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.
