| Match Pictures | Matches: 1955 – 1956 | 1955-56 pictures |
Trivia
- Boden came in a right half for Peter Goldie with Bobby Evans continuing at centre half in the absence of Stein who was out injured with a groin strain. Willie Fernie was out with a thigh injury so Eric Smith moved to inside right and Neil Mochan came back in. Jim Sharkey was still unfit and Jimmy Walsh appeared to be out of favour with Bob Kelly. John Higgins was also in long term recuperation from a knee injury and surgery.
- A chilly but fine day doon the coast at Somerset Park. Ayr had been doing well and had a youthful team made up mainly of locals from Junior sides as well as one or two that had dropped down. The ground was packed for the tie and youngsters were allowed over the wall to sit on the edge of the track. An orange coloured ball was used for the tie.
- In the week prior to the game the first inklings of drastic reorganisation of the game was seen. The English League , frightened by the fairly large reduction in attendances had moved to completely reorganise the League set up. The same falling attendances and consequent financial plight of some clubs had been seen in Scotland and many clubs were calling for a rethink. There were calls for a league restructure, changes in the number of representative and international games and the organisation of floodlit games. The outcome of the English League reorganisation was watched keenly from Scotland as the same problems were afflicting the Scottish game.
Review
Mochan and Tully both had early efforts and general one way play proceeded towards the |Ayr goal with occasional breaks. All the Celts were getting in on the act but Round stood up well in the Ayr Utd goal. Collins got the opener from a Tully pass. Haughney missed a penalty kick firing it against the crossbar. Despite all the Celtic attacks Ayr held out till fifteen minutes from the end when Collins got a second and Mochan scored at the death.
Teams
Ayr Utd:
Round; Leckie, Thomson; Strickland, Gallacher, Haugh; Japp, McMillan, Price, Stevenson, Beattie.
Scorers:
Celtic:
Beattie; Haughney, Fallon; Boden, Evans, Peacock; Collins, Smith, McAlindon, Tully, Mochan.
Scorers: Collins 2 (40, 89), Mochan (90)
Referee: J A Bissett (Edinburgh)
Attendance: 24,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Evening Times 18/2/56
