SENTINELCELTS

120 years ago … our favourites had no games 130 years ago ( no league games … again!)

So, we skip on a decade to 1902 month where we played only one other team.

4 games on the bounce against Hearts:

1st February Inter City League Hearts 2 Celtic 1

8th February Scottish Cup Hearts P Celtic P ( played as ‘friendly due to frozen pitch)

15th February Scottish Cup Hearts 1 Celtic 1

22nd February Scottish Cup Celtic 2 Hearts 1

1902-02-22: Celtic 2-1 Heart of Midlothian, Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup 3rd Round replay

This was the month that Celtic played no-one other than Hearts! Celtic lost 1-2 in an Inter City League game on February 1, then the scheduled Scottish Cup game at Tynecastle on February 8 was frozen off and played as a 1-1 friendly.

Hearts best player Bobby Walker was missing because his father had died.

Celtic who had been to Rothesay to train in midweek were by far the better team with “superior stamina” and “the ball went from Celt to Celt”.

This was in spite of the loss of an early goal.

Both McMahon’s goals were first class, the first from a free kick and the second from a fierce drive.

Celtic:
McFarlane; Davidson and Battles; Loney, Russell and Orr; Livingstone, McDermott, Campbell, McMahon and Quinn.

Goalscorers: McMahon 35, 61

Hearts:

McWattie, Hogg and Allan, Key, Buick and Baird; Porteous, Thomson, Lorne, Houston and Bell

Goal: Bell 2

Referee: Mr P Simpson, Aberdeen

Attendance: 27,000

In other news…

Samuel R Gardiner, British historian (Oliver Cromwell), dies at 72

A bargain at only £189…warts ‘n’ all…

70 years ago… 1952 and on this day we welcome Raith Rovers to Paradise on league duty.

1952-02-23: Celtic 0-1 Raith Rovers, League Division A

Alex Rollo was still out and Joe Baillie continued at left back with Jackie Millsop retaining his position at left half. Mike Haughney also came in for Tully at outside left.

Raith were most certainly up for it and began attacking from the start. The Celtic defence were beaten when Colville swung over a cross and Kelly was unmarked and with time to puick his spot. Though Celtic attacked from then to the half time whistle they could not buy a goal! Rovers held out for the second half against an increasingly desperate Celtic attack with even Evans joing the front five.

Tghe loss meant that certainly Celtic were now involved in a relegation scrap. Games in hand were all well and good but they had to be won.

Celtic: Bonnar; Fallon, Baillie; Evans, Stein, Millsopp; Collins, Walsh, McPhail, Peacock, Haughney.

Raith Rovers:
Johnstone; McLure, McNaught; Young, Colville, Leigh; Maule, McEwan, Penman, Kelly, McIntyre.
Scorers: Kelly (21)

Referee: T S Edwards (Portobello)
Attendance: 20,000

Jackie Millsopp born in Cambuslang 1930 died 1952.

Played 26 times for the Bhoys and scored one goal.

A young player taken prematurely (Age 22) from the Celtic family but more importantly from his own personal family and friends.

There is an excellent tribute to him from Sean Fallon:

In other news ….

Bradley “Brad” Whitford, American rock guitarist (Aerosmith – “Love In An Elevator”, “Last Child”), born in Winchester, Massachusetts

Brad Whitford cited as a “huge influence” by Slash of Guns & Roses “he had a more direct influence on the way I play than anybody realizes”

10 years ago … 2012 on this day our Bhoys relaxing after hosting Dunfermline.

2012-02-22: Celtic 2-0 Dunfermline, SPL

Celtic go 20pts clear albeit one more game played

Charlie Mulgrew scores a beezer of a long range shot!

Teddies in freefall as administration bites. It’s ice cream and jelly.

(Arsene Parselie of KDS)
A night where we were under no pressure whatsoever

Now that the league is won(!), there was no real tension in the ground at all, and even the “party” songs were muted slightly.

It smacked of the easy league wins of the Larsson years when we just knew we would win even though the opposition tried their damndest to have two banks of 5 at all times in their half.

