| Match Pictures | Matches: 1987 – 1988 | 1987-1988 Pictures |
Trivia
- Joe Miller appeared as a new signing almost out of the blue. McNeill finally got his man after Aberdeen had previously appeared to want to sell Miller to one of the big teams down south; when they all dropped out they went back to Celtic and accepted the £650k offer. Miller had originally played for CBC at U15 and U16 level but had been rejected by the club and picked up by Aberdeen. When Ferguson at Manchester Utd. learnt of the transfer he was outraged saying that all agreements with Aberdeen were off and he felt free to lure away any of their players, saying that he’d had an agreement that if Miller was going to be let go he’d have first shot. Ferguson, on the look out for a goalkeeper, subsequently took Jim Leighton to Old Trafford.
- Celtic were getting into gear for a great run through 1987-88 to the League Championship and were unbeaten in the previous month. After 17 games played they were second in the league on 24 points behind Hearts on 27. Aberdeen were third on 20 points. McNeill had stated that he believed Celtic would now go on and win the league.
- McCarthy was suspended for this game having been somewhat harshly red-carded in the previous match against Hearts (2 yellows – deliberate handball and obstruction of Robertson); this meant Aitken dropping back into central defence alongside Whyte; Mark McGhee was the man to miss out with Miller’s debut – for which McNeill was truly sorry , McGhee having played well and scored in the last game against Hearts. The only other noticeable absentee was Billy Stark who was injured.
- Miller's new arrival packs the fans into Parkhead and there looks to be al ot more in there than the official attendance of 31,000.
Review
– (synopsis from The Herald)
An explosive start to the game with Celtic 2 up after 5 minutes. This was a superb team performance from front to back with everybody having decent games. Walker scored the first goal after 2 minutes when he picked up a Gordon Chisholm back pass which was woefully short. His second came on 5 minutes when he headed home powerfully a Chris Morris cross.
Dundee refused to be put down by this and picked themselves back up and but for poor finishing in front of goal and some excellent goalkeeping from Bonner would have pulled themselves back level before half time.
In the second half Grant and McAvennie combined to send Miller free. He drew the Dundee goalkeeper Geddes before slotting the ball past him with a low drive inside the far post. The fourth goal – probably the goal of the game – came on 67 minutes. A long throw out from Bonner came to Miller who passed to Morris. Morris took the ball on before delivering a perfect cross into the box where it was met by McAvennie’s diving header.
The fifth goal came on 89 minutes when McAvennie got on the end of a cross from Miller
Billy McNeill
“What made the performance all the more satisfying was that we played against a team that refused to lie down. Pat Bonner had to make important saves and Derek Whyte was outstanding beside Roy Aitken especially in the first half. Chris Morris too had a first class game. Joe Miller showed some things which indicated why we were prepared to meet Aberdeen’s asking price and to get a goal on his debut takes the pressure right off him right away. It kept his record of having scored every time he has come to Parkhead. I wonder if it’s too much to ask that he might continue with that record now that he’s part of the set-up here. It was a very hard decision to leave out Mark McGhee.”
Teams
Celtic:
Bonner, Morris, Rogan, Aitken, Whyte, Grant, Miller, McStay, McAvennie, Walker, Burns
Non-Used Subs: McGhee, Shepherd
Goals: Walker (2), Walker (5), Miller (60), McAvennie (67), McAvennie (89)
Dundee:
Geddes, Forsyth, Glennie, Shannon, Smith, Chisholm, Mennie, Brown, Wright, Coyne, Angus;
Non-Used Subs: Rafferty, McGeachie
Attendance: 31,466
Referee: Miller (Garrowhill)
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Articles
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