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.

Chasing Rainbows in the Company of Strangers

As far as music festival experiences go Trnsmt is one of the more agreeable.    Held on  Glasgow Green, in the heart of our Dear Green Place there is no need to dust down your ground sheets, tent poles or sleeping bags.    A 5 or 10 minute walk through the bustling streets of Glasgow lined with bars, restaurants and cafes & you find yourself on the edge of music heaven.

With 4 main stages to keep music lovers occupied, the choice is all yours for a relaxing unplugged set, groove your day away at the dance area or take up the opportunity to see an up & coming band at the King Tutts stage.   Finally the main stage gives revellers the chance to see a mix of artists & genres on the biggest platform.

I am not saying you are restricted to these areas, the site is laid out with just about everything the young & not so young crowd could really need.   The charging stations & cocktail bars provide dance tracks to keep the party going when you are away from  the stages.   You also have plenty of  space to just kick back & relax on the slopes of the park & take part in everybody's favourite pastime of people watching.

In the digital age the Trnsmt app also gives you a chance to plan your day with the festival app with stage times & reminders, just in case you are having too much fun elsewhere on the site.

A late call off meant some changes to overall line-up on  the Saturday with a starting slot for The La Fontainnes on the main stage.    The La Fontainnes closed the King Tutts stage the previous year & the energy & delivery of Kerr Okan kicked off a relentless day of music in Glasgow.

Next on the main stage were one of the great early Indie bands of the 90's.   Shed Seven swaggered on stage & opened with lead track Room in my House from their new album.    They then rolled back the years with a set list of hits that left the crowd wanting more.    Rick Witter leads Shed Seven from one hit song to the next & my only wish was that they could have played for longer, a real treat in the early afternoon.

As we made our way to the King Tutts stage the crowd continued to sing the chorus of Chasing Rainbows.     With a huge crowd already in place for the Lothian band The Snuts, they the led the crowd through a seamless set including what's going on & the aptly  named Glasgow.   A strong set from a brillant band who should be playing bigger stages very soon.

As the afternoon sun grew stronger it was time to take a break in the shade as Kyle Falconner was welcomed on to the stage at  king Tutts.   The frontman from the view brought his full band with him & that unmistakable voice serenaded the fans tucked into the east corner of the green.

Time for a quick walk to the bar to pickup some much needed refreshments before making my way to the main stage for Gerry Cinnamon to treat his "pals", fellow Glaswegians & new army of fans to a walkthrough of his songbook.

With space at a premium, easily 40,000 people wedged themselves in at the main stage to see Gerry play at his hometown festival, a masterstroke from the organisers who guaranteed the boy from Castlemilk his place in the sun.

As he stood alone dreaming, he certainly wasnt in the company of strangers.   Gerry sang his life story, the crowd joined him in a full blown party atmosphere where the energy between fans & singer made for a special moment.    With fans & singers leading their way through the unsigned artists songbook of Belter, Lullaby, Sometimes & Fortune Favours the Bold, finishing with an acoustic version of Discoland leaving revelers on a maximum high.

After his set I took a stroll down by the Clydeside in the shade, with plenty of food stalls to feed your appetite & bars to keep you refreshed, a seat in the amongst the trees & a chance to talk to fellow music fans.  A great crowd sharing stories of their travels from Canada,  Birmingham & Baillieston, all with different idols but all there for a great day out.

The dance area & cocktail bar a perfect to keep to the party going between bands or just to sit and rechanrge your batteries & phone.   Thankfully the Trnsmt app reminded me the Courteeners were due in stage & I squeezed my way into the front in time to hear Liam Fray lead the Glasgow crowd through their anthems.     The crowd armed with smoke bombs & flares helped light up an electric set from the English indie rockers.

Time for a quick toilet break & back in place for the moment I had been waiting for Liam Gallagher since I had bought my tickets & no intention of missing out.

