MATT CORR’S account of Celtic’s 1981-82 season continues below. This is part 4 of a 5 part series, with the concluding feature scheduled for the start of next week on The Celtic Star.
We’ll put the links up to the first three parts at the end of this article, in case you need them to catch up. Over to you Matt…
Enter the Maestro…and the stretchers – Celtic’s Season 1981/82 (Part 4)
Table-topping Celtic ‘enjoyed’ an unplanned winter break following the victory over Dundee in early December, as the freezing spell continued through January. There was only a match at Ibrox to break the monotony, their undersoil heating allowing an instantly forgettable game to go ahead. The tone was set from kick-off, literally, McCluskey’s backwards pass to Nicholas penalised by referee McGinlay. Bett’s late penalty was decisive, following a foul by Bonner on Cooper and there was only one positive for Celtic, albeit a huge one, the return of skipper Danny McGrain after an injury-plagued few months.
Ten days later, Celtic suffered a major blow, Charlie Nicholas emerging from a challenge with Morton’s Joe McLaughlin with a broken leg. And unlike the old John Greig joke, this leg was his own! Ironically, he was only participating in the Cappielow reserve game to maintain his match fitness levels during the enforced fixture break. Now his season would be effectively over.
Continuing the Maryhill/Greenock theme, around the same time, Charlie’s next-door neighbour from his Wyndford days, Jim Duffy, finally gave up on his attempts to win a first-team place by joining Morton. Watching Duffy over the years – he also enjoyed tremendous success at Dundee and Falkirk – it always struck me that he was a better central defender than most/all who played in the Celtic sides of the time. It remains a real source of mystery and frustration that he failed to make the grade at Parkhead, often saving his best performances for games against us. Jim was the one that got away.
Following a series of friendlies, competitive football finally returned in the shape of a Scottish Cup tie against Queen of the South at Celtic Park. I was in the Front Stand, one of around 10,000 maniacs on a bitterly-cold day, to witness the first-team debuts of two highly-rated youngsters, Paul McStay and John Halpin. The winger would have an eventful day, missing an open goal then hitting the fourth and final counter late on, his only senior strike for the club. By contrast, this was the start of a glorious career for the 17-year-old Maestro, who had first come to prominence two years earlier with Scotland Schoolboys, in a 5-4 victory at Wembley. The high expectations at Celtic for him were not misplaced.
The usual suspects of McGarvey and McCluskey were also on the scoresheet in a 4-0 win. However, by far the loudest cheer of the day was for Celtic’s second goal, a first in nearly three years for McGrain. Like JFK and 9/11, you tend to remember where you were when Danny scored a goal at any point in his fantastic career, one at Gayfield immediately springs to mind. It was the only flaw in his marvellous armoury, with the phrase ‘the Danny McGrain School of Finishing’, a well-used satirical putdown for poor strikers in my social circles, sadly mostly directed at Yours Truly.
Paul McStay would score his first goal for the club the following Saturday at Pittodrie, and what a goal it was, Celtic’s third in a brilliant 3-1 victory over our main rivals. We in the Cairn dutifully respected the official CSA ‘bhoycott’ of the fixture, Aberdeen not for the first or last time slashing our ticket allocation whilst things were going well for them. We then watched the TV highlights through gritted teeth, as the players celebrated in front of a packed Paddock End! McCluskey, from the spot, then MacLeod had earlier put Celts ahead, following MacMaster’s first-minute opener for the home side.
February was a hugely frustrating and disappointing month for Celtic, opening with a dull, midweek scoreless draw against Hibs at Parkhead, the game featuring another second-half floodlight failure, although most supporters seemed thankful for that, given the poor product on show. The only victory in that period came the following Saturday at Dens Park, Murdo at the double and McGarvey finding the net, before ’86 title hero Albert Kidd CSC replied for the Dark Blues.
It was Scottish Cup time again the next weekend, Celts getting the toughest possible draw, a return to Pittodrie, a fortnight after the excellent League victory at the same ground. Free from the constraints of boycott, we travelled north far more optimistic than was normally the case for such trips, on the back of three successive wins against Aberdeen.
