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That Hibs 3 Celtic 5 Game – Ladies and ‘the gents’ at Easter Road

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Joe McBride scores

Liam Kelly’s brilliant article yesterday on the game on 8 October 1966 between Hibs and Celtic at Easter Road triggers a few memories of my own about this really rather remarkable match. Games between Celtic and Hibs were usually great affairs in the late 1960s and this one was one of the best.

It was my first weekend at St Andrews University. I was terrified, overwhelmed, inadequate in the face of all these loud raucous English and American accents that talked about their father’s yacht and said things like “Yah” and “Sooper”. I resisted the temptation to take the train home, and took another train to Edinburgh instead. I gave myself quite a treat.

I was standing fairly low down on the huge terracing opposite the main stand. I was beside two young ladies, bedecked in the green and white of Celtic. A middle aged man was cursing and swearing (as can happen on a football terracing) and it became a lot worse when Hibs scored first. Eventually, another man asked him to tone it down “Can’t you see there are girls there?”. To his credit, the swearer did indeed apologise and from then on he swore only occasionally.

But then Celtic equalised – Jimmy Johnstone at his best on the right wing and Joe McBride finished it off. After the deserved cheers died down for what was a brilliant goal, one of the young ladies whose ears might have been offended a few minutes ago, turned to her friend and said “Aw! Wee Jimmy’s a crafty wee (sweary word),  is he no’?” Her friend replied,” Aye, I want tae tak him hame and (sweary word) him!”

Then nearing half time, I needed the toilet, possibly something to do with the beer I had been drinking. It was not unknown in 1966 for men to simply use nature’s resources where one stood on the terracing, but there were these two young ladies there, so reluctantly I realised I would have to fight my way up the packed terracing to get to the inadequate health hazard that was quaintly described as ‘the gents’.

Joe McBride scores
McBride scores again

The score was now 2-2 and I said to my friend, “I cannae believe that Hibs are actually going in drawing 2-2. We’re outplaying them!” So we were, and by the time I got to the toilet, it was 4-2! It was devastating stuff, and I recall having to make a determined effort to get to the toilet and not to be over-exuberant in my celebrations, lest I had an embarrassing accident!

Billy McNeill protects Ronnie Simpson from the Hibs attacker

And 5-3 it finished. Devastating stuff and I really began for the first time that night whether we really had a chance of becoming the first British team to win the European Cup. No, no, I was getting carried away! But when I got back to the cloistered University of St Andrews, a polite English fellow in an Oxford accent asked me if I had enjoyed the game. I said “Yah! Sooper!”.

David Potter

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About Author

I am Celtic author and historian and write for The Celtic Star. I live in Kirkcaldy and have followed Celtic all my life, having seen them first at Dundee in March 1958. I am a retired teacher and my other interests are cricket, drama and the poetry of Robert Burns.

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