A nod to the past and a milestone for the present, as Big John Hartson becomes a Celtic Centenarian…
There was a poignant moment in Celtic’s modern history the following Saturday, 5 November 2005, on the eve of the club’s 118th birthday, as Kate Robinson’s stunning statue of Brother Walfrid was unveiled by a group consisting of Hoops chairman Brian Quinn, Walfrid’s great-niece and nephew, his fellow Sligoman Sean Fallon and two refugees.
This was the first such artwork to be installed at the main entrance to Celtic Park and it would later be joined by three others, acknowledging club legends Jock Stein, Jimmy Johnstone and Billy McNeill over the coming years.
The four plaques on the base of Walfrid’s statue are quite beautifully presented, retelling the story of the origins of Celtic, our greatest moment in Lisbon and the present, using the quotes of Willie Maley and Stein plus the Marist motto, ‘Ignoti et quasi occulti in hoc mundo’, translating to ‘unknown and hidden in the world.’
That phrase would probably have sounded like a decent option for Alex McLeish, as his Rangers side stuttered to a third successive league draw, this time a goalless match with his old club Aberdeen at Ibrox. They had also shared the points twice in their head-to-head Champions League clashes with our old friends Artmedia Bratislava in the same period.
The next day, the men currently wearing the Hoops were in action in Falkirk, where title rivals Hearts and Rangers had both recently stumbled. There would be no such problem for Gordon Strachan’s men, Celts going ahead for the first time in three games against the Bairns that season when Shaun Maloney tapped home Mo Camara’s perfect cross from the left just before the break.
Within a minute, the Celtic lead was doubled, Aiden McGeady – in for the injured Chris Sutton for his first start since the opening day draw at Motherwell, with Maloney pushed forward to partner John Hartson – dancing in from the left to beat Matt Glennon at his near post.
On the hour, Celts got a third, another piece of history as Camara again did well on the left to set up Maloney, whose fierce drive was brilliantly parried by the keeper, only for the big Celtic Dragon John Hartson to fire home the rebound to reach his century of goals for the Bhoys. The game finished 3-0, allowing Celtic to regain the top spot. A beaming Hartson explained afterwards how it felt to achieve that particular milestone.
“Some great players have reached 100 goals for Celtic, and to be in that sort of company makes me very proud. Hopefully, there will be a few more to come,” John Hartson
And his manager, Gordon Strachan, took time out to acknowledge his striker’s contribution.
“I’m delighted for John. He’s had a rough time over the last couple of months. Being on the football field is the one place he can relax. I was really pleased with the performance. We kept our concentration really well and did not allow the crowd to get excited,” Gordon Strachan.
Hail Hail,
Matt Corr
An extract from Majic, Stan and The King of Japan – the brilliant new book from Matt Corr, available now from Celtic Star Books. Order your signed and personalised copy HERE.
