| Match Pictures | Matches:1953 – 1954 | 1953-54 pictures |
Trivia
- Played at Hampden Park; in the week prior to the game Celtic decamped to Seamill
- Walsh was out with an ankle injury sustained in the last game against Partick Thistle. Tully was back fit and walked into the side. Mochan shook off his injury to play. Meechan was also treated from a knock for the Firhill game and made the game. Manager Jimmy Mcgrory had also just come out of hospital.
Review
When Fallon scored the second and leading goal, for Celtic ten minutes after half time nobody thought that Motherwell would get back into it. but they fought back incredibly and had the bulk of the play in the late secod half.
Motherwell were slower in attack but had a more solid defensive unit. Bonnar, after a great game against Partick Thistle proceeded to make blunders. It was his mishandling of a bouncing ball that let Humphries in to score Motherwell's first. Haughney had a hard time with the wily fox that was Aitkenhead. Peacock was less effective than usual. Fernie had a selfish game and Mochan appeared to have a free role. Indeed the left side was commonly absent with both Tully sand Mochan in roving mode.
Celtic had a third goal disallowed in the middle of the second half when Fallon shoulder charged the goalkeeper over the line with the ball in his hands. Motherwell had had a similar move against Bonnar in the first half disallowed at 1-1.
Motherwell generally played for offside but they had to be very wary of the quick Celtic moves. There were some very tight decisions and some controversy over a goal when Fallon beat the offside trap and was pulled down and at the free kick taken by Peacock, Fernie met the free kick and scored but was adjudged to be offside when he was clearly onside when the kick was taken. Higgins out on the right wing received the attentions of Shaw and was hacked up and down the park.
Mochan equalised with a magnificent left foot shot from 20 yds after good work by Evans, Peacock and Fallon. Mochan set up Fallon with a thru-the-centre mazy dribble for his goal in the second half. And Motherwell's equaliser came when Meechan gave away a free kick and Bonnar completely missed the punch on the ball to allow Aitken in to head home.
Teams
Celtic:
Bonnar; Haughney, Meechan; Evans, Stein, Peacock; Higgins, Fernie, Fallon, Tully, Mochan.
Scorers: Mochan (24), Fallon (55)
Motherwell:
Johnstone; Kilmarnock, Shaw; Cox, Paton, Redpath; Sloan, Forrest, Humphries, Aitken, Aitkenhead.
Scorers: Humphries (22), Aitken (88)
Referee: H Phillips (Wishaw)
Attendance: 102,000
Articles
Evening Times 27th March 1954
Glasgow Herald 29th March 1954
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
