MEMORABLE MATCHES-2
What a night this was,the Hoops got gubbed 5-0,lucky to get nil,and it could have been ten. It was one of those unforgettable European nights at Celtic Park,a cold November night with a performance to warm the cockles of the coldest heart.
Celtic 5 Sporting Lisbon 0. On 2nd November 1983. And I was there,along with 40,000 others,and about 12,000 priests(!)
Celtic that night wore their lime green away shirts for some reason,allowing Sporting Lisbon to wear their own iconic Green and White Hoops. Besmirched,however,by black shorts-presumably in deference to Portugal’s recent fascist past (only kidding)-and there’s no way their performance was becoming of a team in those colours.
We blew them away,from start to finish-and this on the back of a 2-0 deficit from the first leg!
The season had started well,winning every game through till the end of September,bar a shocker of a 0-0 at home to,erm,Brechin. And then,in what was beginning to become a tradition,the wheels came off in October. We went the entire month,seven or eight games,without a win. Until the final Saturday of the month,against Hibs at home,when it all clicked.
Even Brian Whittaker scored as we beat them 5-1,and happy days are here again!
And so to the Wednesday night,where a familiar looking line-up faced a confident Portuguese team who had a healthy two goal cushion,and in Dr Jo Venglos,a manager who would one day be immortalised in prose by BRT&H!!!
From the off,it was clear that The Bhoys had their tails up,and to this day,I can’t name a Man of the Match. What I can say is that there were no failures,and not even a 7/10. Well,maybe Pat Bonnar,he had very little to do! CELTICBYNUMBERS would have a field day with this game,it was virtually one-way traffic from the start. Davie Provan had one of his best games for us,Frank McGarvey twisted the blood of defenders and spectators alike as he ran riot,Tommy Burns was at his driving best,Paul McStay and Murdo McLeod tackled,gathered,passed all night.
Not that we had to wait all night for the action to begin-we went for it from the off. The Sporting goal had had a charmed life for fifteen minutes or so,but the crowd weren’t getting restless-and the players definitely weren’t getting desperate. The excellent Provan passed it down the line to Frankiebhoy. He checked,and put in a peach of a cross which was met at the back-post with a downward header from Tommy.
Game on!
The next twenty or so minutes was one-way traffic,but we couldn’t quite find the finish. Till just before half-time,corner on the right,a Davie inswinger missed by the otherwise excellent keeper,and finished like the striker he was when he bought him,Tom McAdam.
All even,and home advantage and the wind in our sails for the second half,aye,we were confident we could finish this in the second half! Except that the first half wasn’t finished yet,as Brian McClair-IMO,seriously underrated as a great Celtic striker-took a loose pass from Roy Aitken-?-and with a change of direction,wrong-footed the defence and stroked it home from just inside the area.
We went into half-time in a state of disbelief,bearing in mind what we had watched the previous month. There was no way we were going to blow this now,was there? At the back of our minds,there was always the nagging worry of the away goal,minds elsewhere with a trip to Ibrox on Saturday,been here before,no,we’ll be fine! That’s the problem with half time,too much thinking time!
And wouldn’t you know it,Celtic toyed with our emotions for nearly all of the second half! We might have been worried about the away goal,but it didn’t seem to bother the players-they went for it from the off again. Frankiebhoy missed two sitters in the first few minutes,it was like bagatelle and The Alamo combined in their box,as we hit shot after shot,only to see them bounce off a forest of legs on or near the goal line. I think we got one chopped off for offside,beats me how-they had half their defence strung along the line,but the fingernails were getting chewed,even though we were all enthralled by the display.
Eventually,Murdo got the fourth to settle any nerves,again after a “stramash” he just hammered it. From the restart,Sportinglost the ball,and Paul McStay-?-sent it long to Frank who finally got the goal his performance merited. For which he was promptly replaced by Jim Plumrose,heyho…
What a night,and what a performance! Was it as good as,say,Real Madrid three years earlier? Well,Real was the first leg. We were two down here,and were fearless. And magnificent. If there is a negative from this game-in hindsight-it is the one which we had to bear throughout the eighties. That is,that we could all see how good this team was. And yet,you look back to that era and see what we won. It’s like Jim Bowen was a Celtic fan-here’s what you COULD have won!
