28th March
The press was not exactly going overboard when it came to Celtic’s chances of reaching the Scottish Cup Final, as these comments may suggest –
‘Some folk have written off the Celtic-Clyde semi-final at Hampden on Saturday as a foregone conclusion. Take it from Hibs, and me, Clyde are no weaklings and Celtic will have to look to their laurels if they are to reach the Cup final. Continue reading
Morning of the Game
One of the reports in the press on the Monday following our good 3-0 win over Hearts must have been written by a Hearts supporter. No, let me phrase that better ; the sub-editor responsible for the headline in the match report for that match in one particular paper must have had leanings towards Tynecastle. The headline read – in huge print – Continue reading
21st March
On the Tuesday morning, the Celtic fans in the country would have been pleased to read the headlines in the press and the accompanying words alongside. This is a typical example of the coverage of the Falkirk match – Continue reading
Pre-match
For the second time that day, I made the trip from my parents’ house over to Celtic Park. Curiously enough, I suppose I should have felt a little more apprehensive heading to Parkhead for a first-team match but in actual fact, I had been much more worried going over in the morning to go through Neilly Mochan’s fitness test.
The guys were very noisy, as usual, and my fitness was a definite topic of conversation. The general consensus was that if I had been fit enough to pass one of Neilly’s tests, then I must definitely be OK. Continue reading
Other Results
While our guys were beating Dunfermline at Parkhead, the other results in the First Division had been working out as follows –
| Airdrie | 2 | – | 3 | Clyde |
| Ayr Uninted | 1 | – | 4 | Rangers |
| Dundee United | 1 | – | 1 | Motherwell |
| Falkirk | 0 | – | 1 | Kilmarnock |
| Hibs | 2 | – | 1 | Dundee |
| Partick Th | 1 | – | 1 | Aberdeen |
| St Johnstone | 4 | 1 | Stirling Albion | |
| St Mirren | 3 | 0 | Hearts |
13th March
The big news in the press on the Monday after the Queen’s Park match was the draw for the semi finals of the Scottish Cup. It was –
Celtic v Clyde or Hamilton ( Hampden)
Dundee Utd v Hibs or Aberdeen (Ibrox)
The other big story was the Jimmy Johnstone incident from the game against the Spiders, when he was suspended after the match for misconduct. One paper was quite neutral in its reporting – Continue reading
Morning of the Match
I was up early and walking round the district where my parents lived. Everyone I passed wanted to have a few words, which was very kindly but made my walk a fairly stop/start affair. Still, I could feel the pressure lessening on the outside of the ankle although it was nowhere near the stage where I could play. Continue reading
The Morning After the Night Before
Like a good boy, after all the euphoria and hysteria inside – and outside – Celtic Park, I eventually made my way home, had a wee celebration with my family plus a couple of uncles who lived nearby and hit the pillow just about midnight.
Both matches against the Slavs had been tough affairs and I could feel the body had taken a bit of a pounding. Still, I had no reason to think that a night’s sleep would not do the trick. Continue reading
Before the Match
Like the rest of the guys, I had an early lunch and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. However, the timing of all this was quite important. For some reason, which I was never able to work out, we did not meet for a pre-match meal that afternoon, so that had to be taken at home as well. Continue reading
6th March
‘Joe McBride, of Celtic goes into Killearn Hospital on Wednesday and he will have his cartilage operation on Friday morning’.
That was the news in one of the evening papers on the Monday before the Vojvodina tie, a bitterly disappointing moment but hopefully one which will lead to a return to fitness for Joe. Continue reading