As show time approached the fans sang along with The Stone Roses being played in the background, then in a flash Laim Gallagher made his way to the stage  all eyes in Glasgow Green followed him on the big screens as he made his trademark swagger from his dressing room to his stage.    With the crowd at fever pitch he strolled on stage & entered into the Oasis anthem Rock n Roll star.    24 years on from the 1st time I had heard him sing it at the Glasgow Barrowlands, it was great to hear him hold us all in his hands once again.

Anthem after anthem of Oasis tracks & hits from his As you were album brought the crowd to a fever pitch.    As far as front men go, there can't be many better than Liam Gallagher,  swagger, arrogance, style & he leads the crowd in everything he does.

"Whatever" made a appearance & faded out thanks to the backing of the Old Skool Oasis fans with a rendition of " I'd like to be, under the sea, in an octopuses garden in the shade"

Just as the set was in full flow, the music came to an abrupt stop.    A fan in the crowd had decided he needed a better vantage point & scaled one of the speaker masts & for safety reasons the gig was called to a short halt.     With bottles, drinks & abuse being thrown at the climber, Liam also gave him a piece of his mind.     After a break Liam had enough of waiting & kicked off the gig again.    More flares & smoke bombs went off to Cigarettes & Alcohol, Liam kept the abuse up directing D'yer wanna be a spaceman to out high flying intruder.

An excellent set & night  was finished off with Live Forever & Wonderwall.    Fans made they way back to the city to keep the party going, or maybe to get themselves ready for another day at Trnsmt.    Either way, Glasgow was brightly shining & waiting to do it all again on the Sunday.

The Agony & Ecstasy

I was looking through some family pictures for my daughter's birthday recently and during the search I found a photo from the first Celtic match I took her to, it was a league match at Celtic Park against Motherwell.

The 2007/2008 season was coming to close & the result the previous week suggested it was going to be a difficult end to the season for us.     A 1-0 defeat at Ibrox had left Celtic trailing in the title race & our rivals had games in hand.   The match against Motherwell was a must win if we were to mount any challenge.

My daughter & I left the house early  so we could make our way to Paradise before it got too busy.   As it was the first match we had to make a trip to the superstore to pick up a new scarf that almost smothered her as I draped it round her neck & shoulders.

We made our way to the Lisbon Lions stand & took our seat ready for the players warm up.   The stadium slowly filled up before kick-off.

As far as first games go, it wasn't a classic, it wasn't even a victory.   Another 1-0 defeat looked to have ended our season.   We walked back to car, I drove home & tried to convince my daughter we were better than that & myself we still had a chance to win the league.

The league campaign moved on to another match against Motherwell a week later and  a 4-1 win kept us involved in the fight for the title & with two games coming up against the league leaders at Celtic Park, we could still hope.

My brother & I made our way along to the midweek match at Celtic Park against our city rivals.    A must win game.    As usual the atmosphere was electric, the Celtic players were energised by the backing from the home support & put in a blistering first half performance, but only had a spectacular Nakamura goal to show for it.

During half time the cheers from the home fans grew as a huge banner was unveiled in the north east corner, Scotland's Shame pointed towards the visiting fans from Ibrox.

Into the second half the match flowed from end to end, an equaliser came for the visitors & the nerves in the home support began to show.    There was still  plenty of time for a winner & when Cuellar was shown a red card for his one handed save on the line from a netbound shot from Nakamura, we had a penalty to take the lead.

Scott MacDonald stepped up only to have his penalty saved & perhaps our chance of a winner gone.

With time running out, I hate to admit, my brother left his seat & made his way to the exit and I followed him out.

We were two of only about 20 people on Janefield Street as a roar came from behind us, Celtic had scored a late late winner thanks to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.   A late winner, a crucial last minute winner against our title rivals & we had missed it.    Joined by some other early leavers we celebrated in Janefield Street & quickly made our way to the pub for a few beers & to see the winning goal.

I was raging we missed the goal, but to be back in with a shout for the title I was willing to let my brother off.

Up next were Aberdeen, another below par performance, but we managed to get a much needed win thanks to goal from Samaras. 

