1914-12-19: Airdrieonian 0-1 Celtic, League Division 1

Match Pictures | Matches: 1914 1915 | 1914 pics1915 pics

Trivia

  • Celtic & World War One
  • Celtic were up agains the top scorer in the previous two seasons in James Reid, but managed to contain him. A better-known opponent, that day was Andy Donaldson a Celt between 1911 and 1912.
  • Another Airdrieonian, Englishman, George Gane came from Bradford City, managed by ex-Celt, Peter O'Rourke when the English League was suspended for the duration of the war. Many English footballers moved north of the border to continue playing.
  • The Glasgow Herald publishes the text of a letter sent from Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty to the Mayor of Scarborough in which he brands the German Navy “The Baby-Killers of Scarborough", a reference to their raid on three North East towns.
  • The Glasgow Herald also shows a photo of the beached and battered German armed raiding ship the SMS Emden.

Review

Teams

AIRDRIEONIAN:
James Brown, Robert Mackie, George B. H. Gane, James Miller, Arthur Murphy, Daniel Rafferty, Williams, Alex Thomson, James Greig Reid, Andrew Donaldson, Walter Paterson

CELTIC:
Shaw, McNair, Dodds, Young, Johnstone, McMaster, McAtee, Gallacher, McColl, McMenemy, Browning
Scorer: McColl

Referee: A. A. Jackson (Glasgow)
Venue: Broomfield
Attendance: 7,000

Articles

  • Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

  • Match Pictures

Articles

The Scotsman, Monday 21st December 1914

There was a fine crowd and a fine game at Airdrie, where the Celtic were the visitors.

Two changes were necessary on the local lot, and the placing of Williams, a half-back, in the front line did not make for strength. The first half produced some brilliant forward play, especially on the part of the Airdrieonians, but they failed to carry their good work into a goal, and a misunderstanding between their goalkeeper and left back gave McColl the opportunity to score the only goal of the match.

The second half saw the Celtic defence prevailing over the Airdrieonians attack.

On the other hand, the Celtic forwards improved, but made no impression on the opposing defence through lack of finish. It was a keen, fast game, and especially so in the first half, when all the strength of the clever Celtic defence was needed to keep their goal intact.

The result was a fair reflex of the worth of the game.

The Glasgow Herald, Monday, 21 December, 1914
During the initial period the Airdrie forwards played splendid football but were unable to overcome the solid defence of Shaw and his backs. The only goal of the game was obtained by McColl. In the closing period Celtic were much the better team, but failed to add to their score.