Celtic’s 2-2 draw with Livingston was cause for celebration in the eyes of many fans. Forget the performance or the expectation to win every game, sure free flowing football and three points is what we all want but sometimes as a football fan you have to enjoy the moment when your team scores a late equaliser and nudges another point ahead, as your rivals lose at home to the hoops of Hamilton.
It is rare that a point is celebrated by Celtic fans and it got me thinking when was the last time this happened? The answer is probably in November 2017 when Celtic played Motherwell at Fir Park. On that occasion, Motherwell lead the Hoops by a goal to nil and Celtic’s record of 65 unbeaten games looked to be coming to an end. That was until Scott Sinclair converted a controversial penalty in the 88th minute. The game ended 1-1 and the Celtic fans celebrated at full time as their unbeaten run extended to 66 games.
There must have been countless other times when a draw has been celebrated. However, four matches that spring to mind come from two different seasons, ironically when Celtic had some of its greatest ever players on the field.
Firstly, the never to be eclipsed 1966/67 season sprang to mind. Jock Stein’s soon to be Lisbon Lions defeated Dukla Prague 3-1 in the first leg of the European Cup semi final. 74,406 fans were delighted, fully expecting to be in the final after such a positive result. Nevertheless, Jock Stein played it safe in the return leg on 25 April 1967 and ensured that Celtic would advance, with a defensive display resulting in a 0-0 draw. It was the only time in which Stein adopted such defensive tactics, something which he subsequently said he would never do again. However, I don’t think there would have been too many complaints given what the result meant to the history of our club.
The next time that a draw felt like victory that season was when the Celts clinched the league title at Ibrox two weeks later. The match was a postponed fixture from 3 January 1967, moved to 5 May. Pouring rain lashed down upon the Celtic support at the uncovered end of Ibrox, conditions which caused the attendance to be reduced from 90,000 to 78,000. The mood of the travelling support was soon as damp as the sky above them, when Sandy Jardine put Rangers ahead on 40 minutes. Yet, within a minute Jimmy Johnstone struck level, ensuring the half time whistle blew with the scoreline at 1-1. In the second half Jimmy Johnstone scored his second of the game, with a goal he described as the greatest of his career. Johnstone received the ball from a throw in on the right hand side and drove infield before smashing a left footed shot in off the underside of the crossbar from 30 yards. The goal prompted a lengthy delay as the Rangers fans threw bottles and invaded the pitch! Hynd scored for Rangers in the 81st minute to earn the ‘Gers a 2-2 draw, but their fans were not happy despite the fact that they had a European Cup Winner’s Cup final to look forward to. Meanwhile, the Celtic support went crazy as the result ensured a domestic quadruple, with the European Cup final still to be played!
Jinky’s second goal can be seen at exactly 1 minute into the video below:
Following the Lisbon Lions, Celtic had the Quality Street Gang and the Seville team that stand out above the rest. As a follow on from Seville, it could be argued, and indeed was argued by Neil Lennon, that Celtic had an even stronger team in 2004. Martin O’Neill’s men bounced back from a trophyless season and UEFA Cup final defeat by winning the double, setting a record of 25 consecutive victories and reaching the UEFA Cup quarter final. It was that European run, which rekindled memories of celebrating a draw.
Celtic had just beaten Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter final, when they played Barcelona at home in the first leg of the UEFA Cup last 16. O’Neill feared his players would burn out having been relentless in the league, booked a place in the Scottish Cup semi final and not long defeated FK Teplice in the previous round of the UEFA Cup. Without Sutton, Hartson or Maloney, the Hoops beat Barcelona 1-0 thanks to an astonishing finish by Alan Thompson after Larsson, who started up front alongside Craig Beattie, nodded the ball down for him to scissor kick home. David Marshall was introduced to the game at half time after Rab Douglas was sent off. The young keeper, a product of the youth team, would come into his own in the Nou Camp. He was joined by another player from the youth team, John Kennedy, who started in central defence in place of the suspended Bobo Balde. Over 77,000 people entered the stadium, 8000 of whom were Celtic fans, whilst over 30,000 Celtic supporters reportedly travelled to Spain! It was a real backs to the wall job in which David Marshall gave one of the club’s finest ever goalkeeping displays. He made several stunning stops, which kept efforts from the world’s best footballer (Ronaldinho), Xavi and Luis Garcia at bay. The Bhoys pulled off a memorable 0-0 draw to see the tie through and knock Barcelona out of Europe, a stunning feat considering the Catalan’s had won nine on the bounce in La Liga and Celtic had a depleted team.
Footage of Bobo Balde in with the fans at the Nou Camp can be seen here:
A week later, on 3 April 2004, the Bhoys faced a less glamorous clash with Hearts at Celtic Park. The game would go down as an SPL classic, and is included in the series of classic Scottish football matches! Celtic were certs to win the title. However, they had a phenomenal unbeaten record at Celtic Park, which looked in danger when Hearts found themselves 2-0 ahead with 78 minutes on the clock. The Jambos faced a strong Celtic side, with Stephen McManus making his home debut, the only unfamiliar face in the Hoops line up. Hope was restored in the 88th minute though, when Chris Sutton struck home at the second bite of the cherry, following a good save by Craig Gordon from his original effort. Then pandemonium followed in injury time, as Didier Agathe slid a half volley into the roof of the net to extend Celtic’s unbeaten run at Paradise to 76 matches in all competitions. The incredible run started way back in August 2001, so the relief at seeing it remain caused Celtic Park to shake to its foundations!
See the goals and hear Paradise erupt here:
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