Back in the early 1990s success was hard to come by for a bang average Celtic side, and the only honour the club achieved was winning the Tennents Sixes in 1992 in the lofty surroundings of the SECC…
Celtic v Hearts in the Hamilton Cup in Canada in May 1994. Photo The Celtic Wiki
Another honour that was on par with the long forgotten about indoor tournament was a trophy called The Hamilton Cup which was won by the Hoops on the other side of the Atlantic shortly after the conclusion of the 1993/94 campaign.
After yet another disappointing season which seen us finish 4th and empty handed, indeed our only joy was Dundee United beating Rangers in the Scottish Cup final which denied the Ibrox club back to back trebles, Lou Macari took his side to Canada to compete in the mini tournament which also contained fellow Scottish sides Aberdeen and Hearts with Canadian side Montreal Impact also taking part.
Fresh from the Fergus McCann led takeover that saved the club from financial disaster the club arrived in the Canadian City of Hamilton to take part in the mini tournament which was part of a Scottish festival sponsored by Guinness.
Chris Hay of Celtic in action against Hearts in the Hamilton Cup in Canada in May 1994. Photo The Celtic Wiki
Celtic’s first game was played on 22 May against Hearts and both sides would struggle in the soaring heat which was close to 100 degrees, and with the effects of a draining campaign still in the legs of the players they conjured up a 1-1 draw on the astroturf of the Ivor Wynne stadium, the venue for all the matches in the mini tournament.
Simon Donnelly of Celtic in action against Hearts in the Hamilton Cup in Canada in May 1994. Photo The Celtic Wiki
Paul Byrne netted our strike in a game we won on the lottery of spot kicks thanks to the heroics of Keeper Carl Muggleton who saved two Jambos efforts as the Bhoys advanced to the final.
Celtic would play Aberdeen in the final after the Pittodrie side defeated Montreal Impact 2-0, and it was the Hoops who came out on top in front of a crowd of six thousand supporters who were mostly decked in green and white.
Mark McNally collects the Hamilton Cup after beating Aberdeen in the final in May 1994. Photo The Celtic Wiki
Yet again it was a game played in the soaring heat as a Paul Byrne goal was enough to seal victory and take the Hamilton Cup back to Glasgow.
We traveled thousands of miles to take on two fellow Scottish clubs to win a trophy no one cared about, the early 1990s from a Celtic perspective in a nutshell.
23/05/94 – ABERDEEN 0 CELTIC 1 (Byrne, 14 mins)
Aberdeen: Burridge, Wright, McLeish, G. Smith, Titus, Thomson, Grant, Kane, McKinnon (Aitken), Ruddie (Mossavat), Booth Substitute: C. Smith
Celtic: Muggleton, Smith, Martin, McNally (McQuilken), Mackay, Gillespie (McLaughlin), Holt, Hay, Byrne (Whittle), Falconer, Gray
Referee:: B. Laidlaw
Attendance: 6,000 (mostly Celtic Supporters).
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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I was at that game,it was a terrible game to watch.The only good thing was Celtic winning.You mention the heat,yet looking at the team picture the players are all wearing long sleeved jerseys!
Bobby Craig ex-Celtic player of the early 1960’s is pictured there in the bottom left of the team picture.He had been invited along to do the ceremonial kickoff.I remember watching Craig play for Celtic in his first game for the club against Valencia in the old Fairs Cities Cup.Little did I know then that I would play with Bobby for Toronto Celtic in 1973.