Ian Ross scored only four goals for Liverpool. His last arrived three minutes from the end against Arsenal, turning a 2–2 draw into victory over the reigning league and FA Cup champions.
The 3–2 win at Anfield on 6 November 1971 had required two distinct recoveries: first from an early Arsenal lead, then from the setback of an own goal after Liverpool had gone ahead.
Ray Kennedy put the visitors in front after five minutes. Liverpool were still behind as half-time approached, but Emlyn Hughes equalised in the forty-first minute. Tommy Smith supplied the assist.
Smith was also credited with the pass for Ian Callaghan’s goal ten minutes into the second half. Liverpool had turned 0–1 into 2–1, only for their captain’s own goal to bring Arsenal level with fifteen minutes remaining.
Ross settled it in the eighty-seventh minute, John Toshack providing the assist. The winner left Liverpool sixth in the First Division, with twenty points from sixteen matches. Arsenal were ninth.
For Ross, it was another conspicuous contribution in a career spent largely outside Liverpool’s established first-choice side. Earlier that year he had scored in Munich while helping to contain Franz Beckenbauer in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Liverpool drew that match 1–1 and went through against Bayern on aggregate.
The 1971–72 season gave Ross more opportunities, with his adaptability taking him through several positions. Against Arsenal he was operating in midfield. He would leave for Aston Villa before the season ended, having made sixty-nine senior appearances for Liverpool.
His Anfield winner could not undo the FA Cup final defeat by Arsenal six months earlier. It belonged to a new league campaign, and earned two points in its own right. But in a fixture containing three Liverpool goals, it was the least frequent scorer of the three who had the final word.