Great News
I was suddenly about to join the ranks of the car-driving set!
It was all down to my Uncle Philip, my Mother’s brother and my Godfather. He had bought his first car a couple of years ago – a Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ – and was now wanting to change it for a Wolseley, so he offered the Beetle to me, we negotiated a very reasonable fee and the deal would go through at the beginning of the following week. I could hardly wait!
The Temperature Drops
It had been freezing at training on the Thursday night and by the Saturday, it was still the same, so the journey out to Parkhead, hopefully the final one I would undertake by public transport, was pretty uncomfortable, as, unlike today, there were no doors on the buses and the cold air blasted in all the time.
Not Ideal Conditions
The driveway up to Celtic Park was covered in a thin layer of frost and the small group of fans who were already there were covered in several layers of clothes. Sensible folk!
When I got inside, the guys were heading out for a look at the pitch and there a general agreement that it would be a good day for the Sambas. There was a slight layer of frost on the pitch but it was being brushed away by the ground staff and once that was done, the Sambas would give us a very good grip on the surface.
The Chat
While the guys were looking at the pitch, we chatted about the events of the week. In one of the replays in the Scottish Cup, Dundee had beaten East Fife 9-1 at Dens Park, so they would be our opponents in the next round. And the officials of the Dark Blues had already decided that the game would not be an all-ticket affair, although tickets for the stand and enclosure were bookable, at prices of 7 shillings for the main stand, 6 shillings for the side stand and 4 shillings 6 pence for the enclosure.
In another replay, Hearts had beaten Clyde 2-1 and would now meet Hibs, probably the biggest tie of the round; while we all had a gossip about former-Celt John McNamee, who had put in for a transfer from the Easter Road side.
As regards our game against Falkirk, the Boss had named the same defence as against Stranraer but had listed 6 forwards.
The Play
When the team was announced, it was Simpson, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, McBride, Chalmers, Auld and Hughes. So, Bertie Auld and Stevie Chalmers were in; Charlie Gallagher and Bobby Lenox were out.
Right from the start, we were on song and also on top. It was a case of the Celtic team against the Falkirk defence and by a mixture of poor finishing on our part and sheer good luck on theirs, we only got the one goal in the first half;-
20 minutes……a run down the left by John Hughes, a cut-back to Bertie Auld, who slammed the ball home from 12 yards. 1-0 Celtic
At the interval, the Boss was quite calm, saying that he was pleased with the way we were going about things but just advising us to be a bit more careful in the final pass. Thanks to the Sambas, we were keeping our feet well – in fact, having noticed what we had on our feet, one of the Falkirk players came out for the second half wearing plimsoles (or what we used to call ‘sandshoes’)– and continued to do so in the second half but this time round, whether due to our taking on the Boss’s advice or perhaps our opponents tiring, the goals arrived ;
50 minutes…..A pass from Steve Chalmers to Joe McBride, a fine shot, 2-0 Celtic
71 minutes A shot by Auld from a Hughes pass, deflected in but Bertie claimed it just the same. 3-0 Celtic.
75 minutes…..Pass by Tam Gemmell, shot by Hughes. 4-0 Celtic
77 minutes…..Strong drive by McBride. 5-0 Celtic
89 minutes…..McBride drive. 6-0 Celtic
Curiously enough, although Joe McBride got a hat-trick, it was the two by Bertie Auld that made the headlines that night in the press –
Bertie Auld Blasts “Bairns”
We had been right on song in that second half and few teams could have lived with us. Everyone was very happy afterwards and ready to enjoy ourselves that night. However, once we got back to Celtic Park and I got a lift into town from Doc Fitszimmons, all I could think about was my new car. Roll on next week!
A Game from the Past….and a Moment to Remember
Sponsored by the Jim Craig CSC
A Game from the Past…….when left-back Roy Milne was called up to the RAF, manager Jimmy McStay brought in Harry Dornan from Dumbarton (where he was on-loan from Kilmarnock) to partner Bobby Hogg and Harry made his debut at Hampden against Queen’s Park on 21st April 1941.
And a Match to Remember…..Harry made 66 appearances for the Hoops in total over the following 3 years, becoming a very solid and reliable performer in Celtic’s cause at a difficult time. Probably the match he would remember best is the one in which he scored his only goal, a penalty against Motherwell on October 4th 1941.
Harry later went back to Kilmarnock, then moved on to have spells with Arbroath and Queen of the South.
Return of the Cat
When Angela Gigante’s tabby cat returned to its home in Taranto, Italy, the 12-year-old put it into her mother’s washing machine because it looked dirty. She sprinkled in some detergent, set the machine on ‘delicate fabrics’ and switched on.
The spitting cat came out a few minutes later clean as a whistle, wet as a mop and mad as a tiger. The sobbing girl told her story in hospital where she was being treated for bites and scratches.
Top Girl
Petula Clark has bounced back to the top of the charts in America with ‘My Love’.
Ship Leaking
An RAF helicopter took off from Leuchars in a snowstorm to go to the aid of the radio ship, Radio Scotland, off the Firth of Forth. The vessel had started to take in water in heavy seas.