Thirty years ago today, Celtic travelled to Ibrox as rank outsiders. Lou Macari had just taken charge, but the man who picked the side for this game was caretaker boss Frank Connor who was unbeaten in his short spell in charge.
Rangers were of course overwhelming favourites as they had the much better side, but this Celtic side although not the best, had a knack at upsetting the odds now and again. Especially in Old Firm matches.
We held out until the 67th minute when Ally McCoist pounced to give Rangers the lead. and to be fair it looked done and dusted. But just three minutes later with Ibrox still rocking, they were beautifully silenced. Bumbling Rangers keeper Ally Maxwell was guising as Henry Smith as he dropped the ball.
John Collins took full advantage and he was as cool as you like as he casually placed the ball into the back of the net to send the free Broomloan wild with delight. Rangers and their support were deflated, they didn’t recover and we it looked like we were going to hold out for a well deserved draw.
Then with the game deep in injury time Celtic won a corner. John Collins whipped in a magnificent ball with that magical left foot of his, and it evaded the entire Rangers defence landing straight on the head of young Celtic substitute Brian O’Neil.
He couldn’t miss and the ball nestled in the back of the net. Bedlam in the Free Broomloan. The Celtic players celebrated with the supporters, the bodies spilled out of the Celtic dugout onto the Ibrox Pitch. Rangers were spewing, as their stands emptied in minutes.
There was no time to hit back. What a magical moment in a dire era for Celtic supporters and the club itself. It’s a game I and many will always fondly remember.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
— Li’l Ze (@LilZe785) October 30, 2023
Matt Corr’s new book Majic, Stan and the King of Japan is out now and Neil Lennon, the Celtic captain that season, has written the foreword for us.
You can get a signed copy of the hardback version direct from Celtic Star Books by clicking on the image below. It’s also available an an e-book via Amazon Kindle and please note that all colour photographs that appear in the beautifully presented printed hardback book are also available in the Kindle version of Majic, Stan and the King of Japan…
On the Monday at training a rangers fan was stopped from attacking maxwell as was the shock of us winning was so unexpected but was always the best place to celebrate a win