| Match Pictures | Matches: 1973 1974 | 1973-74 Pictures |
Trivia
- Bobby Lennox was a casualty of the midweek League Cup game against Motherwell damaging ankle ligaments. Stein chose to play Paul Wilson on the left wing with Lennox out and Tommy Callaghan and Pat McCluskey on the subs bench. Rangers were unchanged from the team that had hammered Dumbarton in midweek.
- Jimmy Johnnstone scores the winner, his fifth goal against Rangers at Ibrox.
- Crowd trouble breaks out at the Rangers end of the ground after Celtic's goal and fans spill on to the field of play before police restore order. This was despite both sets of fans being caged in with wire erected at both ends of the ground to separate the terracing from the park. There was also trouble at the Motherwell – Hearts game.
- On the previous night in the Reserve League Celtic defeated Rangers 2-0 at Celtic Park. The Celtic team was Williams, J. Davidson, Quinn, McNamara, MacDonald, Murdoch, Ritchie, McCluskey, Deans, V. Davidson, O'Hara. The Celtic scorers Deans and Vic Davidson.
- Hunter, McGrain, Connelly, Hay and Dalglish are named in the Scotland squad to play Czechoslovakia on 26 September.
Report 
Celtic were minus the injured trio Deans, Lennox and McLaughlin. Although Dalglish was not fully fit he ran his heart out and the longer the game went on the stronger Celtic became with Murray and Hay becoming more influential.
It was Johnstone who won the game with yet another header, the wee man getting on the end of a perfect Hay cross and sending the Celts fans into delerium. The Celtic fans are already singing of 9 in a row.
Teams
Rangers:
McCloy, Jardine, Mathieson, Greig, Johnstone, MacDonald, McLean (Scott), Forsyth, Parlane, Conn, Young
Sub: Smith
Celtic:
Hunter, McGrain, Brogan, Murray, McNeill, Connelly, Johnstone, Hood (Callaghan), Dalglish, Hay, Wilson. Sub: McCluskey
Scorer: Johnstone (69)
Referee: A McKenzie (Larbert)
Attendance: 69,000
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Articles
Evening Times 17th September 1973
Glasgow Herald 17th September 1973
RANGERS FROZEN BY CAUTION
As one observer remarked, 'Davie Hay's knee high centre was met by Jimmy Johnstone, who rose and headed the winner'. Thus Celtic won the 153rd first division match between the Old Firm.
A solitary goal sent the Ibrox audience piling out of the stadium in a cloud of dust, the green and white choruses proclaiming another title when even in mod September.
This was a poor match. The excitement of the earlier League Cup ties evaporated as fear replaced freedom. Rangers froze because they understood the strategic implications of defeat ; Celtic produced a minimal amount of fluency because half their forward line was missing. So a massive crowd of 69,000 fans saw one goal and few other penalty area incidents.
If Celtic sowed little and reaped an enormous harvest, Rangers' seed was scattered largely on stony ground. They could have won the match in the first half yet rather they surrendered it in the closing stages. Parlane went largely unsupported in a game where all attacking forces were staffed in small numbers.
There were plenty who said afterwards that modern football was not to their liking, for each side had a token amount of men up front. For Celtic – with McLaughlin, Deans and Lennox in the grandstand and Dalglish still clearly unfit on the pitch – there was some excuse. Rangers were simply too cautious.
Rangers looked more often at the sunlight in the first half. Young had a long swinging shot saved and a header parried by Hunter, who also dived at the feet of McLean when he hesitated over the game's best opportunity. The goalkeeper earned his money and eventual victory with a little help from Parlane , who headed over from six yards out, and later shot weakly from the same range.
In the second half Steve Murray stood on the toes of MacDonald, who disappeared for long periods. Hay was released to move forward down the Celtic left side where he does most of his best work. After 71 minutes it was his low cross that was headed underneath McCloy's body by Jimmy Johnstone who made his presence felt in the most decisive movement of all, much to the delight of the green and white hordes behind the goal.
Rangers – McCloy Jardine Mathieson Greig Johnstone MacDonald McLean Forsyth Parlane Conn Young subs Smith Scott
Celtic – Hunter McGrain Brogan Murray McNeill Connelly Johnstone Hood Dalglish Hay Wilson subs Callaghan P.McCluskey