| Match Pictures | Matches: 1967 – 1968 | 1967-68 Pictures |
Trivia
- Celtic had been due to play St Johnstone on the Saturday 6th January. Snow and ice however affected the Muirton Park pitch and the game was postponed along with five other games in Division 1. Rangers played and duly won going four points ahead.On the 13th Celtic were due to play Stirling Albion at home. There was no chance to get the frost mats out before the ground froze and again the game was postponed with only three games going ahead that weekend. Rangers played and won again going 6 points ahead. On the Tuesday night before this Saturday game Celtic played Morton in a Friendly (see previous game)
- Following the Glasgow derby played on the 2nd Jimmy Johnstone was in no fit condition to play having been barged, kicked and run down by various Rangers players throughout the game. Bertie Auld who had to be subbed in the game was also having treatment for a leg injury. Ronnie Simpson who picked up a rib injury against Clyde in the Ne'erday game was, however, making a good recovery. During the cold spell with postponed games various players went down with colds and 'flu.
- FIFA had now received the referee's report from Montevideo and tied it up with film footage. They relayed their report to the SFA but not to the club. Some kind of decision was expected on the 26th January when the Disciplinary Committee would meet again. The Argentine Football Association took no action against Racing Club or any individual players.
- Hibernian had just been knocked out of the Fairs Cup by Leeds Utd in the cruelest way. Thjeir goalkeeper was penalised under the new four-step rule and from the resulting indirect free kick Jack Carlton headed home to give the English team a draw on the night and going thru 2-1 on aggregate.
- Celtic were planning a number of friendlies now that there was no European involvement. They planned to play Gornik Zabrze, the Polish side that had knocked out Celtic's vanquishers in the first round this season, around the 23rd February. They also planned to play a big exhibition game in Dublin against a Dublin Select team on March 18th. Both games eventually became the victims of officialdom. UEFA barred the Gornik game from going ahead and the SFA in a true feat of piqued offficialdom said that Celtic had not applied to play the game therefore it was off.
- Celtic delayed naming the team to the day of the game. All the players were said to be fit and in the end Jock Stein went with restoring Chalmers and Johnstone from injury and Wallace back from suspension, moving Murdoch back to right half, retaining Davie Cattanach at right back. This meant Brogan, Craig, McBride and Auld missed the game, Auld taking the bench spot.
- Bobby Duncan of Hibs did not have a good afternoon. He scored an own goal before being carried off with a broken leg.
Review
Almost from the kick off, Gemmell sent a low ball across the Hibs goal where it hit Madsen and it bounced off Duncan's legs to go over the line. A stramash in front of the Hibs goal then almost produced a second before the ball was cleared. Cattanach got back to save what seemed a certain goal from Stein after he had rounded Simpson. Bobby Lennox added to that early own goal in the 18th minute with a decent headed goal of his own.
From that point onwards Celtic held tight despite good efforts to get back into the game from Hibs and the misfortune of losing Duncan to a broken leg after a collision with Hughes before the half time whistle. Simpson had to leave his area just before the end as the Celtic goal was pelted with bottles and cans from the enclosure. Huindreds of spectators came onto the ground and fighting broke out. Order was eventually restored by Lothian's finest.
In the second half Bertie Auld came on for Jimmy Johnstone, who was withdrawn with an ankle injury, with Bertie going to inside left, Lennox to left wing and Hughes switching to the right. Despite the changes Celtic could not add to their total and Celtic had to defend decisively against a Hibs side determined to get something out of the game. In the dying minutes Chalmers was booked after an altercation with Pat Quinn of Hibs.
Teams
Hibernian:
Wilson, Duncan (Cousin), Davis, Stanton, Madsen, McGraw, Marinello, Quinn, Stein, Cormack, Scott.
Scorers:
Celtic:
Simpson, Cattanach, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone (Auld 45), Wallace, Chalmers, Lennox, Hughes.
Scorers: Duncan (o.g. 2), Lennox (16)
Referee: W Elliot (Barrhead)
Attendance: 38,077
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
