| Match Pictures | Matches: 1971 – 1972 | 1971-1972 Pictures |
Trivia
- Kenny Dalglish as expected was withdrawn from the Scottish League party that faced the English League on the Wednesday night in Middlesbrough. Connelly, Hay and Macari travelled despite Macari carrying an ankle knock picked up in the Aberdeen game.
- Jim Craig and Jimmy Johnstone were still out with injuries. However Dixie Deans had recovered and played and Tommy Callaghan came into midfield to replace Connelly who was injured in the Scottish League match. Hay recovered from a knee knock picked up in the same game.
- Stand was all ticket.
- Celtic's plan to protect one-goal lead backfires as late Renton goal earns Hearts a replay.
- On the Monday after this game Celtic defeated Clydebank 3-1 in a Challenge match at Kilbowie. The Celtic team was Connaghan, Craig, Quinn, McLaughlin, Watt, McCluskey, White, Johnstone, Davidson, Callaghan and Wilson. The Celtic scorers were Davidson 2 and Callaghan.
- Hearts left back was 21 year old Jim Jeffries who would go on to manage the club between 1995 – 2000.
Review
With Harry Hood operating in midfield, this was a fast game with Hearts convinced that they could stay with Celtic all the way.
Hearts had to rearrange after Townsend picked up a leg gash after 7 minutes. David Hay was booked in the first half. Hearts relied on what was their best feature all season and that was their strong defense and Celtic's forwards were missing the target when they got a look in. But past the half hour Callaghan played a great pass through to Dixie Deans who controlled the ball and shot past Garland to put Celtic in front. The goal actually appeared to raise Hearts and they fought back strongly and came out for the second half in rare attacking form. Celtic played for the 1-0 win in the second half and were undone late in the game
In the other quarter final ties, Rangers drew 2 apiece with Motherwell, Hibernian dispatched Aberdeen 2-0 and Raith Rovers run ended with a 3-1 defeat by Kilmarnock.
Teams
Celtic:
Williams, McGrain, Brogan, Murdoch, McNeill, Callaghan, Hood, Hay, Deans, Macari, Lennox. Substitute: Dalglish
Goals: Deans (31)
Hearts:
Garland, Sneddon, Jeffries, Thomson, Anderson, Wood, Murray, Townsend (Brown), Ford, Renton, Lynch
Goals: Renton (88)
Referee: J. W. Paterson (Bothwell)
Attendance: 47,500
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles: The Glasgow Herald, Monday 20th March 1972
Hearts beat as Celtic lose way to goal
By William Hunter
Hearts earned their draw at Parkhead because they had a clearer idea of what they were about. Their game was simpler, but surer than Celtic’s. Their style had about it a hard, cool, clinical efficiency, like a pair of handcuffs. Celtic, more elaborate and devious in their plans, in the end mainly made prisoners of themselves. It was a fascinating encounter, full of exciting interest.
All of the 47,500 who were there will surely want to see the two teams try to out-think each other again.
Predictably enough, Celtic flashed from the start. They thundered in on Hearts, using both wings with Callaghan, listed at No 6, playing an orthodox No. 7. Hay, the nominal No 8, had been drafted in to cover for McNeill in the absence, because of injury, of Connelly. For all of the match Dalglish sat on the bench, which was, perhaps, where Celtic lost their beat chance of a win.
But to begin with they went forward full-sail. Their ploy was to use the total width of the field, thereby stretching the defence of Hearts to its tautest, and then to punch holes through it.
Serious injury
It was an exciting scheme, helped fortuitously by an injury to Townsend after only nine minutes when he seriously damaged himself fouling Lennox.
Townsend went off on a stretcher and his colleagues might have been forgiven for thinking he was not totally the unlucky one. Murdoch and Hay kept piercing neat gaps for Macari, Lennox, and Deans to run through. Macari sidestepped the ball past a post. Lennox twice blazed over the bar. Something had to give.
After 37 minutes Callaghan found the way. A beautifully judged ball from the wing allowed Deans to round Anderson. Garland moved swiftly but only enough to help the ball into his net.
Hearts rode the blow by ignoring it. Oddly, the goal seemed to elate Celtic less than it lifted Hearts. They went forward confidently, seeking to draw level before half-time. Renton skied over from in front of goal, Lynch headed just too high, Ford nearly controlled with a back heel a high ball when rushing in on Williams. The game was not over yet; in fact, a new one was only starting.
Cool play
After the interval, superbly led by Thomson, Hearts continued to play away in their cool way with three men forward and three in the middle. But Celtic had changed more than their strips. They looked content to keep play in midfield, with only Deans and Macari up. After the blitz of the first half, now it was to be chess. Celtic showed they were also masters of the middle game; at least, for 20 minutes they did. In all that time there was no real goalmouth action.
Gradually, the game opened out again, but all in the direction of Williams. Lynch, prompted by Wood, brought out a heroic save from the Celtic goalkeeper.
Having retreated into their shell, Celtic were being pounded inside it and could not get out, even if they wanted to. Against them Ford found fresh sharpness; Brown, substituting for Townsend, was all long-striding power.
