The 70s ended in a typical manner. Yet again Celtic Football Club was involved in one of the biggest matches in Scottish football history. The match in question brought the curtain down on the 1978/79 seasons for Celtic. It 21 May and Celtic Park staged a title decider against Rangers. Only a win would suffice for the Hoops, but Rangers could afford the luxury of a draw, with a further game to play.
A ferociously partisan crowd was audible before kick off but fell eerily quiet in the opening exchanges. Perhaps that was testament to the nerves felt by both supports. Alex MacDonald gave Rangers the lead inside ten minutes and and placed the Bhoys in real trouble. Then disaster struck early in the second half as Johnny Doyle was given his marching orders for violent conduct! His dismissal all but signified the end for Celtic.
The Celtic fans refused to accept defeat, especially not with the league trophy leaning towards Ibrox. A battle like cry sounded around the stadium. Every Celtic voice box became activated if not broken. Paradise was bouncing and the atmosphere culminated in a particularly hair raising rendition of the Celtic version of Hail Glorious Saint Patrick: ‘In the war against the Rangers in the fight for the cup, Jimmy McGrory put the Celtic one up, we’ve done it before and we’ll do it again, on Erin’s green valleys look down on Parkhead.’ People normally unanimated in the seated stand joined with fervour, it was awe inspiring.
Buoyed by such vociferous support, Celtic secured the title in the game’s dying embers. ‘Ten men won the league tra-la-la-la-la’ ricocheted off the walls of Celtic Park. The reaction to Doyle’s sending off was something that should always be remembered. The night was iconic in atmosphere.
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