In the meantime, there was work to be done to stay in the race for the title.
Kilmarnock had burst the Celtic bubble from the October derby victory, by winning 2-0 at Rugby Park the following week. Then, despite a single-goal victory at Tannadice on our return from Dundalk, thanks to a late header from ‘Big Shuggy’ Edvaldsson, there was a third defeat in four away games, 2-1 at Love Street, in early December.
By contrast, home league form was excellent, comfortable victories over bottom-dogs Hibernian, Bertie Auld’s Partick Thistle then closest challengers Morton, making it seventeen points from a possible eighteen since August.
The weekend after the sub-zero clash with Morton would see the final game of the Seventies, a second visit to an under-construction Ibrox. Only 34,000 were present, yours truly in the Centenary Stand for the one and only time, to watch evergreen-skelper Lennox equalise a Johnstone header within a minute, late in the match.
It was a vital point, ending a miserable run of away defeats and ensuring the hard-fought advantage over Morton was stretched to three points, following their surprise home loss to Thistle. Despite being in third place, it was now looking unlikely that the title challenge would come from Rangers, six points behind having played two games more. Aberdeen and Dundee United hovered just below, the Dons in particular looking menacing, carrying three critical games-in-hand into the new decade.
The new decade began with a home game against League Cup winners Dundee United, a first-half Murdo MacLeod penalty the difference between the teams, after McAlpine had felled Roy Aitken.
The following Saturday, we headed through to Easter Road to witness George Best’s first competitive appearance against Celtic. Ally MacLeod (no, not that one!) had hit the bar with a penalty kick in the opening minutes before the Irish genius put the bottom side ahead within half an hour, a shot which Latchford should surely have stopped. An Aitken header brought Celts level ten minutes later and the scoring ended there.
