Celtic on this Day 50 years ago today, Celtic 6-3 Hibs as Jock Stein’s side triumph in the thrilling 1974 Scottish League Cup final…

Interestingly, seven days before the final took place, Celtic thumped Eddie Turnbull’s Hibees 5-0 in Glasgow’s East End. Dixie Deans scored a hat-trick where history would iconically repeat itself a week later.

The Winds of Change 

Despite winning the League Cup in the 1974/1975 campaign, the bulk of this Celtic team were starting to falter. The squad which had peaked in previous years were on a downwards spiral, and it was obvious that after having so much domestic success for a decade, signs of complacency kicked in and standards were starting to drop.

Notably, 1974 Glasgow had been a time of a declining and impoverished economy with multiple strike action [including Glasgow corporation buses on the day of the match]. These two factors including the reality that spectators in Scottish football who had notoriously turned out in their numbers for national cup finals in the sixties and early seventies were getting bored of Celtic sweeping up trophy after trophy. As a result, 53,000 fans took in the 1974 League Cup final between Celtic and Hibs.

Money had been at the forefront of Davie Hay’s departure

Wages had also been at the forefront of Davie Hay’s departure from Celtic. He signed for Chelsea in the summer of 1974 for a record Scottish fee of £250,000. A dispute over negotiations and money led to Hay leaving for England.

Hibs had fielded a weakened side to face the Hoops at Celtic Park in the league a week prior to the League Cup final taking place. This was because they faced Juventus in the UEFA Cup second round three days before the huge clash at the national stadium. However, it was a double whammy for Hibs as the Italians won 4-2 at Easter Road and subsequently went through in the tie. It had been a monumentally bad week for Eddie Turnbull.

A minute’s silence for former Celtic trainer Alec Dowdells

A minute’s silence had been held before the match for former Celtic trainer Alec Dowdells who sadly died at his daughter’s home in Lurgan a week before the encounter at Hampden.

Although there were nine goals in the game, only three came in the first half. Dixie Deans’s magical display saw him grab another famous hat-trick, combining a formidable partnership with Kenny Dalglish. It was only Deans’ second hat-trick against the Hibees in seven days, and his third in two years against the Edinburgh side. Dixie’s pick of the bunch was his third where Jinky’s misplaced strike fell to the head of Deans who bulleted the ball past a helpless Jim McArthur. It was rounded off with his famous cartwheel celebration.

Joe Harper also scored a hat-trick

Not many players can score a hat-trick in a national cup final and not grab any of the headlines. That was the story for Hibs forward Joe Harper who like Deans completed a trio of goals, but unfortunately for the clinical Harper, he still managed to find himself picking up a runners up medal.

Celtic’s first league Cup final win since 1969 

As a result, the 29th Scottish League Cup final was won by Jock Stein’s Celtic. It had been the first League Cup victory for five years since a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone in 1969. Amazingly, this was the Hoops 11th consecutive League Cup final. They had won five on the trot up until 1969 and subsequently went onto lose four in a row thereafter.

The game itself is firmly enriched in Celtic folklore. We could not match the seven scored in 1957, but six was more than enough on what was a fine day for Stein’s experienced men.

Celtic starting XI 50 years to the day; Hunter, McGrain, Brogan, Murray, McNeill, McCluskey, Johnstone, Dalglish, Deans, Hood, Wilson.

If you were at this game 50 years ago we’d love to hear from you.

Conor Spence

READ THIS…For sheer drama and excitement, 1974 was a stand-out year for Celtic