But this would be the Dons’ day, a strangely subdued Hoops side offering little and falling to a Hewitt first-half goal, the youngster flicking the ball home following a corner. Hewitt was a fine striker and had a horrible habit of doing well against us, probably the main reason Billy brought him to Celtic in 1989. Sadly, he would never come close to replicating his Aberdeen form at Parkhead in his two-plus years at the club, failing to score a single goal in a paltry 21 appearances, as he fought against persistent injury problems. He was given a free in January 1992.
If there was any consolation in being knocked out of ‘our Cup’, perhaps it was the knowledge that full focus would now be on retaining our title. This was hardly in evidence in Celtic’s next two fixtures, a home draw with Partick Thistle, Celts needing two late goals from McCluskey and Aitken to salvage a point as incredibly boos rang out around the ground, then another single-goal defeat at Easter Road, cigar-toting ‘10.30’s Hibs making it five points out of a possible six against the defending champions.
March was much-improved, albeit with a low-key start, as a miserable 9,000 crowd turned up on an equally-miserable Wednesday night to watch Celtic beat Morton 1-0 with a late goal, McGarvey finally netting after watching both his penalty effort and rebound saved by ex-Celt Roy Baines. Earlier, George McCluskey had blazed a spot kick over the bar, with both awards courtesy of fouls by the returning Jim Duffy, doing his best to undermine my kind words above!
It was less convincing at Celtic Park the following Saturday, Sullivan and Burns again amongst the goals as Airdrie were defeated 2-0, in a lacklustre display. Nevertheless, a true mark of champions is winning games whilst not enjoying the best of form, with another two points banked as we closed in on a second successive title, something not achieved since Jock’s side managed THE nine-in-a-row in 1974.
There was a rare big crowd at Parkhead for the next match, 30,000 in the ground for the final match-up with Ferguson’s Aberdeen. It was win-or-bust for the Dons, who somewhat stole the points with a fluke second-half goal from full-back Stuart Kennedy, his cross deceiving Bonner and sailing into the far corner. It was a day for missed opportunities for Celtic, with, for once, McCluskey the chief sinner, his late penalty driven straight at Leighton and rebounding to safety, a second successive spot miss.
That result cut the deficit at the top of the table to just four points, so the pressure was really on as we headed to Tannadice in midweek for a re-arranged fixture. On the ground where the previous April Celtic had clinched the title, this was perhaps the most important game of the season. And Billy’s Bhoys (careful there!) did not disappoint, Burns scoring within 90 seconds then clinching a crucial 2-0 victory with another excellent effort late on. Whilst Tommy rightly grabbed the headlines, both goalkeepers would play a key role in the game, Bonner outstanding for Celtic whilst McAlpine tackled McGarvey outside his box as he raced to clear, the Celt then stretchered off with a fractured tibula, the second Hoops striker to suffer a leg break in two months. A vital win but achieved at a huge cost.
And come to the rescue they did, Hoops-mad Danny making a dream debut in this fixture by scoring with his first touch in the opening minute, forcing the ball home at the far post after good work from Sullivan. Tom then played his part, heading home early in the second half – his third goal that season against the Ibrox side – as the makeshift strike duo came up trumps on the day. A late Johnstone volley was the solitary Rangers response, as Celtic took another huge step towards retaining their title.
As Cesar congratulated his patchwork side at full-time, many playing through injury, out of position or both, he would no doubt have felt some concern that whilst the championship was now tantalisingly close, there were still ‘eight cup finals’ to be won before he could claim that crown. In a season where so many of his key players had suffered serious setbacks, what would the remaining fixtures bring?
Hail Hail!
Matt Corr
Part 1 – The Italian Job – Read HERE.
Part 2 – A Sad Farewell to another Darling Johnny – Read HERE.
Part 3 – Floodlight Failures and Flute Bands…Read HERE.
To Be Concluded next time around (Part 5)…tell us about your memories of that season on the new fans forum, Celtic Noise…
