The day we stopped the dreaded ten. A day we’ll never forget…
27 years ago today – how time flies
27 years ago today we celebrated a title win that was a combination of sheer joy and total and utter relief. That day was of course Saturday 9th May 1998, the day we stopped their dreaded ten. I often highlight this day especially on the anniversary and it’s something I will never tire of recalling.
To say the pressure on everyone involved on the day and the campaign as a whole was enormous would be an understatement, and every single supporter inside the ground or on the streets, in the pubs or wherever they may have been come kick-off couldn’t comprehend anything other than a Celtic victory.
We just had to win, there was no other possible outcome
We just had to win, there was no other possible outcome. Just the mere thought of the Rangers supporters celebrating overtaking our nine in a row record was enough to make us sick to the stomach. We had one hand on the trophy that had eluded us for a decade, a decade of misery and we had the perfect chance to put it all behind us, and even better it was all on our own hands.
It was our holy grail
Celtic Park was a cauldron of noise well before kick off as supporters arrived early eager to party, and it turned up a notch when just two minutes in Henrik Larsson fired us into the lead with a sublime goal.
Henrik’s goal settled the nerves but we all knew that we needed at least one more to get the party fully started and naturally the players went looking for that elusive second goal in the pressure cooker that was Celtic Park. The tension was incredible and when St Johnstone had a great opportunity to score it was becoming unbearable to watch.
That dreaded feeling of losing an equaliser
It didn’t look as if a second Celtic goal would arrive as time agonisingly ticked away, with that dreaded feeling of losing an equaliser firmly planted in the back of our minds. One nil leads are always dangerous but even more so on a landmark day such as this. In those moments it was utter torture and a second seemed like a minute and a minute an hour.
Then on the 72nd minute substitute Harald Brattbakk washed all the agony of that pressure away by scoring to give us some vital breathing space. Paradise erupted like never before.
The Celtic supporters celebrated wildly
The Celtic supporters celebrated wildly through sheer relief if anything to begin with but the realisation soon dawned on us. Grown men would cry that day, shedding tears of joy. For ten years of hurt when we stood with pride and took defeat were slowly being erased as the last twenty minutes passed by. It felt like a lifetime but would’ve felt much longer if Harald hadn’t grabbed that elusive second goal.
When the final whistle sounded our new Paradise erupted
When the final whistle sounded our new Paradise erupted as fans sank to their knees, some even had tears in their eyes. The players celebrated wildly on the pitch, supporters couldn’t contain their emotions and took to the pitch in great numbers to celebrate with those very players who were now classed as legends. The Celtic side that stopped the dreaded ten.
Almost ten years of misery had been evaporated
Almost ten years of misery had been evaporated. Their evil spell over us was broken. For them it was the beginning of the end but we didn’t know it at the time. That would be a celebration for another day well into the future. A season of pressure and uncertainty was over, we could breathe again.
Celtic were the Champions of Scotland once more, something a generation had never experienced. Their Ten in a Row was obliterated. It’s certainly a day I and a lot of supporters will never ever forget and I’ll be writing about it need year too. Mark my words!
27 years , time flies 🍀⚽️ https://t.co/X92RVwAzYa
— Simon Donnelly (@SimonDonnelly13) May 9, 2025
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
Was there that day with naomh padraig csc dublin , laughed , cried, got pissed, a day never to be forgotten. Celtic , our team
Let’s not ever forget that the ONLY REASON they reached nine in the first place was through the extremely corrupt intervention from a little scumbag called Jim Farry, the Chief Executive of the SFA, the most powerful man in the organization!
His actions in doing what he did to assist his favourite team and obstruct us along the way would eventually cost him his job!
Thanks to “the Bunnet” who made it his mission to expose him to the point of driving him out!
While this was sweet revenge, the corruption within the walls of the SFA still exists, they just have to be more careful!
They know we are watching their every move!
This is just one more reason why the Bunnet will forever be revered in Paradise!
So while we stopped their very corrupt club getting a very corrupt ten with the help of a very corrupt SFA, we still need to keep our eyes wide open!
HAIL HAIL