Pre-match

This was a difficult match for the Airdrie manager to assess, particularly in his choice of tactics. On the previous Saturday, when the teams had met in a league match at Parkhead, Archie Wright had set up his team to play a defensive set-up, trying to frustrate Celtic and hoping to catch them out with the occasional quick breakaway.

This ploy had been only partially successful, as the scoreline of 3-0 might suggest. The Diamonds did make some chances but did not take any of them and eventually, their defence was broken by the Celtic attacks. The decision for Archie on the Monday night was should he ask for a repeat of the same tactics or, considering that the match was a League Cup semi-final, should he set up his side to be more attack-minded. The Airdrie fans would like to see a more attacking style but unfortunately, such a system does leave a team more open at the back. The great difficulty for any side is balancing the two requirements.

The Teams

While Archie Wright tried to work out his best system, Jock Stein would not have helped him by reverting to what many fans would have regarded as his best team. In came Bobby Murdoch, out went Ian Young, in came Jinky and Bertie ;

Celtic:  Simpson, Gemmell, O’Neill, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, McBride, Chalmers, Auld, Lennox.  Sub:  Hughes

Airdrie:  McKenzie, Jonquin, Keenan, Godwin, Black, Ramsay, Ferguson, McPheat, Marshall, Murray, Irvine.  Sub: Reid

The Play

There were nearly 37,000 at this match and they saw a repeat of the previous Saturday. The Airdrie players had again been set up in a very defensive system and actually committed themselves to far fewer attacks that they had achieved on Saturday. On the other hand, our guys, definitely having most of the play, had one of those days – called ‘careless’ in the papers – where passes did not quite reach their target and chances were not taken with shots in particular being well off target.

In spite of a team’s efforts, even the best can have days like that and on that evening, our guys certainly were slightly off-the-boil. The fans began to get frustrated too – as was no doubt the manager as well – and it was nearly halfway through the second half before the fans could celebrate a goal;-

65 minutes:
a Bobby Lenox free-kick was not cleared very well and the ball eventually came to Bobby Murdoch who fired a fierce shot into the net. 1-0 Celtic.

This opened up the Airdrie defensive wall a little and ten minutes later, the fans were cheering again ;-

75 minutes:
Bertie sent over a perfect cross and Joe headed home. 2-0 Celtic

And that was enough to put Celtic into the League Cup Final; their opponents the winner of the other semi-final between Rangers and Aberdeen, due to be held the following evening.

Dismissed

Myra Hindley, serving life imprisonment after her conviction in the Moors Murder trial was taken from Holloway Prison to the Law Courts in London….where her appeal was dismissed.

The court was perfectly satisfied that there had been no miscarriage of justice.

Holed!

The Flying Dipper, the 274-ton Glasgow tug, sank early today in Stephen’s Basin, the old Harland Basin at Yorkhill Quay, Glasgow after she had been struck and holed by the propeller of another ship.

Skipper Frank Cunningham immediately headed back into Stephen’s Basin, where she tied up…but shortly afterwards, the Flying Dipper keeled over on her port side and sank in 40 feet of water.

Poisoned

An official inquiry into the deaths of six patients at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary – one a 68-year-old Glasgow woman – was told that there had been a fault in the oxygen supply in the accident and emergency department.

The six who died, apparently all from drug poisoning, had all been given what was believed to be oxygen at the infirmary.