydebank, St Mirren and Ayr United, Wallace’s side scored 16 goals in the six sectional ties. Five wins were recorded, and the only blemish was a 4-1 defeat at Ibrox against St Mirren. Ally McLeod scored all of the goals for the Buddies. Rangers therefore comfortably topped Section Three and qualified for the last eight, but there were rumblings of discontent again when the Light Blues won only two of their first six league games. All three league games played away from home were lost too, including a 3-1 defeat against Celtic. At that point, Jock Wallace intervened. Derek Johnstone had started each of the first six league games at centre forward but took over from Colin Jackson at centre back for the trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell at Fir Park on 14 October. The number nine jersey was handed to Derek Parlane. Parlane scored from the penalty spot that afternoon, and in 29 league appearances scored 19 goals. Included in his haul was a goal against Celtic at Ibrox on 6 January. Making his debut in that match for Rangers was Tom Forsyth, and the man who would be known as ‘Jaws’ added some bite into the midfield. He would also make a telling contribution later on in the season. The win over Motherwell kicked off a run in the league that consisted of six wins and one draw. The listing ship looked to have been steadied, but it was rocked by both of the Edinburgh sides in November and December. Despite embarrassingly losing 2-1 against Stenhousemuir at Ibrox, Rangers defeated The Warriors 6-2 on aggregate in the League Cup, and they did likewise against St Johnstone, drawing 1-1 at Ibrox before sealing a place in the semi-finals with a 2-0 win in Perth. Wallace’s side would face Hibernian at Hampden in a match that Jim Blair of the Evening Times said was ‘untidy’ and ‘scrappy.’ The match came just four days after Rangers had won 2-1 at Easter Road in the league, but captain John Greig was ruled out of the semi-final. His presence was missed, and John Brownlie scored the only goal of the game with 20 minutes remaining. A couple of weeks later, Hearts came to Ibrox on league business. They also won 1-0 – Donald Ford scored their goal – and with 20 games to go, Rangers occupied fourth place in the table, seven points behind a Celtic side chasing an eighth successive title. Hopes of catching Jock Stein’s side looked forlorn, but the Hearts match was followed by a remarkable unbeaten run. Of those 20 remaining matches, 18 were won, but the two drawn matches – home and away against Aberdeen – proved costly. Celtic were champions again, the margin of victory being just a single point. But revenge would be sweet for Rangers. Wins over Dundee United, Hibernian (after a replay), Airdrie and Ayr United took Wallace’s side through to the Scottish Cup Final. There they face a Treble-chasing Celtic side – they had beaten Hibernian 6-3 earlier in the season to win the League Cup – and the two teams, watched by a crowd of 122,714, served up a classic. Kenny Dalglish opened the scoring, but Derek Parlane, who had a superb season, ensured the teams were level at half-time when he headed in a cross from Alex MacDonald. Alfie Conn then put Rangers ahead early in the second half, but parity was restored again when George Connelly scored from the penalty spot after John Greig had produced a diving save to deny Dalglish. But around 4.09pm, one of the most iconic goals in Rangers’ history was scored. Rangers won a free-kick, and Tommy McLean’s flighted delivery was met by the head of Derek Johnstone. Johnstone’s header beat Evan Williams but struck the post. The ball then rolled along the line, struck the other post, and came back out. And when it did it found the boot – or more accurately the studs – of an unlikely hero. Tom Forsyth wasn’t exactly renowned for his goalscoring instincts, but on this occasion, he chose to follow up, yet he almost contrived to miss the ball as it spun towards him. He swung his right boot at it, made contact with his studs, and rolled the ball over the line. Princess Alexandra presented the trophy to John Greig – the Rangers skipper later recalled having to spit on his hands to clean the mud off them before shaking the hand of the princess – and Rangers had some silverware to mark their centenary year. Although the club was banned from European competition following the crowd trouble in Barcelona, they did get to take part in the inaugural European Super Cup. The tournament pitched the winners of the European Cup against the winners of the European Cup Winners’ Cup and took place over two legs in January. The formidable Ajax Amsterdam provided the opposition, which meant that the Rangers fans were treated to the sight of Johan Cruyff gracing the Ibrox turf for the first leg. Johnny Rep, fed by perfectly weighted pass from Cruyff, put Ajax ahead after 34 minutes, but Rangers levelled seven minutes later through Alex MacDonald. But the class of the Dutch champions showed when they responded with a splendid goal from Cruyff on the stroke of half time. The home side competed well in the second half – Derek Johnstone passing up a good chance to equalise – but Ajax scored a third goal when Arie Haan found the net with 14 minutes to go. Although it looked like the second leg would be a formality, Rangers rocked Ajax by twice taking the lead in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Alex MacDonald opened the scoring after three minutes with a left foot shot, but Haan did likewise to draw the hosts level 10 minutes later. Quinton Young then got on the end of a Tommy McLean free-kick but hopes of a half-time lead were dashed when the West German referee awarded Ajax a rather dubious penalty kick. Johan Neeskens, who had been flagged as being offside, responded somewhat theatrically to a challenge from Willie Mathieson. But the referee insisted on awarding a penalty, and Arnold Muhren made it 2-2. The teams went in level at the interval, although the Rangers players were aggrieved when John Greig’s goal was disallowed as half time approached. The Rangers captain was said to be in an offside position when he turned a header from Tommy McLean into the net. There would be one further goal in the tie, and it came from the imperious Cruyff after 80 minutes, his swerving shot beating Peter McCloy to seal a 6-3 aggregate win. It had therefore been a promising first season as the Rangers manager for Jock Wallace. That seemed to bode well for the future, but while success would eventually be forthcoming, the season that followed this one would be doleful one for Rangers.
