4. A MAGIC MONDAY WHEN TEN MEN WON THE LEAGUE
CELTIC 4 – 2 RANGERS
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE, 21 MAY 1979
Monday nights don’t come any better than this. After a really bad winter a struggling Celtic side had a significant fixture backlog and a considerable points deficit to attempt to make up. Having gone on a winning run from around March the gap was closed and on a warm Monday night in May Celtic had one fixture to fulfil – the postponed match from early January against a Rangers side looking to win a Treble.
A goal down, then a man down and things were looking bad for this Celtic team that Billy McNeill was beginning to shape. Roared on by the Jungle and driven on by Roy Aitken Celtic scored twice to go into an unlikely lead only to surrender it almost immediately. With time running down a harmless looking George McCluskey cross was headed by Colin Jackson past Peter McCloy in the Rangers goal to put Celtic in front (Big Roy escorted the ball into the net!)
Then it happened – Murdo MacLeod attempted to either score or hit the ball as far away into the Celtic End as possible as we entered the final seconds. He failed in the latter but succeeded in the former and ten men had won the League. Unforgettable. Rangers limped past Partick Thistle a few days later to a crowd of just 2000 – the lowest ever (World Record) for a League match at Ibrox.
