| Match Pictures | Matches: 1974 – 1975 | 1974-75 Pictures |
Trivia
- Celtic took a party of 16 to Athens leaving on the Monday and travelling via Rome.These included Deans, Hunter, McNamara and MacDonald.
- Four players had been put on the transfer list – Jimmy Quinn, Vic Davidson, Jimmy Bone and Andy Lynch. This move, plus the general performances and the known bid for Ronnie Glavin suggests that Jock Stein was in the process of reorganising the playing staff.
- The Olympiakos team had been 'constructed' by club owner Nikolas Goulandris at a cost of close on £500,000 and the club was a sporting club supporting volleyball, basketball, water polo, rowing, swimming as well as other sports and all bearing the Olympiakos name. The stadium had been completely refurbished and had harboured the 1969 games as well as the 1971 European Cuop Winners Cup Final.
- BOTH teams were concerned about the state of the playing surface. The ground had been reseeded just two weeks before the game and the playing surface was full of lumps, humps, ridges and divots and bare in places. Celtic considered lodging an appeal to UEFA.
- The Olympiakos players were said to be on a bonus of £2000 per man to win through to the next round.
- Celtic played a 4-3-3 formation with a midfield of Murray ,Dalglish and Callaghan and Johnstone, Deans and Wilson up front.
- Bobby Lennox sent off late in the game.
- Greek fans fire thousands of firecrackers in the air after the goals. Olympiakos banned from playing at home in the next round.
- Capacity crowd. £4 stand tickets were selling on black market for £20.
- Jock Stein describes the pitch as the worst ever Celtic have experienced in Europe.
- Olympiakos won through 3-1 on aggregate. They lost in the next round to Anderlecht 5-4 on aggregate.
Review
Two early goals killed Celtic in Athens. Both goals came from set pieces.
The pitch definetly affected the quality of play which was not helped by the East German referee blowing for everything and interrupting the flow of play.The first goal came from a free kick from a McGrain foul. The ball was chipped i to the area and Kritokopoulos headed home unchallenged. The second was from a free kick from a McNeill foul and Stavropoulos found a gap in the wall and the ball was deflected past Connaghan.
In the second half the team battled hard but could not find a way through the Greek defensive line.
Celtic's two class attackers Johnstone and Dalglish were anonymous and were substituted which summed up the Celtic performance on the night. Lennox was yellow carded for not retreating at a free kick and then five minutes from time the red came for a fairly innocuous challenge.
Celtic battled on but Lennox's sending off meant the end. The tie had been lost at Parkhead in the first leg.
Connaghan was blameless for both goals but the defence looked very fragile.
Murray, Perssidis, Losanda, were also booked.
Celtic have now lost Macari, Hay, Connelly and Murdoch for various reasons in the last 18 months and Jock Stein is now urged to spend to replace them.
Teams
Olympiakos:
Kelesidis, Liolios, Aggelis, Sidkos, Glezos, Perssidis, Losanda, Kyrastas, Kritikopoulos, Delikaris, Stavropoulos
Goals: Kritikopoulos (3), Stavropoulos (23)
Celtic:
Connaghan, McGrain, Brogan, Murray, McNeill, McCluskey, Johnstone (Lennox 62), Dalglish (Hood 62), Deans, Callaghan, Wilson Subs: Hunter, MacDonald, McNamara
Goals:
Sent Off: Lennox
Referee: R. Gloeckner (East Germany)
Attendance: 42,000
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Articles
Evening Times 3rd October 1974
