1974-10-26: Celtic 6-3 Hibernian, League Cup

Match Pictures \| Matches: 1974 – 1975 \| League Cup 1974-75 \| 1974-75 Pictures

Match Pictures | Matches: 1974 – 1975 | League Cup 1974-75 | 1974-75 Pictures

Trivia

Celtic win the league Cup for the first time since 1969 after four consecutive defeats.
Dixie Deans scores second hat trick against Hibs in only seven days
Joe Harper scored a hat-trick for Hibs and still ended up on the losing side in a final!
53,848 attendance far lower than few years before for similar fixture mainly due to declining economy, strikes, and people tired of Celtic’s domestic monopoly on the trophies.
Glasgow corporation buses were on strike on the day of game which also contributed to lower attendance.
Minutes silence held for former Celtic trainer Alec Dowdells after his sad passing.
First League Cup final winners medals for Hunter, McGrain, Murray, McCluskey. Deans, Dalglish and Wilson.
Stein springs a surprise by naming the inexperienced Roddy MacDonald as substitute.
Crowd trouble in the Rangers end of Hampden where Celtic and Hibs fans were not segregated.
At Celtic Park on the Thursday prior to this game Celtic defeated Partick Thistle 3-0 in the Reserve League. The Celtic team was Barclay, Welsh, Callaghan, McNamara, McDonald, Thomson, Ritchie, Lennox, Bone, Davidson, Lynch Subs Burns and Little. The Celtic scorers were Bone 2 and Ritchie.
Former Celtic trainer Alec Dowdalls died at his daughter’s home in Lurgan in the week prior to this game. Sean Fallon represented the club at his funeral in Ireland.
Dixie Deans was called into the Scotland squad for the game against East Germany on 30 October.

Review

The years of continual success was beginning to falter at Parkhead. There had been false alarms previously of our impending demise from the media but we’d shown up the nay sayers in our own way, by winning in style.

This season was something different. The club was going through genuine difficulties. Throughout the UK, workplace strife was a common problem and this was mirrored at Celtic also. Davie Hay was a casualty of this having been transferred to Chelsea for a record Scottish fee of £225,000 after repeated disputes over wages. He wasn’t the only one aggrieved, but Jock Stein wasn’t able to handle this even though Hay was to regret his departure.

Despite all the commotion off field, on field we still had a formidable side led by Dalglish and Deans up front. However, repeated success had created complacency amongst certain of the players, and it was a tough slog mentally and the feeling was that some players had peaked and were now on the slide.

Our opponents for the day were Hibs, a side who like to revel in cup failure and blame anyone apart from themselves. Celtic had sensationally swept them aside a week earlier to this match by 5-0 in the league but partly this was as Hibs were due to play Juventus in the UEFA Cup next which took their eye off the ball and they were to lose that match as well.

So was it to be a repeat case from Celtic taking advantage of a demoralised Hibs or a revenge victory from Hibs bouncing back from some major disappointments? It was to be was a great and unforgettable match.

Dixie Deans was the start of the show grabbing a hat-trick and destroying Hibs in the bargain. Jinky danced around the Hibs players and tormented them all afternoon with Dalglish going through his full repertoire although he was not to score.

Each time Hibs fought back Celtic would go up a gear and score again. The pick of the goals was Deans’ third in 66 minutes. Hood swung over a corner which landed at Johnstone. He attempted a volley and mis hit the shot across the face of the goal and Deans instictively dived forward to score with a spectacular diving header. He then proceeded to do a cartwheel on exactly the same spot as he had done previously in the 1972 SCF when he had also scored a hat trick against Hibs.

Deans had scored a hat trick against Hibs in Celtic’s 5-0 thrashing of Hibs seven days previously and the Hibernian players and fans must have been absolutely sick at the sight of Dixie.

There’s no doubt that this was a classic afternoon for Celtic and it was to be a final swansong for many of the team who had been glorious servants in the recent past. It was only one away from equalling the 1957 record of scoring seven goals ourselves, but six was fine for this day!

Deand third goal to make it 5-2 was voted Goal of the Year by Jim Blair of the Evening Times.

Joe Harper interview with The Scotsman on this match (Hibs Hat-trick hero)

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/joe-harper-more-scotland-goals-more-caps-but-no-word-from-sfa-alex-ferguson-gets-special-treatment-3473737

As for the Hampden hat-trick, it was so typically, deliciously Hibs that it’s a surprise it didn’t seal a love affair between him and the fanbase.

Harper scored three times in the League Cup final v Celtic in 1974 and still managed to finish on the losing side while watching a childhood pal, Dixie Deans, score three for the victors in their 6-3 win.

“He stayed up in Johnstone. I was in Greenock. We played in some games together. My first game against him was for Morton v Arthurlie, and Dixie was playing for Arthurlie. We won 5-3, I scored five, he scored three.

After the cup final, it was ‘Margaret, Eddie’…my parents’ names.. ‘how are you doing?’ ‘Oh hello, Dixie son, good to see you’.

“‘Look at that Margaret, it’s a winner’s medal!’ I took it off him. ‘Let’s see that’. I rubbed it in my hands together with my own medal. I said: ‘Take your pick’. They were the exact same medals! To this day Dixie doesn’t know if he has the original winner’s medal he was given!”

Teams

Celtic:Hunter, McGrain, Brogan, Murray, McNeill, McCluskey, Johnstone, Dalglish, Deans, Hood, Wilson Subs not used Lennox, MacDonald
Goals:- Deans 34, 64, 66 Johnstone 6 Wilson 47 Murray 74

Hibernian:McArthur, Brownlie (Smith), Bremner, Stanton, Spalding, Blackley, Edwards, Cropley, Harper, Munro, Duncan (Murray).
Goals: Joe Harper 42, 61, 83

Referee: J R P Gordon (Newport-on-Tay)
Attendance:- 53,848.