| Match Pictures | Matches: 1973 – 1974 | 1973-1974 Pictures |
Trivia
- Celtic had the longest time off – 8 weeks – they had had since the arrival of Jock Stein at Celtic.
- During the interval McGrain, Dalglish and Hay had all played for the full Scotland side in the domestic internationals beating Wales and N. Ireland 2-0 and 2-1 respectively. They lost 1-0 to England with Aly Hunter included in goal – a match in which he damaged his ankle and spent the rest of the inter-season period recovering from.
- The above 3 players were also in action against Brazil and Switzerland. George Connelly had been included in the party for the away Swiss game but he failed to turn up at the airport.
- Brian McLaughlin and Andy Ritchie had also played in an international youth tournament representing Scotland in the inter-season period.
- The first game of the new season! Celtic took a party of 17 to Ireland for the two games leaving on the Friday late afternoon. They were Hunter, McGrain, Brogan, Murdoch, McNeill, McCluskey, Hay, Johnstone, Dalglish, Hood, Callaghan, Lennox, Deans, McNamara, Lynch, Murray. Only one goalkeeper was included in the squad. Also notable is the absence of Connelly who was left in Scotland and whose wife was expecting their first child
- Played at the Flower Lodge, Cork. Jock Stein arrived after the Celtic party, delayed in Glasgow with other affairs. Training was taken by Neil Mochan and Sean Fallon.
- In the closed season ex-Celt Tommy Gemmell had joined Dundee having been released on a free from Nottingham Forest at the end of the last season.
Review
A game of two halfs really.
In the first half the team played a fast one-touch game that they had been concentrating on during pre-season. This was the new fluid style that Stein had given the Press to believe would be a new component of the Celtic game. It resulted in four goals.
In the second half the ball players came on and Celtic reverted to the previous manner of play.
Cork Hibs surprised everyone catching the defense cold and scored first. Harry Hood replied and Danny McGrain put the Bhoys ahead with further goals in the half from Lennox and Hood. In the second half Cork Hibs again took advantage and scored a second. And it became increasingly noticeable that Celtic were trying to walk the ball into the goal. The Hibs pulled back into defense and made goal scoring difficult. Lennox scored just before the final whistle.
Jim Brogan injured a hip and was replaced at half time. The other substitutions were tactical.
Teams
Cork Hibernians:
Goals: Sweeney (4), Allan (61).
Celtic:
Hunter, McGrain, Brogan (Murdoch 45), Hay, McNeill, McCluskey, Hood, Murray, Lennox, Callaghan (Wilson 45), Lynch (Johnstone 45). Substitutes: McNamara
Goals: Hood 2 (11,?), Lennox 2 (?,90), McGrain (20).
Referee: ?
Attendance: 5,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
- Match Pictures
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