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The Night We Beat The 'Real, Genuine, Official' World Club Champions


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Lifted from FF:

 

 

Wed March 3rd 1965

 

European Cup Quarter Final (second leg)

 

 

Rangers 1-0 Inter Milan

 

 

Rangers. Ritchie, Provan, Caldow, Greig, McKinnon, Hynd, Henderson, Millar, Forrest, McLean, Johnston.

 

Inter Milan. Sarti, Burgnich, Fachetti, Tagnin, Guarneri, Picchi, Jair, Mazzola, Peiro, Saurez, Domenghini.

 

Having lost 1-3 in the San Siro a fortnight earlier in the first leg, Rangers welcomed World Club Champions to Ibrox for the second leg of this European cup quarter final with a mountain to climb.

Rangers would have to win by two goals on the night to force a play off, or by three goals to advance.

 

Luck had not been with Rangers in this season's European Cup.

The previous round had seen Rangers defeat Rapid Vienna home and away, with an exhilerating performance in Vienna being numbed by the horrendous leg break administered to the great Jim Baxter, 20 seconds before the final whistle.

Baxter was simply irreplaceable, and quite possibly the most outstanding player in all of Great Britain at that time.

The next round saw us drawn unfavourably against the holders Inter Milan, with Rangers having to travel for the first leg.

 

Scot Symon had a plan, and operated a man to man marking system, with Jimmy Millar ordered to play a defensive role that night.

The plan was working, and working well, so much so, that a very frustrated Inter Milan went in at half time scoreless, unable to break down a very resolute Rangers defence.

Devastatingly, three minutes of misfortune and madness directly after the break, Rangers found themselves 0-3 down, as Inter Milan struck in the 48th, 49th and 50th minute.

Rangers did manage to pull one back midway through the second half, when Jim Forrest slammed the ball into the roof of the net, following a pass from Wilson Wood.

If nothing else, this gave Rangers a chance (albeit a slim one) to make progress in the return at Ibrox.

 

Close to 80,000 packed into Ibrox on that bitterly cold night.

Roger Hynd was a last minute replacement for Wilson Wood (though certainly no replacement for Baxter).

George McLean and Willie Johnston replaced Ralph Brand and Davy Wilson from the first leg.

Rangers came out the traps gunning, and were ahead on the night after only six minutes, when 20 year old sensation Jim Forrest pounced on a Roger Hynd 30 yard drive that had come back off goalkeeper Sarti's chest, and the speedy youngster made no mistake in slotting the ball home from six yards out, to put Rangers one up.

It was on, we now had 84 minutes left to score at least one more.

Inter would shut up shop immediately, and did so like no other team on the planet could.

They effectively cut off the supply to wingers Henderson and Johnston, they stifled the midfield, and even on the rare ocassions that we got close, there was always Picchi sweeping up any threat at the back.

The closest Rangers came to forcing a play off, was in the final 10 minutes when George McLean rattled in a tremendous 20 yard drive, that had Sarti beaten, only to see it vibrate the crossbar, and rebound to safety.

It was not to be, and Rangers were out of the European Cup.

There was dissapointment, but there was no shame.

Rangers had proved that even without the influential Jim Baxter, they were capable of beating anyone on the night, and could hold their heads high, that night they beat the best team in the World.

 

 

Inter Milan would go on to retain the trophy, defeating Liverpool in the Semi Final, and the great Benfica side in the Final at the San Siro.

They also went on to retain the World Club Championship.

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