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1988-05-14: Celtc 2-1 Dundee Utd, Scottish Cup Final
| Match Pictures | Matches: 1987 - 1988 | 1987-1988 Pics |
Celtic Seal Centenary Cup & League double
Trivia
- Celtic landed the Scottish Cup and League double
- Capped the Centenary season for the club in style.
- Celtic won the game with two late late goals by McAvennie.
- Margaret Thatcher (the then very unpopular Prime Minister) was at the game and presented the trophy to the winners (who the hell thought that this was going to be a good idea?).
- Hundreds of red cards were handed out by people to wave at Thatcher during the game.
Match Review
Difficult to begin to understand the atmosphere that surrounded this game. For Celtic, it was a chance to seal a memorable double for the club in our Centenary Season having wrapped up the league earlier on. For Dundee Utd, it was a chance to finally break their hoodoo in the Scottish Cup having lost countless number of finals to date (inc the previous cup final in 1987 by St Mirren). Despite being league winners, this was not going to be an easy game and Dundee Utd under the legendary Jim McLean were a very good and entertaining side with some quality players. The stands were full and fans were paying over the odds just to get in. The whole place seemed to be just green, white and gold in the bright sunshine and possibly the best Celtic football festival you could imagine.
One note, Margaret Thatcher (then the very unpopular Prime Minister in the UK) was to be present at the Scottish Cup Final to present the trophy to the winners of the game. Which idiot's idea was that. The reception for her as the announcer called her presence over the tannoy was loud, raucous and very antagonistic. It was a ridiculous idea to have her at the match, and just was trying to spoil the day for the two great sets of supporters.
The game kicked off, and the entertainment flowed with quite an equal first half. Dundee Utd scored first through Kevin Gallacher (ironically the grandson of Celtic legend Patsy) at the start of the second half after a fluff up by the goalie and defence.
Celtic then went all on the attack, but to little avail and all seemed hopeless. BUT this was the season where we were famed for scraping out last minute victories! We had a record of them this season, and could we do something special again? McAvennie scored in the 76th minute to send the crowd into wild celebrations. 1-1...
Could we do it? yes we could do it, and McAvennie (blessed rogue he is) scored in the last minute to give us the winner and send all into delerium and raptures.
Full-time, Celtic had sealed the double, and the emotions were high amongst the fans. To understand the level of emotion, take this quote from Tommy Burns:
"'That's what's so special about them right there, Jim. Just right up there, that's what's so special about them. They're there and they're always there. And God bless every one of them'"
The pictures of the day reflect accurately the joy, and for many it was one of the finest days in their Celtic supporting lives.
McKnight;
McCarthy, Aitken, Whyte (sub: Stark 70min);
Morris, McStay, Burns, Rogan;
Miller, McAvennie, Walker (sub: McGhee 70min).
Goals: McAvennie (76min) 1-1; MacAvennie (90min) 2-1.
Dundee United
Thomson;
Bowman, Hegarty, Narey, Malpas;
McKinlay, McInally, Bannon;
Ferguson, Gallacher, Paatelainen (sub: Clark 71 min).
Goals: Gallacher (49 min) 0-1;
Referee: G B Smith (Edinburgh).
Attendance: 74,000
Quotes
'That's what's so special about them right there, Jim. Just right up there, that's what's so special about them. They're there and they're always there. And God bless every one of them'Tommy Burns, May 1988 (being interviewed as we just won the league and cup double in the Centenary year)
Pictures
Supporter Tales
Football: Celtic rally to grab the double
May 15, 1988
Author: JASON TOMAS
Celtic ..............2 Dundee United .......1
CELTIC'S extraordinary capacity for rescuing seemingly lost causes surfaced again yesterday to help them clinch a centenary season League and Cup double.
United, beaten finalists last season, looked set for their first-ever Scottish Cup Final victory when Gallacher put them ahead just after halftime. Celtic, however, stepped up a gear or two, and eventually broke them with two McAvennie goals in the last 13 minutes. Celtic deserved their win, but it was hard not to feel sympathy for United.
Celtic suffered a pre-match blow when their experienced Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, Bonner, had to withdraw with a thigh injury. Considering that his 21-year-old deputy, McKnight, has had no more than 16 first-team appearances this season it was perhaps no surprise to see Celtic using three central defenders - with Atiken a sweeper - and United forcing the early pace.
United's positive start almost brought them a goal after just three minutes, when Paatelainen's header from a corner was hooked off the line by McStay.
Celtic, who had taken some time to find their rhythm, created an even better opportunity midway through the first half. McStay, involved in an intriguing battle for midfield supremacy against his marker, McInally, started the move with a delightful pass to McAvennie. But Miller's header from the ensuing cross was poor and United's defence, in disarray for the first time, were able to scramble the ball away.