As an example,we went down to Nottingham and absolutely battered a very good Forest side 0-0. The peerless Cloughie conjured up a typical Forest away performance and mugged us 2-1 in the return. And we still had the euphoria and utter despair of Rapid Vienna to come the following season,but I’ll let someone else cover that match.
For this article isn’t about what might have been,it’s about what was. And it most certainly WAS a magnificent Celtic performance,an unforgettable European occasion under the floodlights,and a MOST MEMORABLE MATCH!!!
*
Above article by majoc. Please submit your memories of ‘days like these’ to Mahe at
sentinelcelts@gmail.com
Morning,all.
I was going to let rip about the coming clusterfuck which our “statement” will doubtless become-just like our transfer window,btw-but I think we all need reasons to be cheerful at the moment.
If the above puts a smile on one face,it will be the first all week!
Or is that just me…
Hi Majoc.
Brings back good memories. This game ranks in my top 10 European games at Celtic Park:
1) 1967 Dukla Prague 3-1
2) 1967 Vojvodina Novi Sad 2-0
3) 1968 Benfica 3-0
4) 2012 Barcelona 2-1
5) 2001 Juventus 4-3
6) 2007 AC Milan 2-1
7) 1980 Real Madrid 2-0
8) 1968 Red Star Belgrade 5-1
9) 1983 Sporting Lisbon 5-0
10)1984 Rapid Vienna 3-0
The Leeds semi-final 2-1 would be up there too, but of course it was at Hampden, probably at No2.
The halcyon days when no matter who came to Celtic Park, Celtic were always favourites.HH
GOLD
Good morning,old bean. I only saw three of them,but I suspect my Dad saw the other seven. Strangely,of them all,the only one we were both at was Rapid Vienna. Mibbe we’re jinxed when we both go to a match!
Fortunately I know that’s not true. Seen plenty great performances together.
We await with bated breath your description of one of the ten,or eleven if you include Leeds.
HH
There’s a book in those memories Gold.
What a gift Celtic have given you.
Reminds me of Max Boyce “I was there.”
HH
Oli Burke, winger, in for a 6 month loan, doesn’t make much sense but there you go
TET,
I read on his profile last night that he’s a winger/ centre forward.
Clutching at straws I know…
Forrest’s form has dipped and Sinclair has been struggling for months.
I suppose very little of our recruitment strategy makes a whole lot of sense.
TGM
I watched Brendan on Goals on Sunday a while back, he was talking to Kamara about how the transfer committee worked at Lpool, one thing that he said that struck a chord with me was when he said that any player, if he wanted him or not was better than no player, Deja Vu me thinks.
You will hear all the pish about players don’t want to come to scotland and the Jan window is difficult, we are a shambles, an out and out shambles, no plan whatsoever.
At least with loans from PSG or City, you are getting a player who is quality and are just not quite at the stage of a step up to their first team, Burke canny even get a game for a championship side FFS, six months is a waste of everyone’s time unless they are top quality.
?Working on it HH
Hi there TET.
I take your point on the six-month thing, however the Ibrox club are throwing everything at the next six months – they think we are vulnerable….maybe we are, some recent performances suggest so
Therefore I believe it is essential to ‘gear-up’ for the challenge. This is a big strong boy who was likened to a Gareth Bale type very early in his career and whisked away to the Bundesliga – probably too early and for too much money. If he can press the reset button, there is no doubt we have a player.
I really don’t mind how we get to ten in a row, or, who we sign, or for how long. Everything the Ibrox mob do is short-term, loss-making and increases the debt, let’s call their bluff and raise the stakes.
We have the majority of our top players on long-term deals, we are solvent and have a proven business model. If we can bring in a permanent right-back, centre-back and striker, then I am quite happy that we use the loan market to top-up, season by season.
I am not being complacent here – I agree with you that we have to ‘put our money where our mouth is’, the support is now demanding that, together with a desire that we stand our ground with the SFA. HH
Gold
When you put it like that re the transfers you are of course correct.
I honestly think that standing up to the sfa is the most important thing we could do, it would unity the support more than anything imo.
TET
Can’t disagree with what you say on the SFA farce. Like most things, it’s not what we do, but the way that we do it.
