Celtic’s second league match of the campaign in 1965/66 was against Clyde at Parkhead. The Bully Wee had finished 7^th in the league championship of the previous season – 3 points ahead of Celtic – but had got off a bad start in the new season by failing to qualify from their section in the League Cup, a really tough one involving Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen;

Unfortunately, the first match in the league did not Clyde’s way either, Dundee winning 2-0 at Shawfield.

By contrast, Celtic had not only qualified from their League Cup section, they had also won their first match of the league campaign, comfortably beating Dundee United 4-0 at Tannadice. After a sluggish start to their League Cup campaign, the form and style of the team had gained them much praise, as this report on their display in the sixth and final sectional match – against Dundee at Dens Park – might suggest;

SWINGING CELTS

Swinging, that’s the most apt word to describe Celtic’s display in their 3-1 triumph over Dundee which took them into the League Cup quarter-finals. From the word go, Celtic moved the ball all over the field at lightning speed, a policy which paid a winning dividend over a Dundee side too content to weave pretty patterns than make a direct road to goal.

Jock Stein was obviously happy with his defence, as the same six names;

Fallon, Young, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill and Clark;

had started every game. His only decision for the match against Clyde was whether he played, in the remaining positions, the same five names which took to the field in that match at Dens Park;

Chalmers, Divers, McBride, Lennox and Hughes,

or brought in guys like Gallagher and Auld

One Tough Lady

Hurricane Betsy, one of the deadliest and costliest storms in US history, a Category 3 monster, packing winds of up to 145 mph, hit the coasts of Florida and Louisiana, killing 75.

No Go Area…for Certain Folk

Senator Jan de Klerk, South Africa’s Interior Minister, yesterday reiterated that Maoris would not be acceptable as members of a touring rugby team from New Zealand.

Loadsa Dosh!

A new record total of £330,000 was the payment from the football pools in the first week of September. It was shared among 9 winners.

Dangerous Place

Scientists from the United Kingdom performed a nuclear test in Nevada, USA.

I Need Somebody….Not Just Anybody!

Having reached the top of the British charts, ‘Help’ by the Beatles, also went to the number one slot in the USA. It would go on to stay there for 9 weeks

There might have been an important match at Parkhead for the first team two days hence but all the talk at the part-time training on the Thursday night was our own match against Clydebank at Kilbowie Park on the same afternoon.

As they were a brand-new club in their first season, none of us had ever played there; few even knew where the ground was. It would be a new experience for all of and we were looking forward to it, as, frankly, we all needed a boost to our egos.

It was difficult sometimes to feel part of the club overall as we heard little of the everyday gossip. The guys from the first team squad who were currently in the reserves trained full-time in the mornings, so it was only on a match day that we got a chance to talk to them. All the part-timers wanted to ask the same questions, like “how had training improved under Jock Stein?” or “did you train with a ball all the time?” or “is the Boss always there at training?” or “do you think the younger guys will get a chance?”. It was a tough time, as Alec Boden and Willie Fernie were also part-time, so they could help little while Sean Fallon, ostensibly in charge of the reserve side, gave little away.

Still, there was a match coming up and that would give us a chance to show what we could do. However, as we packed into Tony Taylor’s Reliant Robin for the run into town, the main topic of conversation was wee Jimmy and the Brazilians. Would they be in the side again?