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After winning their European Cup second-round first-leg
tie against Benfica 3-0, the Celts looked odds on to take an
automatic step into the quarter-finals. It didn't turn out so
routine, though, as the great Eusebio and Graca both struck
in a four-minute spell near the end of the first half. Then, in the 90th minute
with Celtic still ahead 3-2 on aggregate, Diamentino headed in a corner kick to
take the tie to extra-time but the sides still couldn't unlock their horns after
another 30 minutes, The Dutch referee van Raven took both Billy McNeill, and
Mario Coluna, along with Jock Stein and the Benfica coach into his room where
a Dutch two-and-a-half Guilder piece would be tossed twice - first for the right
to call and the second for the actual call, so Big Billy called heads twice and was
correct both times and Celtic were through, Celtic themselves let their feelings be
known about the procedure and from the following season, penalty kicks were
introduced to decide ties,
Two goals from Tommy Burns helped Celtic to a 3-2 victory
over St Mirren at Love Street in front of a crowd of just over
21,000, Frank McAvennie scored Celtic's other goal that
day, Burns, who was later to become manager, first-team
coach and head of the Youth Academy, made 500 appearances for his beloved
Hoops, and scored 81 goals, In what was to be his last full season, however, he
experienced the highs and lows of playing for Celtic as the reigning champions
contrived to finish third in the league, though they redeemed the season, at least
in part, with a 1-0 victory over Rangers in the Scottish Cup final thanks to a goal,
from Joe Miller.
Celtic faced Barcelona in a challenge match in Glasgow on
this day in 1996 and it was the Catalan giants who emerged
victorious thanks to a solitary goal from Oscar. A crowd of
just under 27,000 saw the Bhoys take on Bobby Robson's
Barca side and though they acquitted themselves admirably, it was the Catalans
who always looked the stronger side. After the game, Bobby Robson singled
out young striker Chris Hay, who came on as a second-half substitute", for
praise while expressing his delight that his former captain when he was boss at
Sporting Lisbon, Jorge Cadete, had presented him with his Celtic jersey after the
game,
Celtic played host to St Mirren back in 2011 in a league
match, and despite Georgios Samaras opening the scoring
and Gary Hooper netting a hat-trick, the glory went to
young Dylan McGeouch. He came on as a sub for his first
top-team game at Celtic Park and had only been on a matter of minutes when he
ran the length of the park to score a wonderful solo goal in a 5-0 win.
Celtic's most recent action on this day came two years
ago when they faced AC Milan in the group stages of the
UEFA Champions League. And it was a disappointing night
for Celtic as they lost 3-0, with Kaka, Christian Zapata and
Mario Balotelli scoring the goals,
On this day in 1865, Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland
was published and on the same date in 1973, Nixon s
secretary told the federal court that she accidentally
caused an 18-minute gap in the Watergate tape! A
great date for fabulous works of fiction.
