| Match Pictures | Matches: 1972 – 1973 | 1972-73 Pictures |
Trivia
- Although Celtic lost in midweek away to Dundee Jock Stein had praise for the Celtic team that had played saying that they had sharpened up. He had praise for the Dundee goalkeeper.
- As such, Jock Stein kept faith with the team that played at Dens Park and it was an unchanged line-up at Firhill. Jimmy Johnstone was still out in the cold. Partick left out recently acquired ex-Celt Stevie Chalmers who had cracked a rib.
- The game was delayed for 8 minutes to let fans in at the turnstiles.
- Ex-Celt Willie Wallace joined Dumbarton from Crystal Palace for £10,000.
Review
Thistle held Celtic till just before the interval when Dalglish weaved through the defense before releasing a pass to Hay who cracked it home. Immediately aftyer the interval Deans added the second which was the culmination of a great move from the forward line. Lennox added a third and then Partick's skipper Glavin appeared to tip a Dalglish goalbound shot.
Teams
Partick Thistle:
Rough, Gray (Gibson), Forsyth, Smith, Clark, Strachan, Lawrie, Glavin, Coulston, A Rae, McQuade.
Scorers:
Celtic:
Williams, Hay, Brogan (Hood 50), Murdoch, McNeill, Connelly, Dalglish, Macari, Deans, Callaghan, Lennox
Goals: Hay (43), Deans (48), Lennox (67), Dalglish (86)
Referee: B. Padden, (Ardrossan)
Attendance: 25,699
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Glasgow Herald Monday 16 October 1972
Celtic’s built-in calendar
By William Hunter
Partick Thistle 0, Celtic 4
Celtic have got themselves ripe for Europe right on time. Experience of big-time football appears to have produced a special type of built-in calendar at Parkhead. There, they respond to late autumn the way lesser mortals feel an urge to stretch their limbs and live a little at the approach of Ne'erday and the Fair.
Even given the battalions of ability under Jock Stein's baton, there remains something uncanny about how he marshals his men for the main offensive. With most of the lame and sick back on full duty, he has completed the naming of parts. The Celtic cannon has carefully been got ready to fire. It had to be poor Partick’s luck to be in the way when the shooting starred.
Thistle bristled bravely before they got trampled. They put Celtic through an uncomfortable patch for nearly all of the first half. When Celtic struck it was murderously— a lethal one-two to the head and heart just before and just after the interval.
BROGAN INJURY
Brogan limped from an early injury until he was removed, at last, in the middle of the second half. Otherwise, Celtic moved well in every department. Macari, Dalglish, and Deans buzzed irrepressively at the front. Connelly and Callaghan took colossal command in the middle. Murdoch and McNeill locked the back door. Their specific chore was to mind the free-running Coulston. They did so totally but dynamically — no crude, elementary man-to-man marking for this pair.
Almost instinctively, so it seemed, they took turns to cut off all supplies to Partick's lonely front-runner, leaving most of their minds free to get on with more exciting schemes with their own forwards. Murdoch, especially, had a marvellously constructive game — always facing forward, while monitoring what Coulston was about out of the back of his head.
But Celtic made most of Saturday's Mediterranean conditions at Maryhill because Hay shone. He has the secret of engaging in high adventure at lowest risk.
SCORERS
It was Hay who opened the scoring just before half-time when Dalglish had all of Thistle going the wrong way. Deans, Lennox, and Dalglish left Partick, still fighting, but flat.
Even so, Celtic may not yet be fully operational. Quick and exact in the air and in close passing, their long game remains more than a little untidy. They came unstuck too often when trying to swing the ball about. That may be because the ground is still unyielding and lumpy.
Partick Thistle—Rough; Gray and Forsyth; Smith, Clark, and Strachan; Lawrie and Glavin; Coulston; A. Rae and McQuade. Substitute— Gibson.
Celtic— Williams; Hay and Brogan; Murdoch, McNeill, and Connelly; Dalglish and Macari; Deans, Callaghan and Lennox. Substitute— Hood.
Referee—B. Padden, (Ardrossan).