We built our case on the “Dougie Dougie” thing meticulously and had the evidence to back it up This time appears quite similar, the TV evidence is there for all to see, What we must know is contents of the referee’s report – why he took no action on four occasions and the sequence of events after he submitted his report.
There must also be a clear and concise explanation of the rules regarding off the ball assaults on opposing players. It seems assaults are acceptable within a certain degree – what is the degree of acceptability?
Gold
I honestly believe we are at a crossroads, we have gone from a real genuine position of strength to chaos, now I understand you would be in the Pedro camp and I wouldn’t but FFS, surely if he is that good he must see what is happening and act accordingly, the support are divided and so are those in charge at the club by the looks of it and it’s down to him as the CEO to fix it.
As for the referees I honesty don’t hold out much hope of anything.
TET
Re PL, I comment only on how the club have performed during his tenure, both on and off the pitch. It has been a success story in both cases:
*Could it have been better? Probably.
*Have mistakes been made? Undoubtedly.
*Does PL shoulder any blame? Of course.
However on balance I believe we have fared better with him, than we would have done without him. His salary is a matter between him and his employers – no doubt there are targets and incentives built in, in my opinion that’s how it should be. If he has met, or, surpassed all his targets, then he has earned his salary and bonus.
What I do say in his defence is why should the CEO who runs the club and makes it possible for the management and top players to have lucrative contracts, be paid any less than them – they make mistakes and errors of judgement, get injured and are unable to contribute week in, and, week out – if the CEO did likewise, the club would be ‘on its uppers’
We have had two major victories over the football establishment – Farry/Cadette and Dougie Dougie when clear and indisputable evidence could be produced, so let’s just wait and see what transpires.
Having read the statement from yesterday and the Blog written elsewhere I’m quite confident that there is an attempt by Celtic PLC not to muddy the waters and avoid any unnecessary talk about conspiracy.
We’ve no proof of conspiracy that will bear scritiny in respect of the capitulation at Ibrox (I hope).
Therefore a reasonable course would be to steer clear of anything that will be used as ammunition against us.
Both statements yesterday make clear that this is about Beaton’s competency and the review process.
I’m not at all confident that we will achieve anything nor follow up the statement but it’s at least a start.
Unlike a number of others I think the statements are coordinated and the initial publication sets our stall out subtlety to avoid the drama of allegations of conspiracy.
I’m not saying I agree with the contents and many are rightly disappointed but if we are going after Beaton (and Morelos) I can see a logic to it.
Let’s hope that the challenge of Sevco, their failure to learn any lessons from the liquidation of Rangers,the incompetent/dishonest officials wakes up those charged with the responsibility of putting the best Celtic side possible on the park. At a reasonable financial cost.
Go after them for what we can prove…Res 12?
HH.
(Clutching at staws continues).
Gold
When I read your posts I always replace Celtic with Rangers and PL with DK to see if it has any merit.
When I do this with yours they sound like they could be lifted from Follow follow everytime.
MM
I wonder which part of on the field success and off the field success can be interchanged between Celtic & PL and Sevco & DK?
Seems to me that in both measures they are polar opposites.
We all have opinions and are entitled to them – when it comes to commenting on all things Celtic, I prefer to base my opinions on facts.
There is always room for constructive criticism, I don’t think your views ever come close. HH
Its called the Old Firm
I tell you what the Qner’s are fairly up in arms about this latest malarkey and it strikes me that there is a larger groundswell of malcontent at whats going on . Music to my ears .
Celts for change 2019 could be a goer . Some one mentioned if we lose the league the board wont survive ! The wont walk away , could be forced out but they wont walk ,, they could put the club up for sale but then do a Mike Ashley and reject all offers .
And then should Peter actually leave perhaps the next guy would just do the exact same .
On Burke , it can only be the left wing position opens surely as James has been our best player along with Benk . Sinky to fight for his place , to keep his place but is under pressure , or to be sold ? Its one of them .
Not sure a winger is a priority but hey were off the mark.
Gold
Sorry for the late reply, dragged oot shopping.
How can you say this with any degree of certainty………..
“However on balance I believe we have fared better with him, than we would have done without him”
The world is full of highly competent CEO’s, who may have done a far, far better job than Pedro has.
