Heard the one about a Scottish team which LOST a penalty shoot-out but still went on to win that major European competition?
Tommy Miller, of Arbroath, has asked me to settle a pub argument.
He asked his friends: “Which Scottish team in one of the major European competitions lost a penalty shoot-out but still went through to the next round, and eventually won the trophy?”
Tommy didn’t send any details to get in touch, so I couldn’t further discuss it with him.
However, I reckon I have come across this question before.
My take on it is the Sporting Lisbon v Rangers tie in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in season 1971-72.
The Ibrox side had won the first leg 3-2 in Glasgow, then lost the second leg in Portugal 4-3.
At the end of the game, a sudden-death penalty shoot-out ensued, with Sporting winning through . . . or so they thought!
In the dressing-room afterwards, it was pointed out by a member of the Scottish Press corps to the match officials that a new UEFA rule away goals counting double in the event of a tie should have been implemented.
A quick check by them confirmed this the upshot being the penalty shoot-out was completely erased and the Light Blues were immediately awarded the tie.
It seemed to be a good omen because Rangers went on to win the trophy, beating Moscow Dynamo 3-2 in that memorable final in the Nou Camp, Barcelona.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.