Five memorable Celtic moments, with a nod to the late Celtic Historian and Celtic Star legend David Potter, on this day starting in 1916…
Jimmy McColl scored twice
ONE – SATURDAY 26 FEBRUARY 1916 – Celtic have another comfortable win today beating a makeshift Dundee team 3-0 at Celtic Park with two goals from Jimmy “Sniper” McColl and a free kick from Joe Dodds. Celtic are away ahead in the League and “it’s an elephant to a flea that the “bhoys” of Parkhead will never be headed this season” as The Post puts it.
Jimmy Walsh scored
TWO – SATURDAY 26 FEBRUARY 1955 – Celtic, fresh from a Scottish Cup win against Kilmarnock in midweek, look very impressive as they beat St.Mirren 5-2 at Celtic Park to maintain their challenge to Aberdeen for the Scottish League Championship. The 36,000 crowd see the five goals all scored by different players – Jimmy Walsh, Willie Fernie, Bobby Collins, Eric Smith and Mike Haughney with a penalty.
THREE – WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 1964 – Celtic beat Slovan Bratislava 1-0 at Parkhead thanks to a Bobby Murdoch penalty before 53,000 spectators in the European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter final first leg. Yet the predominant emotion is one of disappointment because there should have been more goals, and 1-0 is a very slender lead to take into the unknown behind the Iron Curtain.
FOUR – SATURDAY 26 FEBRUARY 1966 – Oh dear! It looks like a return to the bad old days as Celtic go down 0-1 to Stirling Albion at Annfield Park, one of Celtic’s traditional bogey grounds. There seems to be no reason for this reverse, other than complacency and Stirling Albion raising their game. Stirling appear in all orange, and their Manager is Sammy Baird, ex-Rangers. If you are naïve, you might think that these two facts are coincidental, but for once Celtic and Jock Stein have been “psyched”.
FIVE – THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2004 – Celtic beat Teplice of the Czech Republic 3-0 tonight at Celtic Park with two goals from Henrik Larsson and one from Chris Sutton, but the last goal comes virtually with the last kick of the ball. This is the first leg, and 3-0 looks enough to guarantee progress to the next round of the UEFA Cup, but you never know…
Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order
