Celtic on this Day, the Green and whitewash gets underway at Ibrox, thanks to Big Bad John Hartson…
4 October 2003, Rangers 0-1 Celtic. The opening Old Firm game of the season would be the first of five wins over Alex McLeish’s Rangers side. A green and whitewash. A John Hartson strike at the beginning of the second half won the game for the Hoops at Ibrox. Worth noting that Chris Sutton was MOTM and strolled the game at centre-back.
Four years ago today, St Johnstone 0-2 Celtic. Games during the COVID season are instantly forgettable, for both footballing and spectacle reasons. Neil Lennon’s side performances had been turgid in the run up to the match at McDiarmid Park. Patryk Klimala scored a rare goal, and Leigh Griffiths who had a disrupted pre-season after being deemed too overweight to feature at the Hoops Loughborough training camp, netted his first of the season.
29 years ago today, Celtic defeated Falkirk 1-0 at Brockville. John Hughes returned to haunt his former employers and secured the three points for the Hoops. Future Celtic captain Jackie McNamara made his debut that night after signing from Dunfermline. Tommy Burns’ side bounced back in the league having been beaten 2-0 in the first Old Firm clash of the season four days prior in what was remarkably our only league defeat of the 1995/1996 campaign (we still didn’t win the league).
4 October 1997, Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock. Both sides had suffered disappointing defeats in Europe during the week. Celtic exited the UEFA Cup at the first round losing to Liverpool on away goals. On the other hand, Kilmarnock had just been knocked out of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup by French side Nice. Wim Jansen’s side responded with a sensational first-half performance and lead 4-0 at the break. A superb double from Larsson as well as Donnelly and Wieghorst adding to the scoreline made it a comfortable result.
Nine years ago today, Hamilton 1-2 Celtic. Three points in Lanarkshire reduced the gap at the top between Aberdeen and Celtic to one point. New Douglas Park had been a tough place to go to for Ronny Deila during his two-year spell. Accies narrowly avoided a relegation play-off that season and were determined not to go down.
Conor Spence