The Mark Hughes Testimonial was a memorable trip to Old Trafford in May 1994 and a rare Celtic triumph as ‘trialist’ Chic Charnley revelled in wearing the Hoops…

As Celtic supporters head to Manchester to see a legends side take on their Man Utd counterparts in a legends charity clash at Old Trafford, many will be nostalgic of past trips to the theatre of dreams.

One that sticks out was a trip over the border back in May 1994. Celtic were under the management of former Celtic and Manchester United star Lou Macari and headed down the road to face the English double winners in a testimonial for Mark Hughes.

Celtic of course were, to put it mildly,  pretty much a club in a transitional period at the time. Fergus McCann had not long taken over and we were still feeling the effects of a torrid time which seen us flirt with insolvency. Thanks to the intervention of the late, great John Keane that did not happen.

Player for player we were very much poorer than the English giants who were just starting a dominant era under Alex Ferguson. United had just won the FA cup in a 4-0 mauling of Chelsea two days previously, but they still fielded a decent side and would still prove to be a formidable opponent.

The likes of Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Ex Celt Brian McClair and the man of the moment himself Mark Hughes were all in the starting line up, while the talented Eric Cantona was on the bench.

Whilst we had the likes of Carl Muggleton, Mark McNally, and Willie Falconer. We also had our star player Paul McStay missing from the line up, but we still had the magnificent John Collins present in the middle of the park, and a ‘trialist’ in the shape of Chic Charnley. A well known character in Scottish football and something of a maverick, but a talented player and a massive Celtic supporter.

We also had 19 year old Simon Donnelly who burst onto the scene at the tale end of the season and was very highly regarded.

Celtic took the game to United who were perhaps just warming down after negotiating a tough but successful campaign, but this was a big deal for both the Celtic supporters and players.

Simon Donnelly aiming to secure a new long term deal turned on the style and scored a double in an unexpected but brilliant 3-1 victory. With Willie Falconer grabbing our other goal.

Chic Charnley turned on the style and soaked up every minute of his dream moment in a hoops jersey, at one point he stopped the genius that was Eric Cantona from nutmegging him and took the ball from the flamboyant Frenchman before advancing past him. This would prove to be Charnley’s first and only time in a Celtic shirt, but one he’ll likely forever cherish.

It’s also a game a lot of Celtic supporters will cherish. There wasn’t much for the Celtic support to enjoy in the early 1990s but that day was a real delight and a respite from our domestic woes at the time.

Images courtesy of The Celtic Wiki.

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