In the second round of the St Mungo Cup competition in 1951, having already disposed of Hearts by 2 goals to one before a crowd of 51,000 at Parkhead in round one, Celtic were paired with Clyde, just relegated from the First Division where they had finished 2nd bottom.
The 2nd round matches were all played on neutral territory and the teams met at Firhill, the ground of Partick Thistle on 19 July, when a good crowd of 29,000 turned out.
It proved to be a tough night for the Hoops.
Thanks to Bobby Collins, with two, Jimmy Walsh and John McPhail, Celtic twice pulled back a two goal deficit to square the match, the Clyde fans sure their team was going to win when their side was 2-0 and then 4-2 ahead.
On this day in 1951, the following night no less, for the replay, again at Firhill, Celtic made a surprise choice at centre-forward, moving Sean Fallon into the role from his customary full-back berth.
Sean rose to the challenge and scored a couple of goals. Bertie Peacock and Jimmy Walsh were also on target as Celtic won 4-1, going through to the final, where they would meet Aberdeen at Hampden.
Many Happy Returns to Niall McGinn. The ex-Celt, with 28 appearances for the club between 2009 and 2012, was born on this day in 1987.
Jim Craig
