The Morning of the Match
Most of the reserve squad turned up to see the first team in action, quite happy, as I was too, about our performance the previous evening, when we had beaten Partick Thistle by two goals to one, a Davie Cattenach penalty and a Lou Macari effort making the difference.
Actually, the atmosphere within the club at that time was excellent and that Saturday was no different. There was a decided buzz about the place which was quite evident to everyone and every player was really keen to show what they could do. The names of those in the first team for that afternoon had not been announced although there had been some headlines about the forward line in the press that morning –
McBride and Hughes May Return v Thistle
The Weather
There had been a cold snap during the week but by the weekend that had been replaced by high winds and heavy rain, which would make for a heavy surface. Joe might have expected a run out but Yogi had been in the reserves the night before and I would not have imagined that you would want to play two games in 24 hours when you have been out injured for a few weeks.
The Teams
When the teams were listed, there was a surprise for the Celtic fans….Jinky was missing!
Celtic:
Simpson, Gemmell, O’Neill, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Chalmers, Wallace, McBride, Lennox, Auld. Sub: Johnstone
Partick Thistle:
McFedries, Tinney, Muir, Gibb, McKinnon, Cunningham, McLindon, McParland, Divers, Flannigan, Duncan. Sub: Rae
The Play
From the final score, this match looked like a romp and in some way it was. In the first half, Celtic had most of the pressure and got good rewards for it ;-
2 minutes….the perfect start for Celtic. A cross from Bertie, a header down by Joe and Wispy slotted it home. 1-0 Celtic
14 minutes…another cross, this time from a corner kick and Stevie was there to fire home from close range. 2-0 Celtic
24 minutes…long lob from Pumper into the box was met by Wispy on the volley and fairly blasted into the net. 3-0 Celtic
32 minutes…a long range effort by Chopper raced into to the corner of Thistle’s goal. 4-0 Celtic.
By this point, the Jags players were happy to hit the ball anywhere to keep it away from their goal but right out of the blue, they pulled one back;-
36 minutes…Cunningham ran all of 50 yards with the ball up the right wing, then swept the ball across goal for Duncan to score. 4-1 Celtic
After the break, Thistle had the wind and rain behind them but you would never have thought so, as Celtic still applied all the pressure. Another goal soon arrived –
53 minutes….Stevie looked suspiciously offside when he tapped in a Wallace pass after Lemon had put in a good run down the wing. 5-1 Celtic
A mistake by the Celtic defence gave Thistle another chance.
64 minutes…a cross from the left was not cleared and Gibb ran in to pull another back. 5-2 Celtic
75 minutes…a fine shot by Stevie completes the scoring.
Final Score Celtic 6 Partick Thistle 2
How I Felt
For someone like me, trying to get into the team, this match was a mixed occasion. On the positive side, we had kept up our unbeaten record, put in a lot of effort, scored 6 goals and the forwards had gelled well; on the debit side, I felt that the defence should have coped better with the Jags attacks for the goals. Was I right in my diagnosis….or was I merely clutching at straws.
Great Voice/Fine Music
The wonderful voice of Julie Andrews combines with the orchestra of Andre Previn to provide an album which is a real ‘Christmas Treasure’. As well as the traditional carols ‘Oh Little Town of Bethlehem’ and ‘Away in a Manger’, Julie balances the album with lesser-known but beautiful carols like ‘Angels from the Realm of Glory’ and ‘The Lambs of God’. The album is highly recommended.
Arrived
Lone British yachtsman 66-year-old Francis Chichester sailed into Sydney today to a hero’s welcome – and said he felt ‘wizened up, completely shrunken up’ after his 107 days at sea.
He described his first steps on dry land as ‘very wonky’.
New Money
Britain will keep the £1 under the Government’s plan for a decimal coinage system. There will be 100 ‘new pence’ to the £1 and 6 newly-designated coins when the country goes decimal in February 1971.
The new coins will be – 50 new pence, value 10 shillings; 10 new pence, value 2 shillings; 5 new pence, value one shilling; 2 new pence, value 4.8d ; one new penny, value 2.4d ; ½ new penny, value 1.2d.