How four undercover Rangers' fans defied Battle of Britain ban

An outrageous volley from Mark Hateley and a sublime diving header from Ally McCoist saw Walter Smith’s men defeat Howard Wilkinson’s side to the dismay of the vast majority inside Elland Road.

Like the first leg at Ibrox a fortnight before, there was to be no away supporters permitted inside the ground after both clubs agreed in favour of the restrictions for travel and security reasons.

However, as we all know, the Rangers fanbase are a determined bunch and where there’s a will there’s always a way. A small number managed to defy the authorities to watch their heroes record one of the most famous European victories.

Here are the accounts of four Rangers-supporting friends who were part of the Incognito Loyal on a night of high drama at Elland Road.

Derek McLeod 

“We had moved down to the North of London a few years earlier. I used to get the bus up to games back then. We’d leave on a Friday night and then wake up in Glasgow.

“When that game came up I was able to get a ticket through my work as we had an office in Leeds. We had a guy there and I think his brother wasn’t able to go and he had a spare ticket.

“I was able to borrow a car so I drove up but couldn’t afford to stay anywhere so I ended up sleeping in the car that night.

“I got into the ground early and made sure I got to my seat so I didn’t have to speak and I kind of planted myself in.

“Everyone started ploughing in and the atmosphere just before kick-off was on a different level. I was in the Main Stand, not knowing anyone around me, obviously not saying a word or speaking to anyone.

“Then the game kicked off and Eric Cantona went through and nearly scored in almost the first kick of the game and everyone is screaming and shouting all around me. It felt like seconds after that Hateley absolutely pelted it and when that went in, I think because of the atmosphere and everything else, loads of people just forgot where they were and jumped up and so did I.

“My friend Dougie was about five or six rows further down from me and I saw him jump up and as he turned round he looked at me and we were just looking at each other and kind of going, ‘Yes!’ but without screaming or shouting. But it was so obvious because we just leapt up and they’re all sitting there moaning.

“Their fans were going crazy. I was speaking to some guys at half time from the row behind, one of them put their hand on my shoulder after it calmed down and he went, ‘We can’t argue with that. It was some goal' and there were some who were asking me, ‘How did you get in?’

“In the second half when McCoist scored, that was it, all bets were off. There were a few guys that started going a bit crazy because we were effectively through then. There were some guys who started singing and they were getting pelters and then eventually they were getting dragged out.

“I think because you get the fear because you’re in the wrong end, you’re more conscious that the atmosphere is a little bit more electric. It was an amazing game. To beat them in their own backyard was something else.”

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Frankie Shanks

“There were five of us that set off on the early boat from Belfast at about half three in the morning. Four had tickets but I couldn’t get one for love nor money.

“We arrived at Stranraer with no colours because the word was out the police were stopping everybody going down on the motorway.

“We always did get stopped when we landed at Stranraer but it wasn’t just for football. As far as we were concerned, we were going to Ayr for a few days, that’s what we told them.

“We got down to the ground and the boys went to the pub so I stood at the ticket office with a Leeds hat and scarf on and I waited and waited. There must’ve been about a dozen people who passed who were picking their tickets up but I had no luck then this fella turned round and said, ‘You’re in luck son because my wee boy has an exam tonight and he can’t go.’

“I remember him saying he was going to charge me an extra three pounds which I was more than happy with. I then headed along with him and his wife and it was almost like a semi-hospitality section.

“When the first goal went in I just sat with my lip buttoned still sitting with my Leeds hat and scarf on. When we scored the second goal I jumped up and a guy sitting beside me grabbed my shoulder and put me down. He said, ‘Right you! I fucking thought you were a Rangers supporter! These boys will kill you, just sit down and say nothing.’

“He was sort of watching my back. By this time we were full of the drink. I remember singing Follow, Follow and I looked down behind me and there was my pal Dougie Dick.

“When we left the ground we were still singing but before you knew it there were about 50 fellas around us saying, ‘What the fuck is that you were singing?’ I thought, ‘Jesus! What have I done?’

“I started sobering up, I looked around and couldn’t see Dougie anywhere so I shouted over to my mate Gary Lonergan but by this time he was standing in between two police on horses and he denied all knowledge of me.

“He was telling the police he didn’t know me so one black eye and a bruised face later, the police got us to the car and they kept the Leeds fans back. We got into the car and I thought, ‘Thank fuck for that!’

“The car didn’t even get moving and the Leeds fans were booting the car. We eventually got out, I don’t know how we got out alive but the guy just put the boot down in the car, he was prepared to drive over them to get out.

