| Match Pictures | Matches:1976 – 1977 | 1976-1977 Pictures |
Trivia 
- Game postponed from January 3rd and was lucky to be played as pitch was still hard and frosty. Snow had fallen on the night of the 9th and was left to lie to protect the pitch. On the 10th it was cleared and replaced with straw.
- An all-ticket game.
- An army of volunteers from the Celtic supporters association put down bales of straw overnight to help protect the surface of the pitch.
- Rod Stewart is reported as attending the game with Britt Ekland.
- Pat Stanton described as 'Cool hand Luke' after another faultless performance.
- Both teams wore football boots with studs as opposed to training shoes which had become the norm on hard, frozen slippery pitches
Review
Celtic coped better with the difficult frosty conditions and Glavin and Dalglish were a constant threat with their subtle promptings. Jackson was unfortunate when he inadvertently diverted MacDonald's header past his own keeper.
The result put Celtic top of the League with a game in hand over Rangers.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Celtic | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 16 | +18 | 24 |
| Aberdeen | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 15 | +15 | 23 |
| Rangers | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 21 |
| Dundee Utd | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 21 |
Teams
Celtic:
Latchford, McGrain, Lynch, Stanton, MacDonald, Aitken, Doyle, Glavin, Craig, Dalglish, Wilson. Subs P McCluskey, Gibson.
Goal: Jackson (og 76).
Rangers:
Kennedy, Jardine, Miller, Forsyth, Jackson, Watson, McLean, O'Hara, Parlane, McKean, Johnstone. Subs MacDonald, Henderson
Referee:
Attendance: Attendance 52,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Evening Times 12th January 1977
GLASGOW HERALD REPORT BY IAN ARCHER
SAD JACKSON SEALS IT FOR CELTIC
Celtic last night took the points that placed them back on top of the Premier League from an Old Firm match which left Rangers to wonder whether the fates had deserted them in their bid to regain the Championship. Some 52,000 watched impeccably.
On a pitch surrounded by straw which was in turns white, brown and green in texture – looking, in fact like a circus ring – they could not serve their own cause. The victory came from an unlucky own goal by Colin Jackson.
As the Rangers fans deperted down London Road they were neither in sour or surly mood. They had watched their team play with more finesse than many thought possible, battle with some courage, and been robbed by one of these interventions that occassionally make football such a cruel game.
All about the goal was messy. Alex O'Hara conceded a corner awkwardly. Rangers were slow tp react when Johnny Doyle and Andy Lynch worked the ball short and only Tommy McLean realised the danger, sprinted 60 yards, but was too late.
Lynch crossed adequately on to the head of Roddy MacDonald and he struck the ball firmly but not decisively. Rangers' goalkeeper Stewart Kennedy had it covered until the deflection by Jackson carried it snugly into the net. By such margins are titles won and lost and prove that justice is not always served when men play this game.
That is not to say that Rangers clearly deserved to win, but patently they had contrived in a full blooded match not to deserve to find themselves in the difficult league position in which they find themselves this moning. To their credit in the 15 minutes that remained they struck terror into Celtic hearts as they pushed for an equaliser.
That might even been theirs two minutes from time when McLean lobbed a header from the edge of the boxover the arms of Celtic's goalkeeper, Peter Latchford, who was off his line. Somehow Roy Aitken managed to get back to scramble the ball away from under the shadow of the goalpost and so defeat was doubly hard to take.
An Old Firm draw would have been no bad result after the heroics Celtic had performed just to give the customers a match after the assured approach from Rangers for much of the first half. But it now leaves the one club with the Championship very much in their sights, and another who must now rely on mistakes by others.
There was much action even before the match started. A party of 30 volunteers under the command of Celtic coach John Clark, who worked furiously to make the ground fit for football. The tons of straw were removed, the snow cleared, and the sand spread, and the lines marked even while the crowd stood waiting patiently for a game which started ten minutes late. The referee inspected with overcoat worn over his uniform.
As it was the pitch looked worse than it played, at least until the final minutes, and there was no lack of resolution and skill throughout the game. Again the Old Firm habit of man to man marking, almost to the extent of wearing handcuffs, cut down the number of sweeping attacks. Aitken's attentions to Derek Johnstone were matched by O'Hara's shackling of Kenny Dalglish.
Kenny Watson controlled much for Rangers while in the first half, Celtic tried to be too clever and a little too fast. Commitment was total, incident sporadic.
The goalkeeping was of the highest order with Latchford firm in his handling of the cross ball and Kennedy agile at both posts. They both made saves that kept the early play level and in the 20th minute when Latchford saved a fine Watson drive, he ahd already earned his money.
Rangers then became a little harsh. If the tackling was not malicious it eas certainly indiscriminate. McLean was booked for a foul on Doyle, no worse than some that had gone before, as Mr Foote exerted his authority. Two minutes later when Tom Forsyth pile into Joe Craig in the centre circle, the Celtic end cried, 'Off !, Off !'and it was certainly a possibility, however, he too was cautioned.
In the second half Celtic released Aitken more often and that tactic made a difference, although most of their action was fashioned from set pieces. They had the ball in the net in 57 minutes from Craig but a foul on Kennedy silenced the premature jubilation.
Latchford saved an awkward Bobby McKean shot and Kennedy coped adequately when Dalglish flicked on a Glavin shot as genuine excitement came to the contest. But it seemed we would have to settle for an evening of splendid commitment until the 76th minute, Celtic scored one of the most crucial of all the most crucal Old Firm goals by courtesy of Jackson.
In the vast scheme of things Aberdeen may remind us all that the Premier League is not a two club contest by regaining the lead tonight. But few Glaswegians would place hard cash on the title leaving the City and after last night Celtic look most likely to keep the trophy in these parts. There may never have been a more important own goal conceded.
CELTIC – Latchford, McGrain, Lynch, Stanton, MacDonald, Aitken, Doyle, Glavin, Craig, Dalglish, Wilson.
Subs P McCluskey, Gibson.
Goal:- Jackson 76og.
RANGERS – Kennedy Jardine Miller Forsyth Jackson Watson McLean O'Hara Parlane McKean Johnstone.
Subs MacDonald Henderson
Attendance 52,000