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Trivia
- Billed as “A Meeting of Champions” the game kicked off at 3pm on Saturday with admission charged at 6p with enclosure and stand extra.
- The visitors have two Englishmen in their ranks, Fred Barrett and David Williams. The latter being involved in a wage dispute when his pay of £3.0 per week was cut to £2. 5s.
- Fred Barrett spent six years with Belfast Celtic from 1914 to 1920 when the football programme in Northern Ireland was suspended due to the civic disturbances. With his team-mate Jimmy Ferris they signed for Chelsea in March 1920. The league suspension may have had something to do with Fred’s sending off in an Irish Cup match, for tripping a player, for which he was suspended for a season. This incident caused a crowd “break in” and the referee abandoned the match. After 8 seasons with Chelsea Fred returned to Ireland and played for Dundalk.
- Jimmy Quinn scores a hat-trick, described in a very succinct match report in The Scotsman of Monday 25th which simply stated “Quinn scored thrice”. A more comprehensive report was filed by ‘Man In The Know’ who was in fact Charles Quin who gave his kinsman more column inches.
- Belfast Celtic homepage, Belfast Celtic is a sister club to Celtic and the bonds were deep until their premature closure in the 1948.
Review
Daily Record newspaper reports: Fog on the river delayed the arrival of the Belfast Celtic on Saturday morning. But they had a worse enemy than the fog – mal-de-mer. A few of the “bhoys” were pretty pictures when they set their feet upon Scottish soil. [See Match Pictures]
Teams
CELTIC:
Shaw, McGregor, Dodds, Young, Johnstone, McMaster, McAtee, Crone, Quinn, McColl, Browning
Scorers: Quinn, (3); McColl.
BELFAST CELTIC:
Joseph Mehaffie, Robert Mills, Fred Barrett, Albert Leathem, Sam Ritchie, Bob Norwood, Ned Kerr, Jimmy McKnight, David Williams, Jack Cowell, J. A. Hegan
Referee: J. M. Dickson, (Glasgow)
Attendance: 3,000
Gate Receipts: £180
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
QUINN SCORING AGAIN.
CELTIC BEAT THEIR NAMESAKES FROM BELFAST
BY “Grampian.”
CELTIC (H)……….4 BELFAST CELTIC…….0
The visit of Belfast Celtic to their more famous namesakes of Parkhead was productive of a pleasant game. There was in consequence a good deal of finessing in which the home players showed themselves the more calculating and astute lot. The non-appearance of Mick Hamill in the visiting side was a source of disappointment to the onlookers, who, however were treated to one of James Quinn’s periodic appearances. McNair, McMenemy and Gallagher were absent from the home side.
For the first half-hour of the game the redoubtable Parkhead men overcame the difficulties of the treacherous surface better than their visitors, and subjected Mehaffy’s charge to many a dangerous onslaught. Only one goal accrued, and that was the result of an effort of Quinn’s which would give the Belfast men an idea of how the famous centre acquired his reputation as a shot. Steadying himself at about twenty yards’ range, Quinn drove home a lovely goal with a pith reminiscent of his halcyon days.
The Irish League champions improved as the game progressed, and with the least luck might have crossed over level. Cowell, at inside-left, was their most prominent forward. The nearest approach to an equaliser was when Shaw was a bit lucky to save a hard shot by Cowell from a few yards’ range.
QUINN’S HAT TRICK.
In the first half the Irish custodian, through slipping, had almost lost a goal, and the second half had just started when Mills, the right back, came a cropper at a critical moment, and the ball was left for Quinn to score easily. This was a pure gift. After Mehaffy had held a stinger by Crone, the Irishmen wakened up a bit, and Shaw had again to save from Cowell. About midway through the second half, Quinn got another opening close in and completed the hat trick. Two minutes later McColl, who had been very lively in conjunction with Browning this half received a neat through pass from McMaster, which, without hesitation, he banged home with a fast rising shot. This goal was as cleverly taken as Quinn’s first.