I fully understand that his first and foremost aim is to make money for the shareholders, the football club comes a distant second, I just think if he speculated more, his bonuses would be even higher than they are, by that I mean tweaking the transfer policy from time to time and to make sure the manager has the players he want’s, problem is he has a history of not backing the manager when we are on top.
I find it astonishing that intelligent people can’t see this glaring failing and are still defending him to the hilt.
TGM
The fact that a referee knows that favouring the huns and not favouring us will help is career is in itself a conspiracy.
I agree tho, Res 12 should be the one but they won’t, I still have a feeling that Res 12 will be what brings the house of cards down.
Shamrock Rovers.
Now there’s European ambition for you.
mahe how are you pa,l im in the exiled tims corner, totally scunnered players on a six month loan how the hell can you put a settled team on the park with loan players, every feckin transfer window is the same penny pinching, and then the men in black res 12 it never ends, feckin shambolic, tet if your about any thoughts, btw anyone know has jimthetim53 been on,sounded a bit down yesterday, jim if your about let us know your ok.hh.
Yup you said it big packy
shambolic rovers! 🙂
MAGS
They damn near put us out of Europe a few years back!
mags, great minds think alike.?.
Following the Celtic statement,and it being predictably used to tear the club a new one in the media,the SFA CEO has released one of his own,condemning the attacks and threats suffered by St Beaton of The Crown.
He points out that it is not an isolated incident,adding
“This is not the first time in recent weeks that our match officials have been targeted. Another referee was allegedly threatened and assaulted at a lower-league game prior to Christmas. And of course,before that,a linesman was left bleeding after being struck by a coin thrown by a Rangers fan”
Actually,he neglected to mention the bit about the coin. He also forgot to use the word “allegedly” in reference to Beaton,as so far that is all it is.
Wanker,and Peter Principle puppet.
Majoc
Great memories of a fantastic European night under the lights, watching and roaring the team on from the Jungle. Was that the night you “rescued” a poor unfortunate from the clutches of Scotland’s finest, only to see him stand there and get re-huckled?
Regarding Beaton, it was my reffing experience that you never got threats or grief from either team if you reffed the game fairly for BOTH teams. Funny that……..
majoc and sol kitts, always remember the game against Benfica, we hammered them but it was a privelige to watch Eusebio, but he could not do anything against the lions.hh.
I actually think the Rovers thing is a great idea, they have a host of young talent at their disposal and we could benefit greatly from it, they can avail of a few of ours as well, plus you never know what this brexit bollix is gonna bring, it’s looking more and more like a so call hard no deal brexit, the outcome of which none of the ejits know.
Have always said it, if the torys want something, as sure as eggs are eggs, it won’t be good for the working man.
As for the transfer window, aye it’s only a few days in but FFS, things should have been sorted months ago, and the more I think about it, Burke, why, he is not match fit and canny get a gig for WBA, yet we take him and expect Brendan to work wonders in a few weeks, canny see it, it took him a while to get the best out of Forrest, by the time Burke is up to it he will be gone, we need straight into the team players, but everything is pointing to Brendan for the ofski in the summer, I wouldn’t like to be Pedro when that happens.
The statement by our club yesterday was absolutely on the money. Welcome back to the fight. Victorlazlocsc. Hh
Celtic today signed the most expensive Scottish player in history. Hh
on loan
Who is the bigger threat to 8 IAR ? Stevie Gs thugs and misfits or Hugh FTP Dallas’ supremely well organized SFA men in black including Beaton, Madden, Thompson, McLean, Muir, Dallas jnr, Roome, Collum Clancy, Tory boy et al. Hh
Hi Gordon84.
Yes indeed The Scottish Referees Association have an agenda – but is it the same agenda as The Lanarkshire Referees Association?
If Brown, Ralston and Christie had made more of the situations, we may be in a better place – sad to say, but it seems that way.
If Morelos’s kick at McKenna was, after referral to CO, worthy of a yellow-card, then why not his kick at Brown?
If Hearts’ McClean genital assault on Kouassi was, after referral to CO, worthy of a two-match ban, then why not Morelos’s on Christie.
The stamp on Ralston’s back by Morelosim is very similar to the kick on Ajer by McGregor – nothing given at the time, nor, later – a consistency of bias?
