| Match Pictures | Matches: 1906 – 1907 | 1906-07 League |
Trivia
- Good win for Celtic.
- Best player on the field was Port Glasgow Athletic’s goalkeeper – Charlie Shaw!
Review
Teams
Celtic:
Adams, MacLeod and Mitchell; Young, McNair and Hay; Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Bauchop
Scorers:Bennett 29, Quinn 32, 51 McMenemy 70
Port Glasgow Athletic:
Shaw, Ritchie and Cleland; Allan, Robertson and Bulloch; Black, McShea, McDonald, Steele and Edgar
Scorers:
Referee: Mr J Stark, Airdrie
Attendance: 5,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
- Match Pictures
Articles
CELTIC SPEND CHRISTMAS IN THE BIG SMOKE
by Forrest Robertson
November 2022
Celtic beat Port Glasgow Athletic 4-0 at home on 22nd December 1906 to move 3 points clear of Dundee in their quest to win their 3rd successive League title. On the following Monday morning a happy, boisterous Parkhead party took the train from Central Station to Euston for the Christmas holiday and to play Woolwich Arsenal on Christmas Day and although Celtic had been down to the capital three times before, their visits had been in Victoria`s day against the cream of amateur football, Corinthians and London Caledonians , so this time it would be a first fully professional meeting. Celtic were assured a warm welcome because Bobby Templeton on the right wing had just signed from the Gunners whose manager Largs born Phil Kelso was in the process of steering his charges to their highest ever league finish of seventh.
The two sides trotted out of the pavilion at the Manor Ground, Plumstead on a crisp and sunny morning with 15,000 fans foregoing their familial Christmas duties to see the fun. With an eye on their Boxing Day league fixture against Bury, Woolwich rested a few regulars but the side fielded still looked strong enough to give their visitors a good game. Celtic paid their hosts the compliment of putting out their strongest XI. The home lot started off with a bang and but for some pretty awful shooting and pretty good defending would have been a couple of goals to the good in the opening 20 minutes with Bellamy, Ducat and Freeman scorning chances but gradually Donny McLeod and Willie Orr squeezed them out and Celtic began to push forward. Midway through the half captain Orr went into another of his tigerish tackles and wrenched his knee so badly that he was carried off but this only encouraged the Hoops to break out of their defensive mode and Jimmy Quinn had the ball in the net but was ruled offside. Then he hit the bar and all Arsenal could now muster was a Billy Minter try which Charlie Shaw dived to push round a post.
At the interval it was readily agreed to allow Celtic to bring on John Hamilton in place of Orr in what may be Celtic`s first substitute and back at full complement, the visitors now took control. Within a few minutes, Quinn had the ball tucked past Ashcroft in the home goal and the Celtic centre at the peak of his power repeated the trick a few minutes later to give his side the win. Thereafter both teams put on a show fit for the festive season after which everyone got down to the serious business of the day. The teams were:
Woolwich Arsenal: Jimmy Ashcroft, Archie Cross, Archie Gray, Jimmy Bigden, Steve Theobald, Archie Low, Jim Bellamy, Andy Ducat, Bert Freeman, Billy Minter and Lee.
Celtic: Charlie Shaw, Donnie McLeod, Willy Orr(sub.John Mitchell), Jimmy Hay, Alec McNair, Sunny Jim Young, Bobby Templeton, Jimmy McMenemy, Jimmy Quinn, Peter Somers and Davie Hamilton.
Referee: Mr.Jamieson.
Ashcroft and Ducat were capped by England and Freeman after he`d gone to Everton. Scotland capped Archie Gray while he was with Hibs. All but Adams and Hamilton represented Scotland
Celtic, 20 games unbeaten from the start of the season, went on to win the League title by 7 points from Rangers and complete the first “double” by beating Hearts 3-0 in the Cup Final. John Hamilton had only made his club debut 3 weeks before in a 4-1 win over Partick Thistle.
The game came almost exactly 20 years after Arsenal`s first one when, as Dial Square(a part of the munitions factory), they beat long forgotten Eastern Wanderers 6-0. In 1913, the club moved from Plumstead south of the Thames north to Highbury dropping “Woolwich” from their name en route. They have the longest uninterrupted stay in England`s top division being members since 1919.