1968-04-20: Celtic 2-1 Morton, League Division 1

Match Pictures | Matches: 19671968 | 1967-68 Pictures

Trivia

  • Yet again Celtic fielded an unchanged team
  • Bobby Lennox scores with Celtic's last kick of the ball.
  • Celtic play in change colours of green shirts, white shorts and green socks.
  • Morton played in untraditional all white strip.
  • Celtic and Rangers are still level on points with only one game left but Celtic had a much better goal average.
  • Jock Stein encourages all Celtic fans to attend the Scottish Cup final between Hearts and Dunfermline at Hampden on April 27th.
  • Two days after this match Celtic Reserves defeated Rangers Reserves 1-0 in a League Match at Ibrox. The Celtic team was Fallon, Murray, Shevlane, John Clark, Young, O'Neill, McMahon (Jim Clark), Cattanach, Quinn, Hay, Gorman. The Celtic scorer was Quinn.
  • Celtic played in a number of Friendlies between this game on the 20th and the Dunfermiline game on the 30th. They played a Friendly against Dalry Thistle on the 25th April at which Jock Stein saw goalkeeper Bobby Wraith who was invited for a try-out in a Friendly the next night at Parkhead against Home Farm. They won that night 7-2 and Bobby Wraith was signed.

It was this weekend that Enoch Powell made his infamous 'rivers of blood' speech in Birmingham which lad to his sacking from the Conservative shadow cabinet at the time and would be the sounding board for racists for years to come.

Review

This was one of the most dramatic games in Jock Stein's reign as Celtic boss. Had the game been drawn then the advantage would have swung towards Rangers but Bobby Lennox scored in the 90th minute with virtually the last kick off the ball to send the Celtic fans at Parkhead into delerium. It was one of the most dramatic finishes ever seen inside Parkhead.

It took a quarter of an hour for the goal machines up front to get going and when Wallace scored with a flying header from a Hughes cross everybody assumed that normal service would resume. But Morton, without their talismanic captain and ex-Celt Jim Kennedy, fought back and just before half time centre forward Mason scored with a 25yd shot.
Celtic did everything but put the ball in the net in the second half. The fans became fractious and at the last possible moment up popped Lennox.

Teams

Celtic
Simpson, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Brogan, Johnstone, Lennox, Wallace, Gallacher , Hughes Substitute: Clark
Scorers Wallace (14), Lennox (90)

Morton
Crawford, Thorup, Sweeney, Artentoft, Strachan, Rankine, Jensen, Gray, Mason, Allan, Taylor Sub: Loughlan
Scorer Mason (45)

Referee: J Paterson (Bothwell)
Attendance: 51,000

Articles

  • Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

Articles

Celtic v Morton, League, 20/4/68

1968 Morton