YESTERDAY we looked back on the events at Celtic Park 30 years ago on 23 April 1988 when around 80,000 Celtic supporters packed out Celtic Park to celebrate a 3-0 win over Dundee to secure the league title in our Centenary season.
That day only turned out the way it did – with Celtic having the chance to win the league at home – because we had gone to Edinburgh the previous Saturday and lost to Hearts.
That was a major disappointment at the time but it was soon forgotten as Chris Morris opened the scoring then two goals from Andy Walker within a minute made sure that the league had been won.
We also suffered in Dunfermline 10 years later when we conceded a late equaliser and that meant that the league would be decided on the last day. Celtic were desperate to stop them doing ten in a row so that goal in Fife was hard to take.
Again the pain was completely gone and replaced by the most amazing joy the following week when Celtic defeated St Johnstone and they had been stopped.
Someone wrote on Twitter on Sunday that the three points lost the previous day could turn out to be the best three points we have ever dropped – if things work out on Sunday.
The Celtic season ticket holders haven’t had the best of years this time around. Yes, you take the rough with the smooth but it is fair to say that our best form and the most memorable games of the season have happened away from Celtic Park.
The away support have had three defeats this time around, that is true, but that hurts just as much if you are watching it on the television.
So Sunday can be a Beautiful Sunday for the home support. You know, the biggest single group of fans in Scottish football who cannot all get a ticket to cup semi-finals or finals, and who the SPFL did all they could to deny them the chance to win the league at home against Rangers.
But some things are meant to be.
On the night of the 4-2 game in May 1979, there was a strike at STV so there was no television coverage of Celtic winning a real title decider. The trains and buses were on strike too – so it wasn’t easy for the supporters and it was a Monday night too.
We needed to win or they would be champions – they still needed to win their last game against Patrick Thistle at Ibrox three days later (eventually only 2000 of them turned up for that game).
We went behind and were a goal down at half time. Then Johnny Doyle kicked out and got sent off. But we didn’t give up and in 66 minutes Roy Aitken equaliser. We needed to win though so you can imagine the scenes when George McCluskey put Celtic ahead on 74 minutes. The Jungle was going absolutely crazy.
It was short lived though because Bobby Russell got a shot away after Rangers won a corner and made it 2-2 on 76 minutes. We were stunned into silence for about five seconds, then the Jungle roared like you’d never heard before.
Celtic’s 10 Men were far from down and have 14 minutes left to score a winner and win the league.
With 5 minutes left McCluskey, I think it was, crossed into the box and I remember thinking BUT THERE IS NO-ONE THERE…what I really should have thought was there were no Celtic players there. McCloy came out, Colin Jackson the big Rangers centre half got his head to it and the ball rolled towards the net almost in slow motion.
Roy Aitken appeared and could have stick it away – or so it seemed – but preferred the deliciousness of an own goal.
Celtic were 3-2 ahead and had to hold on. Rangers responded and in the closing minutes won another corner. Not again we thought! But when the ball was cleared everyone screamed at Murdo MacLeod to hit it as far up the back of the Celtic end as possible.
Murdo had other ideas and the ball ended up in the postage corner. Over the years he took that shot from further back but even the reality of this situation was that this was an extra special goal in an extraordinary game – maybe the best one since Lisbon.
If you were at the 6-2 game when Martin O’Neill arrived to put them in their place, then multiply the joy you felt that day by a factor of 10 and you will begin to understand what it was like to win the league against Rangers at Celtic Park.
This Sunday two of the main train stations near Celtic Park will be closed due to scheduled track repairs.
That won’t matter. 60,000 will be there at noon on Sunday and Celtic can deliver a performance and a result that the supporters 30 or 40 years from now will still be talking about.
“4-2 game in 1979? I was there!”
“Dundee game in 1988? I was there!”
“St Johnstone game in 1998? I was there!”
This Sunday is another one of those “I was there” games, if it all goes to plan.
Get it down Celtic. This is about history.
