In season 1968/69, Celtic had had two fine results against St Etienne and Red Star Belgrade before going out to AC Milan in the quarter-final of the European Cup, a result which left the fans very disappointed.
In the campaign for the following season of 1969/70, in the same competition, Celtic started well with a win over Basle to go on to round two, where Portuguese opposition was a-waiting.
On this day in 1969, the stars of Benfica ran out at Celtic Park for a second round, first leg match, with the Celtic fans all keen to see their top man, the great Eusebio, who had made such an impression in the 1966 World Cup.
But Celtic took the initiative, a magnificent strike by Tommy Gemmell getting them off to the perfect start in the 2nd minute and Willie Wallace increasing that lead to 2-0 just four minutes before half-time.
During the interval, Benfica substituted Eusebio, obviously intent on a defensive strategy in the second half but it made little difference as Celtic kept up an incessant pressure.
And they got their reward half-way through the second period, when Harry Hood got a third goal to give Celtic an excellent 3-0 lead to take over to Portugal for the second leg.
Vincent McGrogan – born on this day in 1901 at Paisley – had spells with Glenburn Rovers and Largs Thistle before joining Celtic on 12 January 1925.
Vince was a strong centre-half, ideally suited for the position which by then, after the change in the offside law, had become more of a ‘stopper’ role.
He played six matches for Celtic in the early months of 1925 but unfortunately, received such a blow to a knee in a Scottish Cup tie against Solway Star on 21 February that it effectively finished not only his Celtic career but also his overall career as a footballer.
Jim Craig