“We ended up in a fancy hotel where we had a few beers and had a good old sing song, the penny whistle was out then we left around two in the morning and made the early morning sail back to Belfast.

“I remember going in to work around two hours late and I was worse for wear with a black eye and my boss wasn’t too chuffed. I remember him saying, ‘If you hadn’t won I was docking your wages and sending you home but you won so I’ll let you off with it.’

“I remember my dad writing us off. I came home from the home match and my dad shook his head and said, ‘That’s not enough kid,’ I said, ‘How do you know Da?’

“He thought he knew everything. You couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face when I landed home. I walked in with a big grin and said, ‘Well Da, what do you think of that?’

“I was never so proud of walking in and proving him wrong.”

Alan Browne

“It’s one of those nights you do remember quite well. I was quite fortunate, I was working in London at the time and a guy I was working with was a Leeds season ticket holder so it was ideal. He managed to get another ticket and said to me, ‘Do you fancy it?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely!’

“I went up in a car with him and three guys who all went to Leeds games regularly and they were super confident, they just saw it as inevitable they were going to win.

“A lot of Rangers fans had arranged to meet in a pub outside the ground but when we actually got there the police had closed it so there were a lot of guys with thick Scottish accents just hanging outside the ground early on.

“We went into a local pub which was very hardcore Leeds but there were still a few familiar faces. I spent a lot of time in Rangers pubs up and down Paisley Road West and you just know their faces. I don’t know how they got tickets but I felt quite fortunate sitting next to the Leeds supporting guy I knew that he wasn’t going to grass me up and probably having a Northern Irish accent probably helped me a wee bit.

“The Leeds fans were pretty rough in those days. They’re a hard bunch but quite impressive as well, especially when they start singing ‘Marching On Together.’ 

“We scored early on and you really do have that instinct in you of wanting to stand up, it’s just a natural reaction. It doesn’t matter if it’s against a Stirling Albion or against a Leeds United, it’s exactly the same. Quite a few Rangers fans did stand up behind the goal in which Hateley scored and the next thing you saw was the stewards weighing in. You’re watching it and there’s not a lot you can do or say. That was quite awkward but it probably reinforced the fact I just had to watch myself.

“When McCoist scored, that was it, it was game over and some of the Leeds fans started leaving. One thing I’ll always remember was after the McCoist goal I went out to the toilet and I bumped into a pal of mine. The two of us were just going nuts. It was probably the only place in the ground you could properly celebrate.

“I must admit I did a hell of a lot of gloating on the way back down in the car. There was a real arrogance that this was England against Scotland and they totally underestimated us. To beat them home and away was absolutely brilliant.”

(Image: Rangers Review)

Dougie Dick

“I tried to get some Leeds fans tickets for Ibrox. I got one for a customer of my work and he was meant to get a ticket back for me but he never came up with the goods.

“However, a pal of mine who knew a few Leeds fans managed to get a few tickets and I was lucky to get one.

“After the first leg when we won 2-1, the arrogance of the English media at the time shone through. They thought it was a shoo-in. They forgot they had Chris Whyte and Chris Fairclough at centre-back. I knew McCoist and Hateley would run them ragged. Leeds were good going forward but they weren’t great at the back.

“We got a lift into Elland Road and we got into the stand. I was sitting with my mate and thinking, ‘They won’t know I’m a Rangers supporter because I haven’t got any colours on,’ that was my mentality. Then I saw a friend of mine, Derek McLuskey about two or three rows up on his own and he was wearing a Leeds top and scarf. I was shouting over, ‘Derek? Derek? What’s the matter with you?’ and he’s looking at me with fucking fear in his eyes as if to say, ‘Shut the fuck up!’

“Hateley scored within a couple of minutes and my mate put his hand on my knee to push me down because my natural reaction was to jump up.

“When we scored the second goal it was hilarious because the game was done and I was chatting to people next to me saying, ‘Unlucky boys' and it was probably lucky I had people around me who were actually quite docile and weren’t aggressive otherwise we might’ve found ourselves in trouble.

“At the end, we saw Frankie Shanks who had a Leeds scarf on but he starts shouting and singing across towards us. The Leeds fans clocked him as they must’ve heard him singing in the stadium. We were squashed in amongst them so there was nothing we could do but at one point I thought we were going to get an absolute hiding. Fortunately, we managed to get back to the car unscathed.

“It was one of the biggest highs of my life to beat the champions of England home and away.

“What was better was we played Celtic on the Saturday at Parkhead and beat them 1-0 and I remember the Rangers end had the scarfs out and singing the Champions League anthem for the whole game. What a week that was, it was absolutely unbelievable.”