| Match Pictures | Matches: 1997 – 1998 | 1997-1998 Pictures |
Trivia
- Predominantly a Reserve Celtic side put out on the night. Graeme Morrison, John Potter, Ryan Morrison, Jon Paul McGovern, Gerry Lyttle, Joe Hayes, Brian Vaugh, Andy O'Brien and John Paul Dow never made a competitive first team appearance.
- Eric Black took charge of the side that night.
Review
Teams
Ross County: (4-4-2):
Morgan; Farrell, McBain, Furphy, Mackay (Haro, 45); Gilbert (Cooper, 80), Ferguson (Callaghan, 70), Golabek, Campbell (Bradshaw, 70); Adams, Wood (Hart, 80) .
Non-Used Subs: Walker
Celtic: (3-5-2):
McCondichie; G Morrison, Convery, Potter; R Morrison (J Smith, 45), Anthony (JP McGovern, 65), Lyttle, JP McBride (Hayes, 65), Vaugh; Johnson, Jackson (JP Dow, 87)
Non-Used Sub: A O'Brien
Scorers: Johnson (43, 85, 87), Anthony (67)
Referee: K Bissett (Inverness).
Attendance: 5,411
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
Jackson in spotlight, but Johnson steals the show
The Scotsman 28/10/1997 Ross County0
Celtic4 Johnson (43, 85, 87), Anthony (67)
IF ever there was a night when the performance really did matter more than the result, this was it.
Darren Jackson's brave struggle back to competitive football in his first match for Celtic since a brain condition threatened to end his career two months ago was completed with an energetic, sometimes inspiring display.
It was his night, have no doubt about it, though Tommy Johnson, returning from hernia surgery, sent a powerful reminder to Wim Jansen with an impressive hat-trick.
After the friendly match, Jackson said: "I'm not feeling too bad. It went quite well and I'm happy with my fitness. I need to get a lot sharper for the first time, but I am probably as strong as I ever have been in my career.
"I had no worries, no nervousness before the game – as my surgeon told me, my head's better so there was no fear."
The warm Highland welcome of a record 5,411 crowd made up for the chill air at Victoria Park, Dingwall.
The official purpose of Celtic's visit to Dingwall was to open County's new boxes and function suite, but the big crowd knew the true significance of the occasion.
Jackson showed no fear in a series of aerial challenges early on but earned Celtic a penalty in 26 minutes when his bursting run into the area was terminated by Willie Furphy's lunging challenge. But John Paul McBride's shot was saved by Kevin Morgan.
In 33 minutes Jackson had a weak shot gathered by Morgan, but there was nothing delicate about Johnson's sensational free-kick strike two minutes before the break. It roared into the net off the bar.
There was a slight scare as Jackson clutched his head after an aerial effort shortly before Johnson's breathtaking goal, but he showed no lasting ill-effects. Celtic surged ahead in the 67th minute when Marc Anthony worked a brilliant one-two before steadying himself and smacking his shot into the net.
Johnson then completed his hat-trick with two goals in the last five minutes.
Jackson was taken off late in the game to a tremendous ovation, and replaced by John Paul Dow.