Celtic On This Day – 31st December – David Potter’s Celtic Diary

The late, great Celtic Historian David Potter’s Celtic Diary each morning on The Celtic Star looks back at key Celtic events and matches on this day starting on 31st December 1910…

SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER 1910 – Celtic close 1910 with a fine 5-0 win over Raith Rovers at Celtic Park. It is Raith Rovers first visit to Celtic Park on League business, but today they are quite easily swept aside by a fine Celtic side for whom Jimmy McMenemy scores twice and John Hastie, Tommy McAteer and Jimmy Quinn once.

Jackie Watters scored twice and later signed up, refusing to hide in the shipyards.

SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER 1938 – The last year of peace closes with a well-fought but ultimately disappointing 2-2 draw with Hearts on a frozen pitch at Parkhead. Jackie Watters scores two goals for Celtic. The game is heading for a 1-1 draw but then Watters scores to the delight of the 40,000 crowd before Hearts equalise with the last kick of the ball.

SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER 1966 – All good things must come to an end sometime and today, Celtic’s long unbeaten run finishes with a 2-3 defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice. Yet Celtic are twice ahead with goals from Bobby Lennox and Willie Wallace and only really fall apart in the second half. Ronnie Simpson has had better games in goal, and Stein now decides that the full-back pairing of Tommy Gemmell and Willie O’Neill has run its course.

SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER 1983 – 1983 has not been a great year for Celtic, and there was something appropriate about the way that it finished with a dismal 1-0 victory over Hibs at Easter Road, and the goal was an own goal! 1983 had seen the loss of Nicholas and Billy McNeill, and other grizzly horror stories awaited in 1984.

SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER 1988 – Celtic’s Centenary Year finishes with a fine 4-2 win over Hearts at Parkhead. Since the glory days of the summer things have not gone so well for the club especially in the wake of a dreadful 1-5 defeat to Rangers at the end of August, but today 44,646 watch Mark McGhee and Billy Stark score two goals each to give the fans some hope that 1989 may bring a change in fortunes.

31st December 1988, Celtic 4:2 Hearts.

Stark(2) and McGhee(2). pic.twitter.com/ytNsstXTSS

— Li’l Ze (@LilZe_7) December 31, 2022

David Potter

Hogmanay 1983 – Celtic beat Hibs 1:0 at Easter Road thanks to this own goal…

31st December 1983, Celtic beat Hibs 1:0 at Easter Road thanks to an own goal. pic.twitter.com/X9jo1oONiT

— Li’l Ze (@LilZe_7) December 31, 2022

Hogmanay 2016 – Celtic beat theRangers at Ibrox with the goals coming from Moussa Dembele and Scotty Sinclair…

31st December 2016, Rangers 1:2 Celtic.

Dembele and Sinclair. @MDembele_10 @Scotty_Sinclair pic.twitter.com/PMKaQJMcGL

— Li’l Ze (@LilZe_7) December 31, 2022