While the losers would be the first to admit they met their masters, they are a better side than the score would indicate. There are some good men on the side. Mehaffy had many smart saves. Both backs are strong players. I liked particularly the left back’s easy style and first-time kicking. Ritchie filled Hamill’s usual position splendidly, and McAtee found Norwood difficult to negotiate. Of the forwards Cowell was the star. The right wing pair showed some tricky combinations at times, Kerr, the erstwhile Junior international, having some neat touches/
Young was in great form for the winners in the first half, amusing the spectators immensely by his astuteness in beating opponents. Dodds and McMaster were also outstanding in a defence which was strong all over. If Quinn takes matters easier than of yore, he can show flashes of his old fire, and has still the faculty of spotting an opening and making use of it. His passing out to the wings also showed the master touch. McColl and Browning proved a troublesome pair for the Irish defence.
CELTIC – Shaw; McGregor and Dodds; Young, Johnstone, and McMaster; McAtee, Crone, Quinn, McColl, and Browning
BELFAST CELTIC – Mehaffie; Mills and Barrett, Leathem, Ritchie, and Norwood; Kerr, McKnight, Williams, Cowell, and J. A. Hegan
From Glasgow Catholic Observer
IN CELTIC INNER CIRCLES.
QUINN’S HAT-TRICK AGAINST IRISH CHAMPIONS.
(BY “MAN IN THE KNOW”)
NOTES ON FOOTBALL.
Quinn, Belfast’s idol.
If there is one city more noted than another for its admiration of James Quinn, then Belfast is that collection of bricks and mortar. Years ago, when the Celts undertook to send an eleven across the Channel to give their Belfast friends a lesson and a beating, the one and only condition left down by our Irish neighbours was that Quinn was to be of the party, let who like remain at home. Now after Saturday there will be a keener desire than ever to see the old favourite and if a vacant date allows our boys to visit Belfast before the end of April, rest assured that the “hat trick” veteran will be asked to toe the line. It may mean more damage to Mahaffy’s charge but it will have a good effect on the gate. Here I may say that Belfast Celtic, like our own, have managed to make the game pay this season, a little thing which has, unfortunately, been beyond most of our leading clubs. They could not have chosen a better season for winning the League championship, and it will not be for want of trying that our boys will fail to keep them company as cocks of the walk. It was trying the Belfast men rather highly to put them against the Scottish League champions and an unbeaten home record, and I may say that their hopes ran no higher than to give their namesakes a good game.
This they succeeded in doing, and if Quinn made the result a trifle lop-sided, he was the one player they wished to see among the goals. Of course it was giving the visitors a bit of a chance to leave out McNair, McMenemy, and Gallagher, but Hamill and one or two others were also rested on the other side, thus destroying any slight chance the Belfast men had. I am sorry to say that Hamill may not play again this season, if he ever plays at all. A small bone in his knee is the cause of the trouble, and it is doubtful if any operation will put the injury to rights. This is bad luck for player and club, for Hamill was one of the best, either in attack or defence. It was an unpleasant day for spectators, cold and misty, still the gate amounted to £108, which was more than good for a friendly, and a long way better than many league games at Parkhead when the team was carrying everything before it. The Belfast Boys were delighted with their visit, and will be pleased if it leads to a return fixture later on.
REALM of SPORT
FOOTBALL.
Quinn Among the Goals
Quite a bright game on an extremely dull day was the outcome of the annual meeting between the Celtic clubs of Glasgow and Belfast. The former side were well in front all the way, but probably to the local supporter the actual result was a matter of secondary importance compared with the gratification afforded by Quinn demonstrating to them how far removed he is from being a spent force. He may be rather more subdued, but his other qualifications are little impaired, and it would not surprise if he should lead the Parkhead forwards again next Saturday. The visitors, Irish League champions for the year, were without one or two of their regular players, notably Hamill and Nelson, but in a side good in all aspects bar their finishing, Cowell, Ritchie, Barrett, and M’Haffy shone. Goal scorers: – Glasgow Celtic – Quinn (3) and McColl
N.B. Celtic Wiki are indebted to Brendan Sweeney of The Celtic Graves Society for the above newspaper reports. Brendan informs us that: MITK wrote for the Glasgow Catholic Observer to give it the full title.