That Was The Celtic Goal That Was

That Was The Celtic Goal That Was


No 4.   4th March 1970, Bertie Auld

　
"Once a Celt, yer always a Celt"

　
As one of the famed Lisbon Lions Bertie Auld will always be remembered by Celtic Fans the world over. Playing almost 300 competitive matches during his time at Celtic Park, he saw some lows but enjoyed far more highs.

　
A tough tackling, hard working playmaker in midfield, he was at the heart of our greatest ever triumph. He played 25 matches in Europe for Celtic & scored 1 goal, that came in March 1970.   Celtic had been drawn against Fiorentina in the quarter final of the European Cup after eliminating Benfica in the previous round.

　
The Italian team came to Glasgow for the first leg in what would be the biggest attendance for a European match a Celtic Park, with just over 77200 people there to watch a masterclass from wee "Ten-Thirty".

　
After 6 weeks out of the team due to injury, Jock Stein had no hesitation in throwing Bertie back into midfield for the big match. Bertie didn't let the boss down, he took control from kick off & powered Celtic into attack with willing support from Tommy Gemmell & Davie Hay.

　
After 30 minutes Celtic got the breakthrough, Bobby Murdoch crossed the ball from the right wing, John Hughes headed the ball back to the edge of the Box where Bertie Auld was in acres of space, he took a touch to control & powered a low shot passed the keeper & into the bottom corner of the net. Celtic were 1 up & in control of the match.
　

In the opening exchanges of the 2nd half Auld had the ball wide left & delivered a cross waiting to be attacked, in the panic Carpenetti connected with the cross only to loop the ball over his own keeper & double the advantage for Celtic.

　
Celtic continued to dominate & got the reward of a 3rd goal in the final minute, Once again Bertie Auld played his part. Picking up a loose ball in the final 3rd of the pitch, he drifted wide left & crossed the ball for Harry Hood to set up Willie Wallace who was on hand to seal an impressive victory 3-0 victory over the Italian Champions.

　
Celtic would loose the 2nd leg 1-0, but the tie was effectively over after a Bertie Auld & Celtic had produced a flawless performance at Celtic Park.

That Was The Celtic Goal That Was

No 3. 22nd April 2007, Shunsuke Nakamura

　

No better way to win the league than with a last gasp winner.

　

Celtic travelled to Rugby Park Kilmarnock needing 3 points to wrap up the title. An end of season stutter had seen Celtic win only 1 of the previous 4 league matches, losing away to Rangers & Falkirk & only picking up a point at Tannadice.

　

A 1-0 win at home against Motherwell at the start of April was followed by a Cup Semi Final victory over St Johnstone helping to raise spirits again before heading to Kilmarnock for what everyone hoped would be a title party.

　

For the first time in over 3 years John Kennedy started a match for Celtic, which was a welcome sight for fans in the stadium & watching on TV.

　

After a bright start from Celtic the match slowed down with half chances for both sides. However, mid way through the first half a corner from Nakamura was met perfectly by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as he glanced a header into the net to give Celtic the lead. With no more real goalmouth action in the first half, Celtic were 45 minutes from winning back to back titles.

　

Early in the 2nd half Kilmarnock drew level & the both sides had chances to take the lead, but the match looked to be heading for a draw & a delay to the title celebrations.

　

With the match now in Injury time Nakamura was bundled off the ball around 25 yards from goal, expectation grew among the Celtic fans. The Kilmarnock wall was set, Nakamura looked at his target, stepped up & curled the ball into the bottom corner of net. The delirious Celtic players joined the fans at the front of Chadwick stand to celebrate the wining goal & the winning of our 41st title.

　

Footage from the TV later showed Gordon Strachan & Tommy Burns bursting from the dug out in sheer joy at the moment the title was sealed.


That split second between anticipation & jubilation for the club staff & players was captured perfectly. 

　

A fabulous player with a special talent, Nakamura had helped deliver the title in the best possible way & gave fans an excuse to celebrate long after the final whistle.

That was the Celtic goal that was

No 2.  8th May 2004 Chris Sutton.





Whitewash -"A victory by the same side in every game of a series"





As Celtic & Rangers lined up pre-match at Celtic Park in early May, there was very little at stake for Celtic.   The championship had already been won, the league trophy was in the boardroom & the players league winners medals were safely tucked away at home.   Only one issue was still to be decided.     Could Celtic complete a whitewash of their Glasgow rivals?





