One recalls the statement of the Second World War veteran who had played his part in the liberation of Italy, as well as other great Celtic triumphs involving Jimmy McGrory and Patsy Gallacher in the past who stated quite calmly in reference to the events of 24 April 1965 that he had “never seen anything like that!” Frankly, money could not buy the memories that day produced.
But to the game itself. It started briskly and Celtic playing with the wind had the better of the opening exchanges. Dunfermline’s centre-half Jim McLean was warned for a rough tackle and then John Hughes had a good run. One or two shots went wide or high, and it was clear that nerves, as one would expect in a Scottish Cup final, were playing a part. We also knew that there was a long way to go. It would be nice to take a lead, but we also knew that it wouldn’t necessarily decide the issue.
In the event, it was Dunfermline up at the distant end who scored first. It came from a throw-in which Thomson then hit up the field to Sinclair who knocked the ball on to Harry Melrose who in turn hooked the ball into the roof of the net. It was a well-taken goal, but it could easily have been prevented with a little more concentration.
The knots of Dunfermline supporters (Celtic supporters would have outnumbered them by about 20 to 1 at a conservative estimate) cheered their early lead, but for Celtic supporters, that sinking feeling, that all too familiar emotion in the early to mid 1960s, began to manifest itself once more.
We were aware that there were still about 75 minutes to go, and that there really was plenty of time, but we were also aware that the loss of a second goal could effectively kill the contest. Funnily enough, that loss of the goal seemed to settle the Celtic players, but the equaliser when it came was an unusual and dramatic one. It came originally from the boot of Charlie Gallagher, who picked up a pass from John Clark in the middle of the Dunfermline half, made a few yards and shot for goal.
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