| Match Pictures | Matches: 1937 – 1938 | Pictures: 1937 – 1938 |
Trivia
- In retrospect, the key victory that set Celtic up for the league title, Celtic's last for a generation or so.
- Celtic won to leapfrog Hearts in the march for the title.
- Johnny Crum is the man of the match, with two goals and an all-round great performance. Celtic were too good for Hearts in a game where both side had their chances. Only Arthur Biggs of the Hearts forwards came near to Crum's standard.
- In the 3rd Round of the F.A. Cup in England, Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 3-1 at Highbury before 64,244 spectators.
- In other English cup games the Cupholders Sunderland progressed, and Alec Herd of Manchester City scored two goals while another Scot, George Much, scored all of Preston's three goals in their victory over West Ham.
- Hard frost caused the cancellation of rugby matches in Glasgow.
- Ploughing matches were held at Blair Drummond and Bannockburn, where the prize for the straightest ploughing went to Duncan McKenzie.
Review
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Teams
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN:
Waugh, Anderson, Hyslop, Robson, Dykes, Miller, Briscoe, T Walker, Biggs, Black, Warren.
Scorers:
Black, Biggs.
CELTIC:
Kennaway, Hogg, Morrison, Lynch, Lyon, Paterson, Carruth, MacDonald, Crum, Divers, Murphy.
Scorers:
Crum, (2); Divers, (2).
Referee: J. M. Martin (Ladybank).
Attendance: 44,030
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
CELTICS WINNING RALLY
HEARTS BEATEN AFTER LOOKING LIKE WINNERS
LEAGUE FLAG SHOULD GO TO PARKHEAD NOW
Celtic took the lead in the Scottish League Championship race with one of the finest victories achieved by their present team. By defeating Heart of Midlothian by four goals to two before a crowd of record dimensions at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, they are now a point ahead of Hearts with a game in hand.
There was no doubt about the better team at the final whistle, although Hearts had looked like winners until that stirring last quarter of an hour. Celtic had taken gruelling from the resumption to that point and they had been favoured with more than a little luck in withstanding the home forwards' thrusts. Several of their player were obviously tiring; yet, true to tradition they found that little bit extra when the opportunity arrived for them to strike.
In some ways it was a triumph for the Scottish Style in football. Celtic were a well-balanced team, with , superior all round footwork and passing skill; and when all was said and done, they were not lacking in dash when the moment occurred for it. This was in contrast to Hearts whose dashing, wide-passing play, in which their imported players from over the Border were prominent, had not the repose to cause any loss of position amongst the Celtic defenders.
It was indeed a victory which in every way compared with Hearts' triumph over Rangers at Ibrox recently, and it revealed the truth in the saying that a Celtic team are never beaten until the final whistle. Where Celts got their inspiration on this occasion was in their amazing escapes at their own goal, and the inability of Hearts forwards to turn many good chances to account.
CRUM THE MATCH WINNER
Celtic's young half-backs went out to hold Walker and Black and succeeded, not entirely, but often enough to take the balance from the opposing attack. Nevertheless , individual brilliance and opportunism had given Hearts a command in the game so much so that Celtic 's rally was quite unlooked for. Every player on view did well, and Celtic's brilliant rally must not be turned into a Hearts' collapse.
If there was one position. however, where the Parkhead men had an advantage it was at centre-forward, where Crum's footwork was often too much for the lanky Dykes. Crum was in every way the match winner; he was plucky and dogged, besides being a great footballer on the day. Hearts had a slight pull at half-back for the major part of the time, but the covering in defence was never up to the Celtic standard.
In attack, Black and Walker were only fitful. Walker, however, was more of a general than ever. The ball did not run kindly for him, and it was never more clearly revealed that he has lost his quickness in shooting. He had one terrific shot from 30 yards that Kennaway palmed on to the crossbar; a couple of seasons ago the goalkeeper would not have seen Walker manoeuvring, and might have found the shot a surprise. Warren was perhaps the best of the forward line, but was guilty, like the others, of some very slack finishing. The Welsh winger had the pace of Hogg, the international back, but the clever covering by Lyon and others told against his colleagues no matter what kind of pass he delivered after racing close on goal.
DARING GOALKEEPER
Anderson was the best of the Tynecastle rear lines, and practically subdued Murphy on the left. Hyslop also gave a good, account of himself, but he was limping badly toward the finish, being, like Black, an unintentional victim of the hard tackling that marked the game.
For the winners, Lyon followed Crum in general effectiveness. Hogg kicked well, but had to do so much chasing that he was one who was tiring rapidly towards the finish. Kennaway had several daring smothering saves from Black, but for the most part was a very lucky goalkeeper, on more than one occasion finding deflected shots coming straight to his hands. But there was every merit in the pluck and the good football of the winners, and the game will go into their annals as one of their greatest triumphs.
Right from the kick-off there was excitement. Celtic had the better of it until a run by Warren ended in a cross that should have been turned into the net by one or other of the advancing Hearts' attack. Then, in twelve minutes, came a somewhat surprising and lucky snap goal for Celtic. Walker was in midfield when he was brought down rather heavily by Paterson. There looked to be some obstruction following the tackle, for Walker could not get to his feet to recover the ball, which Murphy collected. The winger then slung over a cross that caught Hearts by surprise, and Crum threw himself full length to head into the net.
Hearts were a long time in rallying, and then missed chances. Biggs Was left with an open goal, but headed the ball high over the crossbar from barely five yards. The centre, however, made amends in twenty-five minutes when he chased the ball to the wing, and a fast hard cross was met full-tilt by Black, who headed into the net.
There were several stoppages for injuries. Morrison was laid out by a shot from Walker and Waugh by a charge from Murphy that earned the Celtic winger some reproof from the referee. To account for these waits the referee allowed play to go on an extra minute before the interval, and in that time a concerted Hearts' attack ended in a good goal that was cheered to the echo. Briscoe wound up a fine passing movement by delivering a shot that Kennaway could only palm out, and Biggs coolly took the ball under control and shot into the net from eight yards.
The bulk of the second half play was at Kennaway's end, where the goalkeeper made several neck-or-nothing saves. Briscoe, like Walker, shot against the crossbar, but the greatest escapes were those when Black was foiled in his long-striding runs before being slowed by an exceptionally severe tackle. Still, although Hearts could not obtain a “safety" score, Celtic were wilting visibly, and their magnificent rally was a shock to the Tynecastle defence. Some bad covering during a breakaway gave Crum an easy headed equaliser. Three minutes later Crum was through again, and a neat pass saw Divers turn the ball past Waugh to strike the inside of the post and trickle over the goal line . Before the finish a splendid passing bout gave Divers another easy goal.
Trust Celtic for the big occasion! The League flag should go to Parkhead now.
To summarise this vital match it might be said that Hearts played up well after an early reverse, and took the lead before the interval, only to fall to a late Celtic rally , after the visitors had been almost played to a standstill. It was a victory gained in traditional Celtic style, a fighting finish finding Hearts' weak spots. [See Match Pictures]