All roads led to Celtic Park for the final Glasgow derby of the season the following week.

I picked up the keys to our new family house on the Friday, got settled in & then made my way to the match on the Sunday, bumped in to my new neighbours on Springfield Road not exactly hiding my colours much to their delight.

Another pulsating match had everyone in the stadium on the edge of their seats.    Celtic ahead early & then behind just as quick.     A second goal from MacDonald levelled it before half-time.    Thankfully the second half slowed down.    We were awarded a penalty & with MacDonald on course for a hat-trick he passed the ball to Barry Robson to score & give us the victory.     

Now it was time to believe, in a short space of time we had turned the league around, it wasn't quite in our hands but we had momentum.

A 2-0 victory away to Hibs kept the pressure on at the top, but we still needed a favour from another team if we were to win the league.

4 days after the Hibs match a true hero of Celtic lost his battle with cancer.    The front entrance to Celtic Park became a shrine to Tommy Burns as Celtic fans & fans of other clubs came to lay tributes to a player & manager who had served Celtic for so long.

Fans, players directors & club officials took time together together to remember the great Tommy Burns in the days to come as he was laid to rest on the 20th May.

By the time the last league match was to be played the destiny of the title was pretty much in our own hands.    Win & we should be champions.     With no chance of a ticket for the trip to tannadice, I decided the next best thing would be to watch it with family & friends at the Kerrydale suite at Celtic Park.

There with my heavily pregnant wife & daughter we watched on, nervous as to how the night would play out.

The atmosphere was fantastic, but the longer the match went at 0-0 the more nervous we became.    Then, with about 20 minutes to go Celtic win a corner, Hartley crossed it into the box for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to power a header into the net.

Celebrations kicked off at Tannadice & with us at the Kerrydale.     With results going our way in the other match at pittodrie.     Celtic were champions of Scotland when only 8 matches previously they had been written off.

For my daughter it was a quickfire baptism into life as a Celtic supporter, the lows of the loss to Motherwell to the incredible highs of the celebrations in the Kerrydale 7 weeks later.

Nights like that stay long in the memory & 10 years later that feeling continues as my daughter & I make our way to see Celtic home & away along with my 10 year old son.

x

Ghosts of Cathkin

Walking through the trees, catching a glimpse of the pitch with the lush green grass.    A few steps more & what's left of the steps of the old terracing come into view.

Cathkin Park was not a ground I had been to before, with Third Lanark going out of business before I was born, but something about the terracing steps & the barriers just made the trip worth it. The old wide spectator steps have been largely covered by trees, plants & weeds.    However, through some incredible commitment & hard work by volunteers some of the old terracing is starting to show once again.

11 Scottish Cup Finals were played here between 1885 & 1899, Renton winning the first of them against Vale of Leven & Celtic winning the last 2-0 against city rivals Rangers in front of 25,000 fans.

In May 1888, Scottish Cup holders Renton would be crowned the unofficial champions of the UK & the World at Cathkin Park after defeating English FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion 4-1.

Many of the greats of the Scottish game played here at a time when a football match was a break away from the tough industrial life in the city.

James McGrory made his debut here in a 1 Nil defeat for Celtic.   McGrory would recover from the defeat to go on to cement his place as the greatest goalscorer in Celtics history. 

In the early 60s, thousands would make their way to watch a match here,  in 1962 Third Lanark would again inflict defeat against a Celtic team that included Billy McNeill & Stevie Chalmers.  However, the next 5 years would see fortunes for both clubs completely change.

In 1967, one club would be crowned champions of Europe & the other would play it's last match.

In those years a young Celtic team had a leader in Jock Stein.   Jock was able to harness the skills of a talented team & allowed them to reach the heights of European & world football, the Lisbon Lions squad knew the strengths of their team-mates & allowed each other to shine during a decade of dominance.

Jimmy Johnstone, the man later named as the greatest ever Celtic Player was the skillful winger & showman of the Lisbon Lions, he too had played on the pitch at Cathkin Park.