Seems to me that the SFA by confirming these decisions have opened the door to over-acting by players on the seriousness of incidents like this.
Morelos’s part in the Gerrard plan in a must-win game was to provoke Celtic players and invite retaliation resulting in a red card for a Celtic player. He started early and due to no reprimand, was allowed to carry on unhindered throughout the entire match.
If referees and/or Compliance will only act if they deem the offence to be of a “brutal nature”, then what’s to stop players feigning serious injury at the time?
Celtic and others have a weight of evidence at their disposal this season – will these others join with Celtic in asking for a full explanation?
Don’t hold your breath!!!!
Morelosim….A suitable parapraxis?
Whenever anyone gets a kick up the bum, the referee can dismiss it as merely a Morelosism…play on?
Gordon64,,,good to see you on and Happy New Year partner ,, I think it’s Stevie misfits personally. Defoe has a good chance to conversion rate , knows where the goal is,,if he gets the equivalent chances as the buffalo then he will score more. They will now aim for through balls and low crosses to suit his game . Hail Hail
Hi Big Packy ,,, aye I’m fine pal , thanks for asking. Hope you v and Joan are well. Out for a steak dinner with the fam. Much needed rain here in California this weekend .
Hail Hail
Mahe On a level playing field I would still be confident of us winning the league however imo the mib, like no season ever before, will play the crucial role in determining the outcome of the league title. Hh
Gordon64
Aye, it won’t just be us on the wrong end of disgraceful decisions. How many teams will end the games with Sevco with 10 or less players? How many dodgy penalties will Sevco get, late in the game when there’s not enough time for a recovery? How many minutes injury time will be added if Sevco are chasing a late goal?
SOL KITTS
Aye,it was! Dunno who was the bigger idiot-him or me!
Re Beaton,I hope he thinks last Saturday was worth it. I think the hordes will cut him loose.
If it is correct that Beaton chose to go for a post match drink in a public house in Bellshill, which is known to be frequented by season ticket holders of his favoured team, clearly brings into question his so called impartiality.On black Sunday i recall returning to Rutherglen on the Vogue bus from Fir Park and being stopped in Bellshill outside the Crown Bar. The foam mouth faces of those inside the pub that day was terrifying. I wonder if John Beaton was in the Crown Bar that day. Hh
The corporate OF myth is so ingrained in Tims that when I read about the preachy smug reporting of cheating and corruption in Scottish football I cannot help but think of Titanic’s orchestra taking notes.
Of course they cheat. They are encouraged to. By everyone.
Myth – “a widely held but false idea, or, belief”
By constantly talking about “The Old Firm”, you perpetuate and validate that myth.
We are where we are – we get on with our own business, separate, but not isolated, from what goes on around us. We are not defined by rhe conduct of others, but are affected by it.
These are the facts of life!!
Its your beloved Celtic PLC that thrive, perpetuate and are counting financially upon the Old Firm. Its their only modus operandi
Not me
Not you
Not the supporters
If you do not believe that corporate Celtic PLC are counting SOLELY on the OF and have sold the jerseys for money then you are deluded my friend.
Fact.
In fact
This statement
“We are where we are – we get on with our own business, separate, but not isolated, from what goes on around us. We are not defined by rhe conduct of others, but are affected by it.”
validates the OF myth more than the blatant cheating or anything else Ive read in the last 6 years.
Titanic orchestra take note.
Answer: None of the above. PL has to be the biggest threat.
The combined response by the SFA and SMSM to Celtic’s statement has all the similarities to Celtic’s allegations in 2010 against Dougie McDonald with the perpetrator JB in this instance being made to appear as a victim. This response has all the trademarks of the Man from Bonkle. Maybe with a bit of luck our grade 1 officials will go on strike until the end season. Hh
I’m a bit behind as per usual. Yet again what a wonderful tale of an historic night at Paradise. And yet again another historic night at paradise that no one saw fit to take me to, despite being nearly 13 years old. Cheers bro, It’s a wonder I am a Celtic supporter at all. I shall go and read back now I’ve got that off my chest.
ATHINGOFBEAUTY
Aw,come on-you were 12yo,and even I couldn’t go to evening games at that age!