RANGERS have had many memorable European victories over the years, none more so than when beating Dutch champions and Uefa Cup holders PSV Eindhoven 3-2 in the Philips Stadium in 1978 …

JACK (via email) – Could you confirm that Rangers were the first team to defeat PSV Eindhoven in a European match in their own stadium? I think this happened in the late Seventies.

I can confirm that Rangers were indeed the first team to inflict a home European defeat on the Netherlands’ clubs own ground.

The clubs played there on November 1, 1978. This was a European Cup second round second leg tie.

In the first game at Ibrox the match had ended in a goal-less draw. So the Dutch were favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.

Rangers, however, put on a fine display and pulled off a 3-2 win. Alex MacDonald, Derek Johnstone and Bobby Russell scored for the Gers. The Eindhoven goals were scored by Harry Lubse and Gerrie Deijkers.

ROBERT (Maryhill) – I was sorry to read of the recent passing of the Partick Thistle legend Johnny McKenzie. My dad took me to my first international in the mid 50s to see him play for Scotland, I think against Austria. Can you tell me more about his international career and his days at Firhill please?

Johnny McKenzie is indeed a Jags legend and became known as the ‘Firhill Flyer’. He was with Thistle between 1948 and 1960 making 396 appearances and scoring 53 goals.

He became one of Thistle’s greatest ever players gaining nine international caps. He is Thistle’s second most capped player behind Alan Rough.

His caps came against Wales, England, Norway, Finland, Austria, Uruguay and Hungary in 1954, England in 1955 and Austria 1956 (possibly the game you attended) and also the first Firhill player to play in a World Cup tournament (1954 along with Thistle team-mate Jimmy Davidson).

The ‘Firhill Flyer’ would probably have gained many more caps had he not been competing for the wing position with Gordon Smith, Willie Waddell and Billy Liddell.

He also picked up two Scottish league caps against the English League in 1949 and the Irish league in 1953.

Johnny played in a very successful Jags team in the 50s, perhaps their best ever, helping them to three League Cup finals in 1953, ’56, ’58 although all ended in defeat.

He also played in and lost the Glasgow Charity Cup final in 1951 and won the Glasgow Cup in 1951, ’52, ’54.

Johnny moved to Fulham for a short spell in 1958 but was back at Firhill by 1960 before moving to Ireland where he enjoyed a successful spell with Derry City winning the Irish League championship in ’65, the IFA Cup in ’64 and the Gold Cup in ’63.

When he retired from playing Johnny took up a coaching role with Third Lanark in 1967.

Johnny gained perhaps his greatest compliment from the great Ferenc Puskas following the defeat by the great Hungarian side at Hampden in 1954 where he ran rings round the left back Mihaly Lantos.

Puskas commented that he had never seen wing play of such a high standard.

He also gained a great compliment in more recent years, well after he retired, when a journalist wrote ”he was as swift as a greyhound, a mazy dribbler and, if you think David Beckham can cross a ball, you should have seen Johnny in his pomp”. High praise indeed.