The bittersweet end to the 2002 / 2003 season saw Celtic with no trophies to show, but some amazing memories of an unforgettable run to the UEFA Cup Final in Seville. 



The 03/04 season delivered silverware & some more magical moments in Europe.   Over the course of the season, Celtic & Rangers would meet 5 times, 4 matches in the league & 1 more in the Scottish Cup.





In the first meeting of the season in early October, Celtic shuffled the pack playing Chris Sutton at centre back & bringing in Liam Miller to midfield.   Celtic went home with 3 points thanks to a goal from John Hartson just at the start if the 2nd half.   The win put down a marker & put Celtic top of the league.





The traditional New year's match up was as one sided as the result suggests.   Goals from Petrov, Varga & Thompson secured a 3-0 victory & an 11 point lead in the championship race.

The Scottish Cup draw paired the sides together in the quarter final at Celtic Park.   A scrappy second half goal from Henrik Larsson ensured Celtic progressed to the Semi-Final.





29 matches unbeaten & 16 points ahead in the league, Celtic made their last trip to Ibrox & took a commanding 2 goal lead thanks to Larsson & Thompson, a late goal from Rangers could not stop us extending our lead at the top of the league to 19 points.





So everything was set for the final match up of the season.    A win would give Celtic their first whitewash over Rangers since the early 1970s.





A bright start saw Celtic score early, only to see the goal chopped off for a foul in the build up.   Both keepers were tested through the 90 minutes & appeared to be getting the upper hand as the match looked to be heading for a stalemate.





With the match in injury time Sutton flicked on a long ball to Larsson who took a touch & complete his one-two with Sutton.  Sutton controlled the ball 30 yards from goal & powered his way passed


Frank De Boer at the centre of the Rangers defence, leaving De Boer face down in the turf.



With only Klos to beat, Sutton chipped the ball in to the top corner from 25 yards out, before running to the Celtic end to celebrate with his team-mates.    Fans joined in the jubilation for the remainder of the match & long into the night.

With shades of memorable chip from Larsson in the 6-2 game in 2000, Sutton & Larsson had reversed roles to deliver the same glorious outcome.





Celtic would go on to complete the League & Cup double, helping ease the pain of the missed opportunities from the previous season & made all the sweeter with the whitewash of our city rivals.

That was the Celtic goal that was

A blog looking at some famous & some not so famous goals from Celtic players through the years.

No 1 - 18th May 1985, Frank McGarvey.


Frank McGarvey played over 240 competitive matches for Celtic in just over 5 years, scoring over 110 goals.

He had a knack of being in the right place at the right time, scoring a late winner against Rangers at Celtic Park shortly after singing in in 1980.

He played his part in 2 League Championship winning teams, scoring one of the goals in  3-2 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice that secured the title.
Winning 1 League Cup as Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 in a rain soaked Hampden Park in 1982, he also won two Scottish Cups, the first of which came just 2 months after joining from Liverpool in the 1980 Hampden riot match.

McGarvey would win his last medal with Celtic in his final match when Celtic payed Dundee United in the 100th Scottish Cup Final in 1985.

With the official attendance showing as 60000 fans, the Celtic end of the ground was a bursting point as fans paid at the gate to watch the showpiece final.

Celtic Struggled to get a foothold in the game & the first half passed without much incident.   Early in the second half a goal from Stuart Beedie looked to be handing United their first Scottish Cup Final vicotry.

With less than 15 minutes left Murdo McCleod was fouled on the edge of the United 18 yard box directly in front of goal.  Davie Provan lined up the free-kick & curled the ball over the tangerine wall & into the top corner (& the history books), the overcrowded Celtic end went wild & with only 10 minutes remaining Celtic were very much back in the match.

The Celtic fans sensed a historic late winner as the noise levels increased so did drive & determination from Roy Aitken who now looked like he was covering every position on the field.

With time running out a short game of head tennis ended with Roy Aitken picking up the loose ball on the right wing, he moved into space & crossed the ball into the box where an unmarked Frank McGarvey connected with a diving header that looped passed Hamish McAlpine the United goal.    The celebrations amongst the Celtic fans on the terraces was matched by the players on the field as the goal scorer looked in a state of shock after his moment of glory.

With no time left for United to get back into the match, Celtic hung on to their lead & won the Cup for the 27th time.

The winning goal from McGarvey gets better every time you see it.  The cross, the connection, the bend on the ball as it sailed into the net & then that moment of jubilation from the fans & players.

As an 8 year old watching the match on the TV that goal will always stick in mind as one of my favourite Celtic goals.