| Match Pictures | Matches: 1967 – 1968 | 1967-68 Pictures |
Trivia
- The Russians arrived in Glasgow on the Sunday night and trained at Glasgow Green on Monday morning. Neither side was prepared to release any player or team details on the Monday but Jock Stein did release on Tuesday lunch time that the Lisbon Lions would play.
- The last time the Lisbon Lions XI ever started & played together in a competitive match. This was their only defeat. Noted they played together in a further game on 10th Feb 1968, Celtic winning 1-0 away to Motherwell but Chalmers was subbed on (they didn’t start together in that match).
- Dynamo players had a pre-breakfast work out on Glasgow Green on the day of the game, as they had done since they arrived in Glasgow.
- Celtic played in change strip of green shirts, green shorts and green socks.
- The game was shown live on on Russian TV in front of an audience of tens of millions.
- Celtic’s first defeat at Celtic Park in European competition.
- Celtic reunited with referee Kurt Tschener the official from Lisbon 1967.
- On the same day and night Rangers drew 1-1 away to Dynamo Dresden and Hibs beat Porto 3-0 at home, both in the Fairs Cup.
- The QE2 was launched by Queen Elizabeth on this day in the John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank.
Review
Celtic played poorly in their first Euro tie since winning in Lisbon.
Jock Stein had aimed for a 3-0 lead in the press and watched with horror in the first half as Celtic went 2-0 down with his team desperately out of form.
In only 4 minutes Puzasch scored after a splendid Kiev build up after Johnstone misplaced a pass in midfield. This totally knocked Celtic out of their stride and in 30 minutes Byshovetz, the best player afield, scored after McNeill had failed to clear.
Before half time Gemmell was luck to stay on the field after retaliation after a tackle by Sabo.
At half time the fans made their displeasure known and in the second half Celtic came roaring back.
In 61 minutes Lennox gave Celtic hope with a tremendous finish from a volleyed Auld pass. After that Celtic camped in the Kiev area but the goal would not come.
Auld clipped the bar with a rising shot, Johnstone headed straight at the keeper from close in, Schegolkov cleared a McNeill header from under his bar and Rudakov made the save of the game from a McNeill header.
Celtic Park was silent at time up and the feeling was that Celtic now faced an impossible task in Kiev.
Commenting after the game Jock Stein said,
“It would be wrong to say that we are not concerned about this half time result but it is not the end of the world and we are not beaten yet.
“Things just cannot run for any team all the time. They did not run for us last night – but now we appreciate that we have a very very hard job in front of us in Russia.”
“We have never been in the position of going to a foreign country a goal down. Previously we have been able to pace ourselves. We have been able to play things tight for the first 20 or 25 minutes and then break out. We cannot do that this time. We must attack from the start and get the goal that will put us back into the game.”
“The Russians got a goal in four minutes – and any team that scores so early in a foreign country get a big uplift. We made chances but we were not able to take them. They were given chances – and cashed in.
Teams
Celtic:
Simpson, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, Auld, Lennox
Scorer: Lennox (62)
Dynamo Kiev:
Rudakov, Schegolkov, Sosnichin, Levchenko, Sabo, Krulikovsky, Turvanchik, Bychevetz, Medved, Serebrianikov, Pusach
Scorers: Pusach (4), Bychevetz (30).
Referee: K. Tschener (West Germany)
Attendance: 54,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
September 20th 1967 European Cup – Preliminary Round 1st leg
Celtic 1- 2 Dynamo Kiev
(From Bob Russell, Daily Mirror)
Celtic, the soccer kings of the continent, are the half-crown champions of Europe this morning. They lost their other half in this first defence of their title at Celtic Park last night, it should have been a Celtic show of strength and skill. It ended in silence and near shame.
The green gods of Scottish football were shown to be mere mortals – frustrated fighters who now face a super-human effort in the second leg of the European Cup first round in Kiev on October 4.
On last night’s evidence, Dynamo, who boost “We shall not lost at home,” might be right.
The ultra-effienct Russians whirred into action in four minutes. Left back Tommy Gemmell slipped and left winger Pusach burst between centre half Billy McNeill and John Clark to score.
Celtic came back with hope and initiative. But suddenly, frighteningly, you sensed the defence was in a state of trance. It must have been for such an experienced man as skipper McNeill to miskick under no real pressure and let Bychevetz in for the second stunner in thirty minutes.
Eventually, after 62 minutes, left winger Bobby Lennox penetrated with a brilliant scissors twenty five yard shot that gave the 54,000 crowd their moment of glory.
