Rangers 3 - 2 Moscow Dynamo - 'Rangers the dynamos as they take Euro Cup'

IN the most hectic and memorable night in the history of the Rangers Football Club, a European trophy was at last won in Barcelona last night.

There in the magnificent stadium, whose lights improve on the sun, Moscow Dynamo were beaten decisively in the final of the European Cup for Cup Winners and one understood well the emotions of the Rangers' supporters as they burst into unprecedented scenes of enthusiasm. At last they had something to crow about.

It was the third European final they had been in and none could have ended more dramatically. In the second half, Rangers seemed to have the game in their grasp and to the consternation of the Ibrox supporters the Russians scored two goals. Rangers supporters broke on to the field with two minutes to go thinking that the game was over and finally when it was they broke on again. The field was in a turmoil from a mass of dancing, colourful supporters. The players were swamped and in grave danger of injury and as one worried for them, the situation changed and it was the supporters who were being hurt.

The police had earlier allowed the crowd to get out of hand; in a final vicious scene they rectified that. They staged a baton charge and swung into the mass of bodies, hitting out all around them, and hurting and then they withdrew and re-formed.

The incident exploded into a pitched battle as the fans on the raised part of the ground hurled bottles and cans at the police. The police grabbed the seat cushions and bits of broken chairs and using these as protection, charged again into the crowd.

Bodies fell under the batons. Again there was a third charge and more injured and ambulancemen. Police were among those who had to receive attention. Eventually some of the lights were put out and comparative peace fell over the field and all that was left was for the injured to be attended to. There were many of them.

One had worried earlier that such a thing might have happened. Before the game started, the police had been slack in allowing supporters on to the field. They were only there in fun but it was a mistake to allow even an inch and as we thought at the time, it had painful consequences.

The match had been more or less settled in the first half when Rangers, inspired by a fighting John Greig, had won the clash of wills to determine how the game should be played. Dynamo wanted to settle for a cold academic engagement of neat passing. Rangers imposed their running and more direct play on them and switched the game with such speed as they could not cope with.

It had been an uneasy spell for Rangers when the masterly Sabo seemed to be winning the midfield battle, but he could not stand up to the strength of John Greig. Yet, decisive though that may have been, the game was really won by the more sophisticated skills of David Smith, who made two goals in the first half with superb passes to grace any final.

And in the forward line, Rangers had their hero, too. Johnston and McLean were nippy and cunning but at the end of the day it was the courageous running and use of the ball by the indefatigable Colin Stein which paid most dividends. Near the end the game was running away from Rangers. His face was scarlet from his incredible exertions but still he charged on.

If David Smith and Colin Stein have to be mentioned that is not indicative that they were the only successes. They did no more than play above the magnificent standard set by the rest of the team, a standard which makes all the more mystifying their performance in Scottish home football.

It was as well that Rangers had put so much into that first half and established such a lead. When Dynamo finally got the edge in the second half and John Greig's long spell of inactivity began to show, they were a fine, well ordered attacking side who might well have saved the game and almost did.

There had been the troubled first 20 minutes for Rangers when Dynamo seemed to be slowing down the game and Sabo seemed to be winning in midfield as he accepted the ball from the defence and pushed the passes around but was in no hurry to do so.

There was an indication of what nippy shooting would do when McLean brought out a good save from Pilgull in the 25th minute and then there was the goal. In the 25th minute the Russians were backing up in attack. David Smith came out of defence with the ball and struck a pass straight through middle which wrong-footed the centre half as he tried to cover Colin Stein. The Rangers centre, however, in full stride shot spectacularly. The goalkeeper had no chance.

There was a moment of worry when both Russian wingers fumbled a pass, but soon Alex Smith was striding forward again in that stilted way of his and breaking on the right. His well-judged cross dropped in front of goal and Willie Johnston won the jump and headed well clear of the goalkeeper. The time was 39 minutes.

At half-time the supporters sang their songs and danced with ecstasy and seemed impatient for the second half to pass so that they could get more quickly to the ecstatic moment of the presentation. They were sure the cup was theirs and even more certain when three minutes after half time, Stein won a challenge when McCloy cleared the ball into the other penalty area. It broke to Willie Johnston who had little trouble in scoring. And then started Rangers' troubles.

Greig was booked for yet another foul on Sabo. In the 59th minute Eschtrekov scored a neat goal when Jardine and Johnstone became mixed up. In the very next minute, he might have scored another but the ball rose inches high. Greig lost much of his mobility as did Conn and Rangers fell back on their goal and were sorely troubled.

The lanky goalkeeper, McCloy, had a succession of good and cool saves and in the 82nd minute , Sandy Jardine kicked off the goal-line when all seemed lost.

With seven minutes to go, Mahovikov slipped neatly through the middle and scored to bring Rangers' lead to but a single goal. With three minutes to go the referee stopped the game to book Alex MacDonald and the crowd in Rangers' blue thought that was the end and swarmed on to the field. There was much trouble in clearing them and getting the game started.

And then it was all over and their break-in and the baton charges and the sore heads.

Rangers: Peter McCloy, Sandy Jardine, Willie Mathieson, John Greig, Derek Johnstone, Dave Smith, Tommy McLean, Alfie Conn, Colin Stein, Alec Macdonald and Willie Johnston.

Moscow Dynamo: Vladimir Pilgul, Oleg Dolmatav, Eugene Zikov, Vladimir Dolbonosov, Valvi Zukov, Anataly Baldazhnyl, Andral Jakobik, Josef Saabe, Alexander Maklovic and Vladimir Ayrlutchin.