Then at the other end Celtic owed much to McCarthy's stirring intervention to stop Gallacher capitalising on a superb run and cross by Bannon.
Shortly before half-time, McCarthy got Celtic's defence out of difficulties again with a solid challenge on Gallacher.
Gallacher, the grandson of the legendary Celtic player, Patsy, was luckier in the 49th minute when he put United ahead with a brilliant opportunist goal.
Celtic were caught stretched at the back as, from Bannon's pass, he took the ball past Aitken and then, in full stride, struck it past McKnight from just inside the area.
But United had to live on their nerves and flair, inevitably set up their efforts for an equaliser. Celtic made a double substitution in the 70th minutes, bringing on Stark and McGhee for Whyte and Walker. The extra impetus it gave them enabled McAvennie to bring Celtic level in the 76th minute and then put them ahead in the last minute.
------------------------------------------------- Weather: sunny, warm. Ground: firm. -------------------------------------------------
Goals: Gallacher (49 min) 0-1; McAvennie (76min) 1-1; MacAvennie (90min) 2-1.
Celtic
(3-4-3):
McKnight;
McCarthy, Aitken, Whyte (sub: Stark 70min);
Morris, McStay, Burns, Rogan;
Miller, McAvennie, Walker (sub: McGhee 70min).
Dundee United
(4-3-3):
Thomson;
Bowman, Hegarty, Narey, Malpas;
McKinlay, McInally, Bannon;
Ferguson, Gallacher, Paatelainen (sub: Clark 71 min).
Referee: G B Smith (Edinburgh).
Attendance: 74,000
Players on that game
Chris Morris: As a player, I had a good turn of pace, was a good passer and was strong mentally. I never knew when I was beaten. That latter quality was true of many Celtic players then and proved invaluable in our Scottish Cup run in 1988.The win over Hearts in the semi-final, for example, was just unbelievable. We went through at the death.
The final against Dundee United was pretty close, too.
Kevin Gallacher put them in front and we came back as Frank McAvennie scored twice to land the trophy and secure the domestic double in our centenary season. But nobody could say we didn't deserve to win that match.
I was the only player who took part in all of Celtic's competitive matches in their centenary season - all 55 games. It is nice to have my own little place in the club's history. This picture shows myself and Anton Rogan parading the trophy around the ground.
Billy McNeill was crucial to that success. I got on really well with him and enjoyed his company. He could also be absolutely charming. But, boy, was he a sore loser! I can remember him coming into the changing room after one defeat and kicking a boot. It bounced around the walls before landing squarely on Anton's head.
7 Macca magic
Frank McAvennie: Billy Connolly did a sketch about Celtic at that time because we always left things so late.
He used to say to his friend:
"How long to go?" His friend would reply: "A couple of minutes." And he would go:
"Och, plenty of time! I'm away for a coffee!"
We did have some dramatic results and none more so than in the semi-final and final of the Scottish Cup in 1988. We were losing 1-0 to Hearts in the first game with four minutes to go but went on to win 2-1.
Then, in the final against Dundee United, we were again losing 1-0 and managed to come back to win 2-1. I scored both of the goals in the final that secured us the double in our centenary season. This picture shows me saluting the fans afterwards.
The first strike came when Anton Rogan sent Tommy Burns down the wing. He played a ball into the box and Mark McGhee ran by in front of me. Paul Hegarty never spotted me coming in behind him and I got my foot to it and fired home. The winning goal came from a corner that Joe Miller ******. It only made it to the corner of the penalty box. Billy Stark put it through a couple of players, it came off somebody's shin and fell to me. I just banged it into the net from close range. It looked good, so we said afterwards that we had worked on it.
8 No place for Pat
Pat Bonner: In the build-up to the Scottish Cup Final in 1988, I picked up a back injury which was later to require surgery.
But on the Tuesday before the match I was training and, as I started to jog, my calf seized up. Right up until the day of the match, I was uncertain if I would be fit to play.
On that Saturday morning, we were down at Seamill and I couldn't stand up on my toes properly and had to admit defeat. It was a traumatic experience as that was a special match - we were going for the double and it was our centenary year.
Watching the game from the sidelines, I felt just like a fan. I actually quite enjoyed it, even though I would rather have been playing. In a way, I still felt I had contributed to the success we enjoyed
joebloggscity |
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Keyword tags:
1988
celtic
celtic fc
celtic football
celtic football club
celtic games
celtic matches
Centenary
centenary double
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dundee united
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kerrydale street
scottish cup
Scottish Cup Final
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| WeeShamrock | Weather | 0 | Aug 1 2008, 9:28 AM EDT by WeeShamrock | ||
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Thread started: Aug 1 2008, 9:28 AM EDT
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"Weather: sunny, warm" - and then some!! An absolutely glorious afternoon. Will never forget it, felt blessed being there
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