We were a bit one dimensional at times, trying to play in and around Dunfermline’s area, and this meant there were no real clear cut chances of any note in the first half. The one time we changed the pattern was where Hooper was put through and the keeper got it out for the corner.

After Mulgrew’s howitzer the crowd eased off a little and we went into library mode for the most part.

The defence had such an easy time that they switched off at the two Dunfermline corners to the back post which resulted in decent on target headers.
Forster never touched the ball with his hands until about 20 mins in.

Ki ran the show, ably assisted by the other midfielders, and Hooper although he missed one close in, had a decent game as he linked up play well, and chased down and won a couple off their defenders and put in a great cross for Forrest’s goal.

Stokes back to his frustrating worst. Always tries the fancy through ball even though a simpler pass would be more constructive, the Sebo miss and the one where he cracked up at someone (Ki?) for not leaving it for him, followed up by him giving up the chase to turn round, to glare at his team mate.
The thing that annoys me most about him is that he has the ability but his attitude is to fling his hands up in a petulant strop if something is not to his liking instead of facing the ball and chasing it.
He wasn’t offside too much though, which was nice.

Samaras was back to his comedic best. I’ve not fallen for the mood change that sees him being lauded as a different player. He is exactly the same.
Frustrating, annoying, head down, won’t pass at the right time. Then just to be contrary he”ll ldo something astounding.
Most of the time though the astounding is followed by a sclaff or him falling on his arse, like the one near the end. All of our section were pishing ourselves at that one. I just don’t think he’s got the brain to be anything other than a law unto himself.
We know he has qualities which if he showed more consistently would seem him playing elsewhere. I just don’t think he’s reliable enough.

Overall, an easy, unexciting stroll against a team struggling to avoid a humping and this could be what it’s like in future seasons for most games if we are 20 odd points ahead by Christmas and the huns aren’t around to laugh at or challenge.

If we get what we wish for it might get boring.

Celtic

01 Forster, Izaguirre (Forrest – 67′ ), 06 Wilson, 11 Cha Du-Ri, 21 Mulgrew,

08 Brown (Brozek – 77′ ), 16 Ledley, 18 Ki Sung-Yeung, 10 Stokes (Samaras – 67′ )

15 Commons, 88 Hooper

Substitutes

24 Zaluska, 05 Majstorovic, 02 Matthews, 46 McGeouch, 09 Samaras, 17 Brozek,

49 Forrest

Goals

Mulgrew 32′, Forrest 75′

Dunfermline

20 Smith 05 Rutkiewicz (McCann – 46′ ) 06 Keddie 13 Boyle 15 Dowie

07 Cardle (Willis – 60′ ) 17 Burns 23 Thomson Booked 24 Hutton 11 Graham

19 Buchanan (Hardie – 67′ )

Substitutes 30 Goodfellow 03 McCann 04 Mason 08 Hardie

22 Willis 34 Byrne 12 McDougall

Ref: O’Reilly

Att: 45,000

Pawel Brozak 38 Caps & 9 goals (Poland); 2 games & 0 goals (Celtic).

In other news…

303 Roman Emperor Diocletian begins his policy of persecuting Christians, razing the church at Nicomedia

1455 Johannesburg Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date)

1689 Dutch prince William III proclaimed King of England

1782 Engineer James Watt’s patent for a rotary motion for the steam engine (his sun-and-planet gear) is granted

1836 Alamo besieged for 13 days until March 6 by Mexican army under General Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed

1898 In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his “J’accuse” letter accusing government of anti-Semitism & wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus

1910 George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” premieres in London

1997 Scientists in Scotland announce they have cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named “Dolly”

Spontaneous applause at Pittodrie …

Note: The excellent Celtic Wiki site is the font of all knowledge on things Celtic. Most of the Celtic stuff above is from that site. The guys who set it up and painstakingly keep it updated, deserve no end of credit, praise and thanks. A treasure trove for Celtic fans young and old – and new- and free to view.

Respect Bhoys!

http://www.thecelticwiki.com/m/

Guest article by Saltires en Sevilla.

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