The Scotsman Monday 16 October 1972
Connelly is out Phillips is in
John Rafferty reporting
George Connelly, of Celtic, withdrew from the Scotland party for Denmark at a quarter to ten last night He had developed flu in the evening. He was not replaced immediately, but Tommy Docherty has asked the former Dundee player, Ian Phillip, to fly direct to Copenhagen. He is in London, based with Crystal Palace.
Earlier the team manager had been smiling and saying: "It's not natural. I contacted everybody and everybody is fit. Imagine picking 18 players and everyone travelling." He was soon to be stepped smiling.
He had excused John Brownlie joining the party at a Glasgow hotel last night and had allowed him to take part in a relaxing weekend Hibs had arranged for Gleneagles. All the other players arrived in good time except Connelly and there was some concern over this.
Docherty tried to telephone him at his home but his line was engaged. His wife was trying to contact Docherty. Jock Stein could not be brought into it for he was in Dublin and knew nothing of the trouble. At a quarter to ten Docherty and Mrs Connelly eventually spoke and the news was broken.
Docherty said: "I the boy but if something had not happened, I'd have been worried. I’d have been waiting for something to drop. Now I have to consider that I'm not covered for a sweeper should there be injury. I'll have to call up Ian Phillip to cover the position."
Docherty himself went to the Arsenal match and particularly to study the play of George Graham and Peter Marinello. He was pleased with what he saw but he would have been even more satisfied had he gone to Firhill to see Celtic regain form and devastate Partick Thistle. Four of his pool of players were performing. Each played to international standard.
Perhaps most pleasing of all was Alex Forsyth, the Thistle fullback, who maintained poise and effectiveness even when the defence around him disintegrated. This young man is a fine football player and there must be a temptation soon to use his comprehensive talents further forward.
The main effect of the change, however, was that George Connelly was able to unloose his formidable skills in the mid-field where he won the ball with stout tackling and dispatched it with the accuracy and perfection of the great mid-field player.
There was a change noticed in Lou Macari who is also certain to play in Copenhagen. He seems to have developed suddenly tremendous pace when running with the ball and nobody in Firhill could catch him. With his ball skill vastly improved he is becoming a Hughie Gallacher-type centre forward. A lot of crumbs fall from him for anybody sharp enough to pick up.
Kenny Dalglish was the other pool member playing. Although at times he had dreamy spells he would spring into devastating action and especially when linking with Macari with whom he seems to have an extra sensory affinity.
With everybody in good form, Celtic, on a hard bumpy ground that did not suit them, played much good football. The return of Hay and Brogan to full back has brought the repose which comes of experience to the defence.
With the inventiveness of Connelly and Dalglish, linked with the running power of Callaghan in the midfield, Thistle were taken apart and eventually with the running and the chasings and the turnings which the defence suffered they became disorganised.
Young Clark latterly found it too much for him and Strachan beside him could not give him the support he needed. He was too involved himself. The right back, Gray, was also overwhelmed before the game was over.
That this happened was to some extent due to the mediocrity of Thistle's mid-field section, Glavin was just returning from injury so there was some excuse for him not becoming involved effectively in the game but much of the exciting fire of last, season has gone from the, captain, Rae, and Smith's limitations in the matter of speed were all too obvious.
Glasgow Herald Monday 16 October 1972
Scotland’s world cup omens bright despite Connelly’s withdrawal
By Ian Archer
Tommy Docherty today leads the elite of Scotland’s footballers to the home town of Hans Christian Andersen, knowing that, just like the Danish story-teller, he must somehow fashion a happy ending this week.
Scotland's first match of the new World Cup competition — against Denmark in Copenhagen on Wednesday — needs little introduction. It has occupied the managers every thought for the last four months. If Docherty has not started dreaming about the game yet it is simply because he does not have much time for sleeping.
Docherty settled down in Glasgow last night at the end of a journey that has stretched thousands of miles in search of the vital clues that will mean so much on Wednesday. And, for once, the Scottish omens look happy.
Even the withdrawal last night of Celtic's George Connelly cannot alter that impression. After waiting all evening for the sweeper to join his team-mates. Docherty was told that he has flu — and will be unable to travel with the party.
The news might have disconcerted others. Instead the team manager decided to go to bed and ponder about his replacement.
The Celtic pair, Dalglish and Macari, have learnt the hard way in the European Cup. Every one of this pool has gained experience abroad, many of them in Brazil during the summer……..[Article continues]
