| Match Pictures | Matches: 1914 – 1915 | 1914 pics – 1915 pics |
Trivia
- Celtic & World War One
- Ex-Celt Andrew Davidson lined up against his old teammates at Left-half. He would later serve as a Captain in the RAMC, become Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, be given the honorary title of physician to The King as well as being knighted.
- Alex Gray's first match for the first team since 1912/13, and this is his last Celtic league match.
- James Brannick who had just moved north from Everton in April was to die in action at Ypres in 1917, while another player lining up against Celtic who had briefly played at Goodison was goalscorer Tom Page a Liverpudlian who had an international cap for baseball.
- The Glasgow Herald (see below) was not amused that people were turning up in large numbers to watch football matches and hoped that this "apathetic and unpatriotic" conduct was soon to end with the cessation of football matches.
- The war is dominated by a report of an attack by a cruiser squadron of the Royal Navy on German warships at Heligoland and on land at Mons, where the impression is given that things went well. The recapture of the Belgian capital is also reported as a, possibly imminent, move.
Review
Teams
CELTIC:
Shaw, McGregor, Dodds, Young, Johnstone, McMaster, McAtee, Gallacher, McColl, Browning Gray
Scorers: Gallacher (2), McColl
SAINT MIRREN:
Liddell, Todd, A Reid, H McGrory, R Reid, A Davidson, Sowerby, Brannick, Clark, T Page, A Brown
Scorers: Clark (2), T. Page
Referee: T Robertson (Glasgow)
Venue: Love Street
Attendance: 18,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
- Match Pictures
Articles
The Glasgow Herald, Monday Aug, 31, 1914
A CELTIC RELAPSE
The Celtic are beginning in as unpromising a manner as twelve months ago when they dropped 5 points in their first half-dozen League matches, yet finished at the head of the list. It is too early to forecast a similar happy ending to a rather inglorious beginning, yet one is safe in saying that the champions will have to show much improvement in every section if they are to take a high place in the competition this season.
If not actually outplayed at Paisley, they were clearly inferior to the home team, which failed to win outright because of the weakness of a deputy goalkeeper from whom the occasion proved too much.
The game was keenly contested – too much so at times – and several players on each side required the attention of the club trainer.
The absence of McMenemy and McNair was responsible for much unsteadiness in the Celtic attack and defence, and defeat would have been theirs had St Mirren been more capably served in goal.
The Scotsman, Monday 31st August, 1914
St Mirren in their match against the Celtic at Paisley, before about 12,000 persons, opened strongly, and in five minutes scored through Clark. The lead however was short-lived, Gallachger netting from a partial save by Liddell, who occupied O’Hagan’s position in the Saints’ goal.
Clark fifteen minutes later again gave St Mirren the lead, but before the interval another weak save by Liddell gave McColl and opportunity which he quickly accepted.
On resuming, Page early scored for the Saints, but some ten minutes later Gallagher again found the net. St Mirren claimed that their goalkeeper had been unduly interfered with. However this goal brought out a draw which rather flattered Celtic, who did not reproduce their usual form, and practically all through were a bit inferior to St Mirren.
"The stirring appeals of the Prime Minister, Lord Roberts, and others are likely to have an effect on our football legislators, and everything points to a cessation of the game at an early date. Only then will the public realise the magnitude of the present crisis, and recruiting receive a much-needed stimulus."