Celtic’s centenary season had to be perfect, and it sure was

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The Celtic Star

·7 settembre 2024

Celtic’s centenary season had to be perfect, and it sure was

It had to be perfect, and it was as another glorious chapter was written in the illustrious unbroken history of Celtic Football Club…

On 14 May 1988, the sun was splitting the Glasgow skies as Celtic prepared to face Dundee United in the Scottish cup final aiming to complete a dream double in the club’s centenary year.

Fairground attraction were number one in the charts with it’s got to be ‘Perfect,’ and the day had all the ingredients to be just perfect for Celtic football club, its players and of course the Celtic supporters.

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Before the game both sets of supporters held up red cards in protest at the presence of conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who would be handing over the trophy to the winning side. To say Thatcher was unpopular in Scotland at the time was an understatement and rightly so, so her mere presence was met with unsurprising criticism.

As for matters on the park, this was a big game for both clubs, with Celtic going for a domestic double in their centenary year, and Dundee United looking to win their first ever Scottish cup, but the pressure was all on Celtic. The majority of the crowd were basked in green and white, and we were favourites, failure was not an option.

It wouldn’t be easy though as The Arabs led by the legendary Jim McLean were a tough opponent and had reached the UEFA cup final the year before, so if we were to be successful, we had to earn it the hard way, and so it proved. After a tough opening half of football the sides went in at the break deadlocked at 0-0.

Then not long after the restart Kevin Gallacher grandson of legendary Celtic player Patsy Gallacher fired Dundee United into the lead. Suddenly things looked bleak for Celtic. A goal down against a tough disciplined side in the searing heat of Hampden.

Celtic huffed and puffed after that set back and threw everything at the tangerine backline. We then entered the last quarter of the game and it wasn’t looking like it was going to be our day, but we still had that belief due to our never say die attitude in a season that seen us complete more than a few late comebacks.

That belief was justified in the 76th minute when Frank McAvennie nodded in an Anton Rogan cross to level the scoring and send the jubilant Celtic supporters into a frenzy in the searing heat of Hampden.

The momentum was now with Celtic. They continued to bombard the United defence and there looked like only being one winner. No one wanted a replay, this was going to be settled here and now.

And just when it looked like it would finish a stalemate, that man again Frank McAvennie got his boot to a loose ball in the box and fired in the winner. Hampden erupted in a sea of green and white. Celtic like they done in the Scottish cup final three years previously had sucker punched United with a late double to clinch the Scottish cup.

This one felt all the more special though as it was our centenary year, it was something of a fairytale. When the final whistle sounded the supporters danced with joy in the Hampden sun, the players celebrated wildly on the park as manager Billy McNeill joyfully hugged his back room staff.

Despite the presence of the deplorable Margaret Thatcher, this was as the song said ‘perfect.’ We had clinched a domestic double in our centenary season and wrote another historic chapter in the illustrious history of Celtic football club.

READ THIS FROM ROBERT GALBRAITH…My defining Celtic moment – “The Celtic supporters go absolutely mental with joy”

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