31st August 1966: Clyde v Celtic League Cup – Part Two

 

31st August

On the morning of the match, the papers announced what I had found out the previous day;

Craig Listed in 14 for Clyde Game
Right-back Jim Craig has not played in Celtic’s first team since the match with Motherwell at Fir Park on 7th May but is named is among the 14 listed by Jock Stein for tonight’s visit to Shawfield.
The 14 listed are the eleven who beat Hearts plus Craig, Charlie Gallagher and Bobby Lennox.

 

To be perfectly honest, I had no high hopes of playing. The defence had done little wrong so far and being a realist, I thought my only chance of an involvement was a spot on the bench.

So, when I turned up at Parkhead in the late afternoon for the short trip to Shawfield, I decided to enjoy the moment, taking in the chat with the boys, the atmosphere on the bus, the welcome from the hundreds of Celtic fans milling around outside the ground even an hour and a half before the official kick-off time and the bigger welcome when we all walked out on to the pitch to check conditions and the state of the pitch.

As I had thought, though, when we were all gathered in the dressing-room for the team to be read out, I did not make the team. Indeed, I did not even make the bench, John Hughes getting the nod for that spot

 Clyde

The Teams

Celtic:Simpson, Gemmell, O’Neill, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, McBride, Chalmers, Lennox, Auld.  Sub – Hughes

Clyde:McCulloch, Glasgow, Mulhearn, McHugh, Fraser, Staite, McFarlane, Gilroy, Knox, Anderson, Hastings.  Sub – Soutar

 

The Play

In the press the day after the match, the headlines summed up the game very succinctly ;

Unconvincing Victory By Celtic
Celtic were none too convincing in their victory at Shawfield. Until five minutes from time they led by only a penalty goal!’

 

16 minutes:
Bobby Lennox deceived the Clyde defence by crossing low and hard. Clyde keeper McCulloch fumbled and Joe McBride scored. 1-0 Celtic

35 minutes:
Gilroy ran though the Celtic defence to equalize. 1-1

36 minutes:
A penalty kick was awarded when Bobby Lennox was brought down. Joe made no mistake from the spot.  2-1 Celtic

86 minutes:
Tam Gemmell eases the worries of the Celtic support with a good drive. 3-1 Celtic.

 

The Table

With this result, Celtic qualified for the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

Team P W D L F A GAv Pts
Celtic 5 5 0 0 22 2 11.00 10
Hearts 5 2 1 2 7 9 0.78 5
Clyde 5 2 0 3 6 13 0.46 4
St Mirren 5 0 1 4 3 13 0.23 1

 

Other results ;-

Aberdeen 2  Dundee  0                     Dunfermline  3  Partick Thistle 2

Dundee Utd 5  St Johnstone  1         Hearts  5  St Mirren  1

Falkirk  0 Motherwell  2                   Kilmarnock  3  Hibs  0

Morton  3  Third Lanark  2               Queen’s Park  0  Dumbarton  3

Rangers  1   Stirling Albion  1


No!

The Reverend Theocritus Goubule, from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a Methodist minister, has been refused a passport to read for his Master’s degree in Theology at Edinburgh University.

 

Fit Again

Floyd Paterson, the former world heavyweight champion, has been passed medically fit for his fight over 10 rounds against the British champion Henry Cooper at Wembley on 20th September.

Patterson, who was severely hampered by a damaged back in his world title fight with Cassius Clay last November has been examined by medical officers of the New York State Commission who found him in excellent physical condition, with no tenderness, no muscle spasm and no lower back problems.

 

Help from the West?

Glasgow has made a move to provide assistance to Edinburgh in the staging of the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

Councillor Tom Fulton is to ask Mr John Johnstone, the Lord Provost, if he will initiate discussions with Edinburgh’s Lord Provost and Edinburgh Corporation with a view to examining ways and means where Glasgow might assist her sister city in making the games an outstanding success and a credit to Scotland.