Meanwhile, Celtic's substitute was kept, out of it, although Hood looked to be labouring with a leg injury. And the hard, simple, direct Action of Hearts had spoilt not only Celtic's rhythm but their tempers as well. Seldom can Celtic have been so querulous at home. (Hay had his name taken as did Sneddon, of Hearts).
Scoring volley
Within a couple of minutes of the end Hearts had their reward Brown sprang Ford on the left and Renton hit hard on the volley past Williams to a Celtic sized roar from the visiting supporters.
Murray knelt on the ground in an attitude of prayer. To all appearances, though, it was cool and thorough craftsmanship that had done the trick.
Sunday Mail, 19 March, 1972.
Parkhead fumblers let Hearts of the hook
SLACK CELTS PAY THE PENALTY…
By Cyril Horne
CELTIC……………………………… 1 HEARTS ……………………………… 1 (H.T. 1-0)
Scorers: Celtic—Deans (31 min.). Hearts—Renton (88).
CELTIC paid dearly—and may pay even more dearly—for a foolish "hold what-we-have" policy. For despite being a goal up they displayed several kinds of time-wasting moves and allowed Hearts to equalise two minutes from time.
The goal was scored by Derek Renton, who was unmarked when Donald Ford crossed from the left The tall ex-Ranger hit the ball right-footed on the drop 15 yards out and beat Evan Williams completely.
Perhaps defensive-minded Hearts were lucky to draw. It would be equally true to say that a Celtic team poverty-stricken in the matter of making scoring chances, hardly deserved to win.
Dixie Deans seemed to have applied the remedy to serious Celtic ailments when in 31 minutes he went through on a speculative ball from Tom Callaghan which eluded Alan Anderson.
With a left-foot shot from 16-yards he beat Ken Garland. The goalkeeper got a hand to the shot but couldn't stop the ball going into the net.
Hearts by this time were far from popular with the vast majority of the crowd.
They seemed so obsessed with the idea of not losing a goal that they were prepared to concede foul after foul.
Lucky
Before half time, Wilson Wood and Alan Anderson were lucky not to have had their names taken by a referee who did not have one of his best games.
Davie Hay had his name noted for retaliation foul.
Celtic fielded Hay in a No, 8 shirt but he played as sweeper. Tommy Callaghan, who is going through a dreadful time, was a No. 6 attempting to play a deep-lying right-winger's role.
This numbers game baffles me. Hearts' No. 7 Tommy Murray was, from the start, an additional midfield man, and Andy Lynch was little more than an auxiliary left half.
Bobby Lennox was the only player who even remotely resembled a winger.
Hearts had, however, been seriously upset by an injury to Jim Townsend who went down in the eighth minute in a tackle with Lennox—for which the Hearts' man was penalised.
Failure
He was carried off on a stretcher, suffering from a nasty leg muscle cut which needed stitching.
Hearts gave Celtic a couple of nasty frights just before half-time when, first Renton and then Lynch, missed excellent chances.
But their failure was no worse than that of Deans who let Garland divert his shot from only eight yards.
CELTIC— Williams; McGrain, Brogan; Murdoch, McNeill, Callaghan; Hood, Hay, Deans, Macari, Lennox. Sub.—Dalglish—not used.
HEARTS—Garland; Sneddon, Jeffries; Thomson, Anderson, Wood; T. Murray, Townsend, Ford, Renton, Lynch. Sub.—Brown, for Townsend— 8 min.
Referee– J. Paterson, Bothwell.
The Glasgow Herald, Monday 20th March 1972
Football round-up.
The Monday morning football round up begins with news that the Old Firm and their respective European opponents have:–
“settled into their training headquarters — Celtic at Seamill, Ujpest in Glasgow, Rangers at Largs, and Torino at Troon.
Before these two ties are decided on Wednesday night before an aggregate crowd at Parkhead and Ibrox of some 150,000 there are postponed league games tomorrow, not to mention one friendly game tonight of more than passing interest.
In this a Celtic team including Jimmy Johnstone will meet Clydebank at Kilbowie Park (kick-off 7.30) and the inclusion of the Internationalist outside right suggests that Jock Stein has taken on the game as a fitness and form test for Johnstone with a view to fielding him against the Hungarians.
Team changes
Imre Kovacks, the Ujpest coach, certainly seem to have an obsession about Johnstone. One of the first questions he asked after having arrived in Glasgow was:—“Will Johnstone play?" It may well be that Stein will grant Kovacks his wish for his players to meet, Celtic's strongest side.
Ujpest on Saturday took a four-point lead in the Hungarian first division, beating Eger 3-1 with a side that had three changes from the one beaten 2-1 by Celtic 12 days ago, Szentimihalyi (goalkeeper), Nosko (full back), and Zambo (midfield) did not turn out. They are, however, among the 15 players who will train at Parkhead today and at Barrowfield tomorrow.
Celtic began their preparations by watching a film of the first game in Budapest. The 12 nominated for the Hearts game plus George Connelly, Vic Davidson, Jimmy Quinn, and Denis Connaghan will go to Seamill, Connelly's back injury, which kept him out of the side on Saturday, is improving and the chances are good that he will be fit.
Rangers manager, Willie Waddell, reported no serious injury problems in the wake of the tie at”……………………………………..
Friendly Monday: Clydebank v Celtic XI
