Celtic at Ibrox – Magic from Collins and the Maestro

Remember 29 years ago when we went to Ibrox to play Rangers FC? Celtic went there with little or even no hope, yet we prevailed. I firmly believe that wee can do the same this Sunday.

It was 27 August 1994. Celtic headed to Ibrox in the third league fixture of the season, and although Rangers FC had suffered a shock European defeat that midweek, they were still odds on favourites and we were rank outsiders.

It was Tommy Burns first Derby as manager and we were up against a Rangers FC side who had two new multi-million pound signings in Basil Boli and Brian Laudrup in their side, as well as other big money players. They had Duncan Ferguson on the bench and he cost £4 million.

To put it into perspective we had a central defence consisting of Malky Mackay who cost £50,000 from Queen’s Park and Mark McNally who came through the youth ranks. The difference between the squads were staggering.

But we had the supreme class of Paul McStay and John Collins in midfield and they were to prove the difference in the end.

Collins, as he had already done a few months earlier, hit a stunning free kick to put Celtic into the lead on the stroke of half time. He had silenced Ibrox once again! Unlike the last time, the Celtic supporters were present to witness his genius and went absolutely ballistic. We were in dreamland.

It got even better two minutes after the restart when the Maestro hit the back of the net with a sweet shot to further our advantage. We couldn’t believe what we were witnessing. Rangers FC were stunned and it knocked the stuffing out them. There was no way back.

It was a tremendous feeling at the final whistle. We had been giving no chance but went there and won a canter.

Although that season didn’t turn out as we liked it, we still proved we could go behind enemy lines and win, even as rank outsiders. This is the sort of belief we need for the game on Sunday. We might not be firing on all cylinders, but we are far from beaten before a ball is kicked. Keep the faith.