Season 1968/69 by Alistair Aird Season 1967/68 had very much been a case of so near year, yet so far for Rangers. It was another of those cases for fine margins. But Rangers supporters don’t take solace from these sorts of things. They want and crave silverware, and when that silverware is being annexed by Celtic, that merely exacerbates the situation. The new season opened with a League Cup section that featured Celtic, Partick Thistle, and Morton. After the six ties had been played, Rangers had four wins and two defeats. The latter had come home and away against Celtic without scoring a goal. The quest for League Cup glory was thus over before August had ended. But Rangers rebounded and the league campaign started well. A Sandy Jardine double secured a win over Partick Thistle at Ibrox before Celtic were thumped 4-2 at Parkhead. But this was followed by an inconsistent run that yielded two wins, two draws and two defeats in the next six games. At centre forward for those matches was Sandy Jardine. Alex Ferguson, top scorer in season 1967/68, had been dropped by Davie White following the League Cup defeat against Celtic at Parkhead, his first four appearances of the season until then having yielded only two goals. Jardine excelled in the role, scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Morton at Cappielow in the League Cup and four times in a 7-1 thumping of Queen’s Park in the Glasgow Cup. He also netted a looping header against Vojvodina Novi Sad in the opening round of the Fairs Cup. But as well as he did, Jardine was never going to be a long-term fixture at centre forward. And that’s why Rangers shelled out £100,000 to bring in Colin Stein from Hibernian. His impact was immediate. On 2 November 1968, he marked his debut with a hat-trick against Arbroath at Gayfield. Seven days later, he repeated the feat against his old club in a 6-1 win at Ibrox. A double against Dundalk made it eight goals in three games for the new arrival. But the emphatic win over Hibernian was a false dawn as it was followed by three games without a win. At the end of November, Rangers lay sixth in Division One, six points adrift of leaders, Celtic. But buoyed by a first goal in blue from Alex MacDonald, a dynamic midfielder purchased for £50,000 from St Johnstone, in a 3-0 win over Raith Rovers, Rangers managed to reset. They won 11 and drew one of their next 12 league fixtures. Included in that run was a 1-0 win over Celtic on 2 January. A penalty from John Greig made the difference. Following a 6-0 win over Clyde at Ibrox on 15 March, the gap at the top was just two points with eight to play. But in that match, Colin Stein was ordered off. It was his second dismissal of the season, having also been sent for an early bath when Rangers drew 3-3 at Rugby Park on 4 January. Draconian punishments were commonplace with the governing body at that time, and Stein was subjected to one of them. He was banned for six weeks, effectively ruling him out for the rest of the season. Jardine, Ferguson, and Penman deputised as number nine in the seven league games Stein missed. Rangers won three, drew two and lost two. It was hardly championship-winning form, and Celtic made it three-in-a-row, the margin between first and second being five points. There was, however, an opportunity for redemption. On 26 April 1969, the Od Firm faced each other in the Scottish Cup Final. Rangers had disposed of Hibernian, Hearts, and Airdrie ahead of a semi-final encounter at Parkhead against Aberdeen. And for the third Saturday in succession, Rangers scored six goals. Having hit St Mirren and Clyde for six, White’s side did likewise to the Dons. Willie Johnston grabbed a hat-trick and there was a brace for Andy Penman and a goal from Willie Henderson too. The only goal Aberdeen could muster came from the former Rangers striker, Jim Forrest. The stage was therefore set. Rangers, minus the banned Stein who had scored 18 goals in 29 appearances since joining the club, were looking to haul themselves out of a terrible title run in. Defeat against Dundee at Dens Park four days earlier had all but ended hopes of winning the title, so the Scottish Cup was all White’s side had left to aim for. White elected to select Ferguson at centre forward. Ferguson had mustered only six goals in 12 league appearances – five of them had been as sub – and his appearance at Hampden will be best remembered for the first of four goals scored without reply by Celtic. Supposedly tasked with picking up the Celtic captain, Billy McNeill, at set-pieces, Ferguson allowed McNeill to rise unchallenged to open the scoring with a header from a corner kick inside the opening minutes. Apportioned blame by Davie White, Ferguson never played for the Rangers first XI again. There could have been a crumb of comfort in the Fairs Cup, but that journey ended at the semi-final stage. Rangers faced Newcastle United in the last four. A 0-0 draw at Ibrox that featured a missed Andy Penman penalty was followed by a 2-0 loss at St James’ Park in a match marred by crowd trouble. It would therefore be another season without silverware for Rangers. White’s side did reach the Final of the Glasgow Cup – a hat trick from Willie Johnston securing an enthralling 4-3 win over Celtic in the semis – but after drawing 2-2 against Partick Thistle, the replay was postponed until the start of the following season.
