Rangers were drawn to face Danish champions Lyngby in the first round with the first game to be played at Ibrox. A typical brave diving header from Mark Hateley had given us the lead before half time. A cool Pieter Huistra finnish extended the lead and gave us the 2-0 advantage going into the second leg.
The second leg saw a huge travelling Rangers’ support take over the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen which was used as the venue for the return match. A fine individual goal by Ian Durrant five minutes from time booked a place in the second round.
After an away goals defeat by Stuttgart, Leeds were handed a reprieve. Stuttgart had brought on a fourth foreign substitute in the second leg and UEFA decided a one-off game in the Nou Camp was the only fair way to settle it. Howard Wilkinson’s side were to win 2-1 and set up a last 16 clash between the current English and Scottish champions with the winners going into the newly branded Champions League.
The last time Rangers had faced English opposition in Europe was May 1969 in the semi-final of the Fairs Cup when Newcastle United had drawn 0-0 at Ibrox then won the return leg 2-0. A Leeds side that included Batty, Strachan, McAllister, Speed and Cantona were favourites to go through but Rangers were in great form on the back of twelve straight wins and at the beginning of a 44 game unbeaten record in competitive matches.
No travelling fans were allocated tickets for the match due to a fear of hooligan problems, with the English clubs having not long since returned to European football after Heysel. The all-Rangers support had been in full voice even during the warm up, with many comparing it to the intimidating noise created when Dynamo Kiev visited in 1987. Within 69 seconds however that noise was to fall deathly silent, ironically by a self-confessed Rangers fan!
Gary McAllister lashed home a volley from twenty yards and into Goram’s top right corner. The stadium was in complete silence for a few moments having lost what looked like a very costly away goal. Leeds went on to create a few chances after this and it looked like being a long night.
In the 20th minute an Ian Durrant corner was punched into his own net by John Lukic past the out-stretched Tony Dorigo. It was game on and the support was back in full voice and the confidence in the team came flooding back.
The winner came from another corner this time Trevor Steven’s out swinger was met by Davie McPherson header and Lukic parried the ball directly at the feet of McCoist in his most deadly of positions. In the second half McCoist could have had another had he not blazed a shot well over the bar. Leeds however battled well and had a few chances but could not draw level.
150 to 200 Rangers fans were estimated to have got tickets for the second leg according to West Yorkshire police. Rangers had been written off by the English press and Leeds were expected to overturn the 2-1 deficit comfortably thanks to the away goal. Leeds started the match fairly well with Cantona forcing Goram into action in the opening minute. In the second minute a long ball flicked on by Ian Durrant was then smashed into the net by Hateley reminding the large English audience of his talents and also gave the fans who had made the trip a difficult job remaining low profile.
Leeds continued to ask questions and Cantona and Wallace would force another four top drawer saves from Andy Goram. It was during this time in his career that Goram was establishing his legendary reputation. A sweeping counter attack in the 59th minute involving Ferguson, Durrant and Hateley saw Ally McCoist score an outstanding diving header to put the match beyond Leeds. The goal saw Ally equal Alex Scott and Ralph Brand on 12 European goals for the club. Leeds were to strike back with nine minutes remaining through Cantona but it was too little too late.
The Leeds’ fans were impressed by what they saw from our side and sportingly clapped them off the pitch. We were to become the first British club to take part in the new Champions League and more adventures were right around the corner that season. Three days later at Celtic Park another similar style performance from Andy Goram saw us claim a one nil victory and capped of a exceptional week for the club and fans.