| Match Pictures | Matches: 1952 – 1953 | 1952-53 Pictures |
Trivia
- Wholesale changes; Sean Fallon moved up front again with Meechan coming in at the left back slot; Stein moved back to centre half and debut man Mike Conroy came in as left half; Bobby Collins came back in with Willie Fernie partnering him on the right, Fallon was at centre forward and John McPhail and Bertie Peacock were on the left; out went Jimmy Walsh, John Duffy and the great Tully was rested in preparation for an international.
- There were no Celts included in the full Scotland team to face England at Wembley; Bobby Evans was a reserve and Willie Fernie was a travelling reserve; Evans lost out to ex-Celt Tommy Docherty
- A paltry crowd of 10,000 turned up for the game. The Evening Times correspondent estimated there were only 5,000 there at the kick off.
Review
There was near silence when the team sheets were read out and dead silence 3 minutes after kick off when St Mirren went ahead from a Gemmell header after a corner. Gemmell nearly got a second again from a corner on 6 minutes. Peacock and Fallon then had efforts at the other end. Fernie got an equaliser on 12 minutes when McPhail spotted his run and lobbed a pass over the top which Willie proceeded to put away. Collins then missed a sitter but at least Celtic looked as though they were ready now to shake a leg. Celtic took the lead on 25 when Fallon contested a ball with the St Mirren goalkeeper Park. At the end of the half Celtic had been pressurising the St Mirren goal for little return. At half time the boreathon stood at 2-1 to Celtic.
Play speeded up but the quality was poor in the second half. McPhail laid on good passes for Collins and Peacock which came to nothing. McPhail was pushing the Celtic attack forward and playing some good football. Celtic looked to have settled it in the 83rd minute when Collins shot home from a Peacock and McPhail move. However, Bonnar failed to cut out a cross and Gemmell picked up another goal for St Mirren.
McPhail was the best player on the park and proving to be a true Celtic utility player.
Teams
Celtic:
Bonnar; Haughney, Meechan; Evans, Stein, Conroy; Collins, Fernie, Fallon, McPhail, Peacock.
Scorers: Fernie (13), Fallon (26), Collins (83)
St Mirren:
Park; Lapsley, Johnston; Neilson, Telfer, Moore; Blyth, Cross, Wilson, Gemmell, Anderson.
Scorers: Gemmell 2 (3, 85)
Referee: J R Boyd (Denny)
Attendance: 10,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)