| Match Pictures | Matches: 1968 – 1969 | 1968-69 Pictures |
Trivia
- Joe McBride was sold to Hibernian on the 5th November. He left for regular first team football.
- Simpson, Gemmell, Johnstone, Lennox and Hughes played for Scotland on the Wednesday night at Hampden in a World Cup qualifier against Austria. Scotland won 2-1 but looked lacklustre.
- Ronnie Simpson suffered a leg injury playing for Scotland. although it had just about healed Jock took no chances and Fallon was in goal. Apart from theat the same team as against Dundee played with Bertie Auld as sub. He came on for Lennox with 15 minutes to go.
- This was an all-ticket game.
- Arbroath had been promoted from Division 2 at the start of the season and were finding it tough going. They were bottom of the league and had taken one point from their last 9 games.
- A thoroughly wet and miserable game on a heavy pitch.
- Jock Stein was not at the game. He flew to Yugoslavia at Saturday midday to watch Red Star Belgrade in action.
Review
Celtic stayed at the top of the table with this win at Gayfield.
Chalmers and McNeill put the bhoys 2 up at half time and Wallace added to that shortly into the second half. Chalmers then snatched another goal before clinching his hatrick just before the whistle.
Teams
Arbroath:-
Williamson, Booth, Riddle, Kennedy, Stirling, Hughes (Cant 45), Sellers, Reid, Jack, Bruce, Wilkie.
Scorers:
Celtic:-
Fallon, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Brogan, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, Lennox (Auld 75), Hughes.
Scorers:- Chalmers 3 (12, 61, 89), McNeill (15), Wallace (53)
Referee:- RD Crawford (Stirling).
Attendance:- 10,810.
Articles
- Match Report (See Below)
Pictures
Articles
Match Report
From a Newspaper Report
Sunday Night At The Palladium was never like this! Once the issue was put beyond doubt – if there was ever such a thing as doubt – Celtic proceeded to turn on a brand of entertainment worth every penny of a TV licence.
With Jimmy Johnstone topping the bill for variety, and John Hughes throwing in the odd comedy touch, fans that had made the long haul from Glasgow really lapped it up.
And when Bertie Auld was substituted for a strangely quiet Bobby Lennox in the 75th minute, he showed from then to the end precisely why the supporters are unanimous in their belief that he should be back in the team double-quick.
The contest was killed early in the first half when Celtic inflicted a crippling double blow on the hitherto attack-minded and, at times, dangerous-looking Arbroath outfit.
Stevie Chalmers got the first. He picked up a header from Lennox, dragged the ball across the 18-yard line, and bulleted a left-footer past Williamson.
Only two minutes later McNeill clinched things when he was on the spot to net a low cross from Craig.
It was probably a little bit rough on the homesters, who, up to then, had actually looked capable of taking the lead.
In fact, only a good save by Fallon prevented John Wilkie opening in the first minute, and later, Bruce hit the bar when he took advantage of a mix-up between Brogan and Gemmell.
After the Celtic double, Hughes turned on the humour. At the end of one of his runs, in which he beat everyone, including Williamson, “Yogi” got his feet tangled up, and finally put the ball into the side net.
The big winger’s next effort was a shot at goal which went into orbit landing in the adjacent North Sea.
By then it was Celtic all the way, with Arbroath doing their best to contain them. They succeeded admirably, too, until Willie Wallace popped up early in the second half to blast home a Hughes cross.
That paved the way for a one-man exhibition fro Jimmy Johnstone, who, took on everyone in his path – including jim Brogan at one point – and beat them! The wee man capped his performance with a great run which finished with his laying the fourth on a plate for Chalmers, who had no trouble from close in.
Stevie’s third and Celtic’s fifth was an exact replica only this time it was Murdoch who did the leg-work.
The good thing about the game was that Arbroath were never made to look silly. They realised they were meeting vintage Celtic, and there was little they could do about it.
It was of course, fitness and teamwork which told throughout. But the Lichties’ enthusiasm- and at times their downright ability – prompted the view that they could still do something in the First Division, given the right breaks.
No failures in the Celtic team, while best for Arbroath were Williamson, Booth, Stirling, Jack, Wilkie and Cant, who substituted at the start of the second half for the injured Tom Hughes.
