With today being 18 years since Celtic drew 1-1 with Arsenal in Tony Adams’ Testimonial, I thought it was worth revisiting that period when the Hoops played against English opposition on a regular basis.
There was a lot of speculation about the two Glasgow giants joining the English Premiership, but as usual a lot of ignorance South of the border gave the pair little chance of competing, despite Celtic having a phenomenal team under Martin O’Neill.
The 2001/02 season concluded with that friendly against Arsenal, however, it began with a 4-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in August 2001.
Next up was a friendly at Filbert Street against Leicester on 8 April 2002. Martin O’Neill was given a standing ovation by both sets of fans and 10,000 Celtic supporters made the trip, witnessing their team win 1-0 courtesy of a John Hartson goal.
With two Premier League teams beaten on home soil, it was time for Celtic to humiliate their third English opponent – Leeds United. Leeds had finished 5th in the league that season and boasted a decent side, including Gary Kelly, who had invited Celtic to play the match for his testimonial. Kelly announced that he was a Celtic season ticket holder and had supported the club since he was a child due to the Irish connection. Nevertheless, Celtic didn’t show any mercy as they spanked Leeds 4-1! There were some incredible goals scored in this one:
The last game across the border in the 2001/02 season, was the 1-1 draw at Highbury for Tony Adams’ testimonial. The match is covered with a video here.
The new campaign began with a number of pre season friendlies, including a trip to Fratton Park to play against First Division (Championship) Portsmouth. Goals from Petta, Healy and Sylla gave the Celts a 3-2 victory over the South Coast club, who won the title and got promoted to the Premier League that season.
Three days later it was on to Loftus Road for Celtic, who thumped Queen’s Park Rangers 7-3! The Rs were in the second Division at the time (League 1), however, just as at Fratton Park, the Bhoys were without all players who competed in the 2002 World Cup. Nevertheless, Healy, Sutton, Hartson, Maloney, Fernandez, Sylla and Fernandez were among the scorers in an absolute rout in London.
On 7 August 2002, a much depleted Celtic team headed to White Hart Lane to play against Tottenham in a friendly. Iversen gave Spurs the lead inside ten minutes, before Shaun Maloney levelled on 29 minutes, which is how the match remained.
Two months later, on 8 October 2002, a full strength Celtic travelled to Wycombe to fulfill a request for Jason Cousin’s testimonial. Wycombe were in the Second Division (League 1) thus it’s no surprise that they were defeated 4-0 thanks to goals from Larsson (2), Sylla and an own goal by Cousins himself!
At the end of that month, Celtic faced an English club in a competitive match. Blackburn Rovers were high flying in the Premier League, but lost to Celtic in the first leg of their UEFA Cup clash thanks to a goal from Henrik Larsson:
In the return leg, Celtic schooled Blackburn at Ewood Park. Larsson scored a lovely chip, before Sutton made it two and the overcrowded away end erupted. It was men against Bhoys, as Souness famously described the first leg (Blackburn being the men in his eyes).
Fast forward a few months into March 2003 and Celtic took the lead against Liverpool after just 100 seconds in the first leg of the UEFA Cup 1/4 final. Larsson marked his return with that goal, but Emile Heskey drew level as the game finished 1-1.
In the second leg, Celtic stunned Liverpool with a dominant 2-0 victory at Anfield. Neil Lennon was man of the match that night, bossing Hamman and Gerrard in midfield. Meanwhile, Alan Thompson put Celtic ahead with a free kick, before John Hartson struck one of the best goals of his career in the second half.
Finally, Celtic played against Fulham in a 2003 summer friendly on 17 July. The match was played at Loftus Road due to work being done at Craven Cottage. Henrik Larsson and Stan Petrov gave Celtic a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes, and the Hoops went on to win 2-1. It was yet another away victory against English Premiership opposition.
The run finally came to an end with a 4-0 defeat against Manchester United in Seattle!
