Harry Hood has Celts jumping for joy as ten man Hoops win at Ibrox

The Celtic Star

·20 September 2024

Harry Hood has Celts jumping for joy as ten man Hoops win at Ibrox

Midweek brought another new adventure for new Bhoy Harry Hood, Swiss champions Basel the opposition for his first European match…

It was also a first opportunity for a couple of highly-rated youngsters to sample that continental experience, Danny McGrain and Kenny Dalglish included in the 18-man party which flew to Switzerland from Prestwick 48 hours after the defeat by Hibernian.

Bobby Murdoch was the latest casualty, Scotland’s current Player of the Year failing to recover from a bout of flu, whilst John Hughes returned and there would be a European debut for Davie Hay. Harry started on the bench at the St Jakob Stadion as Jock Stein named the following team.

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John Fallon; Davie Hay & Tommy Gemmell; Jim Brogan, Billy McNeill & John Clark; Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Lennox, Stevie Chalmers, Willie Wallace & John Hughes. Substitutes; Ronnie Simpson, Jim Craig & Harry Hood.

The form of goalkeeper John Fallon had been one of the high spots in Celtic’s uncharacteristically poor start to the season and he was again the key man as the Hoops reached the interval still level before 38,000 spectators. Harry replaced Stevie Chalmers for the second half and that change coincided with a much better performance, the only negative being Celtic’s failure to convert that superiority into a first-leg lead to take back to Glasgow, as the match ended goalless in Switzerland.

Harry Hood scores the only goal of the game at Ibrox, on this day in 1969

Harry’s continental debut was followed by a starting slot at Ibrox three days later (20 September 1969), a pivotal afternoon in his career and indeed in Celtic’s season. He came in for Stevie Chalmers as the Bhoys sought to end a winless run of League games in Govan which stretched back to September 1957, a few weeks before Hampden in the Sun, goals from Bobby Collins, Billy McPhail and Sammy Wilson edging a five-goal thriller, Celtic’s only such success in that competition there since the war.

Jock Stein’s selection for the match was restricted still further as John Hughes’ comeback had started and ended in Basel, Yogi joining Bobby Murdoch, Bertie Auld, George Connelly and Tommy Callaghan on the sidelines.

The following teams ran out at a rainy Ibrox in front of 75,000 spectators.

Rangers: Gerhard Neef; Kai Johansen & Davie Provan; John Greig, Ron McKinnon & Jim Baxter; Willie Henderson, Sandy Jardine, Colin Stein, Dave Smith & Willie Johnston. Substitute; Bobby Watson. Celtic: John Fallon; Jim Craig & Tommy Gemmell; John Clark, Billy McNeill & Jim Brogan; Jimmy Johnstone, Harry Hood, Willie Wallace, Davie Hay & Bobby Lennox. Substitute; Stevie Chalmers.

Harry would prove to be the match-winner on a day of incessant rain, the new Bhoy scoring for the third time against Rangers since joining Celtic six months earlier. His goal early in the second half was enough to secure two valuable points for Celtic and end the 12-year League drought at Ibrox.

Chasing a Billy McNeill through ball, he sold Ronnie McKinnon a beautiful dummy before clinically striking the ball inside Gerry Neef’s near post in front of an ecstatic Broomloan Road end, as John Greig came lunging in to block.

The drama did not end there.

With the fallout from Jim Callaghan’s ridiculous eight-week punishment for failing to send John Hughes off against Rangers at Celtic Park the previous month dominating the pre-match build-up (read The Celtic Star article below from Jim Callaghan’s son telling the inside story) there was no way that Jim Craig’s 67th minute kick out at Willie Johnston – the player involved with Yogi in the August incident – would go unpunished by referee Tom ‘Tiny’ Wharton. The burly official duly sent Craig down the tunnel, leaving Celts to play the last quarter of the match one man down.

To their credit, the Bhoys saw the game out comfortably to win the day. Here’s how The Glasgow Herald and Evening Times reported on the match.

Hail, hail!

Matt Corr – Follow Matt on X/Twitter @Boola_vogue

Don’t forget to read the article below – it’s incredible!

READ THIS…‘My father’s 8 week ban from refereeing in 1969,’ Jim Callaghan

COMING SOON ON CELTIC STAR BOOKS…CELTIC IN THE THIRTIES, VOL 1&2 BY MATT CORR…

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