That sense of history about the surroundings at Cathkin Park as a Celtic fan grabbed me, but any football fan coming here would get that sense of falling back to a golden age.

Those days are gone & 50 years later a new set of players line up to claim victory in the atmospheric surroundings of the old ground.

Tucked away behind the corner flag are the new team breathing life back into Cathkin Park, but they are not forgetting the glorious past.

The coaches at the Jimmy Johnstone Academy live & breath for the development of young footballers, training players to be the best that they can.   There are stories of players from the glory days of Scottish football including tales of the Lisbon Lions, Tommy Burns & Jimmy Johnstone's good friend Willie Henderson.

It's an education in skills & teamwork but also an education in the talent Scotland produced & can hopefully produce again.   I am lucky I get to hear the the stories from the coaches at the academy on a regular basis & I see how much my son has developed under their training.

The Academy is part of the wider Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust, which is looking to create a legacy for one of the finest footballing talents the World has seen.

I had visited Hampden Park as a Celtic fan countless times over the years and never knew the old ground at Cathkin Park with all its history was still there & only a short walk away.

The next time you're in that area & if you have the time take a wee walk round, you wont be disappointed.

Cup Final Memories

I caught up with my brother & sister earlier this week we were talking about our first Cup Finals & watching Celtic winning the Scottish Cup at Hampden, strangely enough they were across 3 different decades, but are all etched in our minds forever.

1995 - Celtic 1 - Airdrie 0

My first Cup Scottish Cup Final & considering I was 16 it shows how long that barren spell was in the early 90s.

After a disappointing season playing at Hampden, Celtic had the chance to finish the season with a but of silverware, the first in 6 years.

The game was not a classic, but thanks to an early goal from Pierre Van Hooijdonk Celtic secured the Scottish Cup & gave Paul McStay his only trophy as captain & Tommy Burns his only success as Manager of the club they both served so well.

A few things stand out from that day, the relief on supporters faces as the ref blew the full time whistle, the emotion from players like Paul McStay & Peter Grant on the pitch at full time & the celebrations the lasted into the wee hours of the morning.    Celtic fans might not have had much to celebrate in the early 90s, but nobody had forgot how to celebrate & that we all did.


1985 Celtic 2 - Dundee United 1

The 100th Scottish cup final, was my sister's first taste of a Celtic Cup Final.    She went along to the match with one of my older brothers George & stood in the old Celtic end on a fairly overcast day at Hampden.

It was a late show from Celtic as they came from behind to grab a late winner & take the old trophy back to Celtic Park.

With a long history of success in this trophy, for Helen this would always be one that she would remember, with probably 2 of the most iconic goals in Cup Finals, Davie Provan scored direct from a free-kick to bring Celtic level in the match, then with 5 minutes remaining the will to win that has been part of Celtic since 1888 shone through as Roy Aitken crossed the ball to Frank McGarvey to score a wonderful, curling diving header. 

His stunned celebration showed what it meant to him & the scenes behind the goal showed what it meant to the huge Celtic support.


1974 Celtic 3 - Dundee United 0

Celtic made the trip to Hampden for the Scottish Cup Final for the 6 consecutive year, but for my older brother Benny it would be his first Cup Final.

A family friend took Benny along to Hampden that day as they sat in the main stand & watched Celtic run out convincing 3-0 winners.

With Celtic 2 nil up after 25 minutes from Dixie Deans & Steve Murray, Benny could enjoy his first visit to Hampden & savour a Cup victory.   Harry Hood would add a late 3rd to cap off another winning season.

With only 2 of the famous Lisbon Lions starting the match in McNeill & Johnstone, it was up to the team from the Quality Street Gang & some excellent additions like Dixie Deans & Harry Hood to secure the double for Celtic & their 23rd Scottish Cup victory.

I am sure Celtic fans the world over have great memories off these & other cup triumphs, & I doubt any of us will forget the ending to the 2017 Cup Final.

All 3 of us will be there again on Saturday hoping for another memorable trip to Hampden.