Big moral boosting war-time win for Jimmy McStay’s Celtic

Celtic on this Day – A big moral boosting war-time win for Jimmy McStay’s Hoops at Celtic Park…

Pat Bonner saves a penalty
Pat Bonner saves a penalty. Press cutting via Celtic Wiki

6 January 1990

St Mirren 0-2 Celtic. The Hoops only won on 10 occasions in the league in season 1989/1990 and this was one of them. Roy Aitken played in a Celtic jersey for the final time before joining Newcastle United days later for a fee of £500,000. Joe Miller and Jacki Dziekanowski grabbed the goals, and Pat Bonner saved a Gudmundur Torfasson penalty. A rare victory for Billy McNeill which was sandwiched between defeats to Dunfermline, Rangers, Dundee United and Motherwell. Not a good period at all.


6 January 2007

Celtic celebrations
Celtic celebrations in the Scottish Cup tie against Dumbarton at Celtic Park on 6th January 2007. Photo KDS via The Celtic Wiki.

Celtic 4-0 Dumbarton. Maciej Zurawski scored twice as a much-changed Celtic team breezed past Scottish Third Division side Dumbarton in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Derek Riordan added to the scoreline against the part-timers. Gordon Strachan’s men would famously go onto win the Scottish Cup in 2007 completing a league and Scottish Cup double.


6 January 1996

Pierre van Hooijdonk
Pierre van Hooijdonk in action against Motherwell at Celtic Park on 6th January 1996. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Celtic 1-0 Motherwell. In a season of many draws where Celtic often couldn’t find that elusive winner, Pierre Van Hooijdonk popped up with the only goal in the game to give the Hoops all three points to keep themselves well in the hunt for the title.


6 January 1945

Celtic's wartime manager Jimmy McStay.
Celtic’s wartime manager Jimmy McStay. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Celtic 6-1 Morton. Football didn’t completely stop during World War Two, and Jimmy McStay’s side produced a classy display against Morton, 70 years to the day. There is not much access to match reports for this game, but Celtic’s scorers that day were: Gallacher brace, Delaney, McLaughlin, Rodger and an own goal.

Conor Spence

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About Author

A current fourth year student studying History and Journalism, Media and Communications at the University of Strathclyde and now writing regularly about the Hoops for The Celtic Star.

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