| Match Pictures | Matches: 1955 – 1956 | 1955-56 pictures |
Trivia
- CSA boycott game – or rather , NOT a boycott, but of the usual 100 coaches that usually travelled to the ground, 70 cancelled.
- The injury list was long and dictated the team selection on the day. Sean Fallon was back and replaced Frank Meechan; John Jack was back at centre half (Stein still out) allowing Evans to move back to his usual right half; the forward line was completely re-constructed. This gave 19 year old Billy Craig his first team debut at outside right.
- There was a minute's silence before the game for Alex Johnstone the Falkirk secretary who had just died. This was observed impeccably.
Review
The difference in reporting on the game and its associations, given the bottle throwing that had taken place in the previous Falkirk – Celtic game, and the subsequent furore, is quite remarkable. The Glasgow Herald talks abiout 'vociferous Celtic suppoprters being moved in on by the police'. The Evening Times report makes it clear that there were very few Celtic supporters at the game, most taking heed of the advice of the CSA and giving the game a miss.
This was always going to be a hard fought match given the previous League Cup tie, and doubly so given Celtic's injury woes. Mochan got the first goal but Falkirk equalised through O'Hara and then scored a second by new Bairn McCormack. The second half saw a period of relentless Celtic pressure without success. In a breakaway Falkirk got a third when Wright shot from 22 yards. Craig, Smith and Boden were somewhat overwhelmed but worked hard, none more so than Alec Boden. Celtic could have had a penalty in the second half but the claim was dismissed by the referee.
Teams
Falkirk:
Hamilton; Parker, Rae; Fletcher, Colville, McIntosh; Sinclair, McCormack, Wright, McCrae, O'Hara.
Scorers: O'Hara (24), McCormack (30), Wright (62)
Celtic:
Beattie; Haughney, Fallon; Evans, Jack, Peacock; Craig, Boden, McPhail, Smith, Mochan.
Scorer: Mochan (16)
Referee: W Davidson (Kirkcaldy)
Attendance: 10,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Glasgow Herald 12/9/55 Evening Times Match report 10/9/55
