Celtic 6 Rangers 2 – Nineteen years since Henrik’s Perfect ‘Demolition Derby’ Goal

“MAYBE the result highlighted Rangers aren’t quite as good as they think they are. There are still only two teams who can win the league and it is far too early yet to say which of us it will be. But just so long as Celtic don’t get carried away by this one result and continue going about things the way we have been so far, I think you could see me celebrating come the end of the season.”

Nineteen years ago folks, Celtic thrashed Rangers 6-2 as the new manager Martin O’Neill formally announced his arrival as the top dog in Scottish football. This result rocked Rangers and became known as the Demolition Derby. It was also the nosiest that the new stadium had ever been and the tip tier was bouncing structurally as the Celtic Supporters celebrated the best win over the Ibrox club since 19 October 1957.

And not only was the performance and the scoreline sensational, so was one of the goals in particular. If you ask any Celtic supporter who was there that day what is their favourite ever Celtic goal, the chances are that they will without hesitation answer “Henrik’s chip in the 6-2 game”…

Billy Dodds, one of the Rangers players that day, was shocked by the Celtic noise. ‘It was scary. I had been in O** F*** games before, but this was unbelievable. The noise coming out of Parkhead! Bang! Bang! Bang! It got louder and louder and you’re thinking, “F****n’ hell, this is a whirlwind.” The stadium was rocking. Oh, my God, they took the roof off. You’re thinking, “This could be a double-figures job if we don’t get to grips with it.”‘

“We couldn’t have dreamed for a better start,” Martin O’Neill reflected afterwards. “We could play for another one hundred years and not get a start like that again. I’m delighted and I thought the players were brilliant. The performance was really, really immense. I would have settled for scoring in the last minute and winning the game 1-0 – but there won’t be many 1-0 games here.

“The players are all delighted, but there is no feeling of euphoria because a few of them have been here a couple of years and they know not to get too carried away with anything. I’ll be happy tonight and maybe tomorrow morning, but after that I and the players will concentrate on the next game.

“Dick Advocaat has said that he has seen Celtic make great starts before and we know that the players have often been in the shadow of Rangers, so I don’t think anyone is getting too excited. Most of the players are going away on international duty and I just hope they come back unscathed.”

A shell-shocked Dick Advocaat gave his views on the 6-2 game. “We lost in the first twenty minutes, especially with the goals we gave away. Quite simply, we have to give all the credit to Celtic.

“The scoreline doesn’t lie and they deserved to win. If you give goals like that away at this level, you will get punished, but, at least, we know what we have to change. It seemed like every attack they made was a goal.

“They had periods when they really had us under the cosh. We have four internationalists at the back – and I don’t want to point the finger at certain individuals – but we were very poor today.”

Celtic’s star man Henrik Larsson had this to say about the 6-2 game. “We always try to play as a team, but, as individuals, we were really on fire. You could see everyone really wanted to win, as you always do, of course. We went for it and things went our way.”

Paul Lambert praised the new Celtic manager Martin O’Neill. “The manager has installed an unbelievable air of confidence in the players. He has made us play better and made us want to win even more. We now possess a great will to win every game.”

Years later, reflecting on this game, Tommy Boyd, who replaced Lubo Moravcik in the second-half, had this to say about the 6-2 game.

“There was a sea change that season and there was a wave of optimism because of Martin’s appointment. He had rightly said Rangers were the benchmark of Scottish football, but we reached that and matched it. That result was a huge step.”

Chris Sutton gave his own thoughts on the game. “It was a great win. I may be new here, but I am aware of the feeling that exists between these teams. The derby games are vitally important and this is a good start.

“The main thing for everyone at this club is to win the SPL championship. That is our priority. If we keep winning, they’ll have to play catch-up and we’ll see how that suits them.”

Where you there at Celtic Park 19 years ago today? We’ll love to hear from you today so we can collate supporters memories of the 6-2 game into an article this evening on The Celtic Star. Email over your stories from the 6-2 game to editor@thecelticstar.co.uk and we’ll do the rest.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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