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Personal
Fullname: Andrew Lynch
aka: Andy Lynch, Kipper
Born: 3 March 1951
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 7 February 1973 (from Hearts)
Left: 14 April 1980 (to Philadelphia Fury)
Position: Signed as left winger later converted to left-back
First game : Partick Thistle home league 1-1 10 February 1973
Last game : Dundalk home European cup 3-2 24 October 1979
First goal : Dundee home Drybrough cup 4-0 31 July 1973
Last goal : Dundee United home league 2-1 28 April 1979
Internationals: none
Biog
Andy Lynch was a surprise signing from Hearts in February 1973 for a fee of £35,000, although newspapers had reported a Celtic interest in him as early as 1971. Andy was a winger and was an unusual signing for Jock Stein as his left wingers since 1965, John Hughes and Bobby Lennox, were right footed and Andy was a natural left footer.
He made his debut on February 10th 1973 in a 1-1 draw at Parkhead against Partick Thistle, on the day when Bobby Murdoch scored Celtic’s 6000th league goal. He was most impressive in the early games of the 1973/74 season, in the League Cup and Drybrough Cup, but a chronic, long term groin injury then held Andy back at a time when he looked like making a breakthrough. This was the most frustrating period of his career and he could only watch in frustration as Celtic embarked on a tremendously successful season, winning the league and cup double and reaching the European Cup semi final.
After recovering from injury it was a measure of his ability when he was played at centre forward at Ibrox against Rangers in a reserve fixture on January 3rd 1975. Impressively, Andy scored all four goals in Celtic’s 4-3 victory. and after that things began to improve steadily.
With displays like that in the reserves, it was only a matter of time before he was elevated to the first team. On March 8th he made a return to first team action against Dumbarton at Boghead in the Scottish Cup in the unusual left half position (number 6). Four days later he scored twice in the 3-2 defeat at Pittodrie as Celtic’s 10 in a row dreams began to fade. He stayed in the first team picture and Stein produced a shock on April 26th against St Johnstone when Andy turned appeared for the first time at left back. It was still a surprise when he kept his place for the Scottish Cup final seven days later, and he had a fine game in his new, unaccustomed, position with Celtic winning 3-1 at Hampden against Airdrie.
The position of left back had been a problem one for Jock Stein since Tommy Gemmell’s departure in 1971 and from the beginning of August 1975 Andy now became Celtic’s first choice in that position. He was a fine attacker, fast and a good crosser of the ball which fitted in well with Stein’s liking for attacking, overlapping full backs.
In December 1975, at Celtic Park, Andy had a bust up with Ayr’s John Doyle at Celtic Park which resulted in Doyle’s ordering off although, ironically, Doyle joined Celtic in March 1976 and they became firm friends.
By the summer of 1976 Andy had combined to make a fine full back pairing with the legendary Danny McGrain. Celtic enjoyed a fine season and won the League and Cup double with Andy missing only a handful of games. He had a traumatic experience on April 13th at Fir Park when Celtic required a draw to lift the League trophy. With ‘Well leading 1-0 Andy had the misfortune of scoring two freak own goals late on and Motherwell won 3-0. However three days later he was in the side that eventually clinched the title against Hibs in a memorable victory at Easter Road.
Andy’s finest moment in a Celtic jersey came when he scored the winning goal against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final from the penalty spot on May 7th 1977. He showed remarkable calmness and courage in doing so, much to the surprise and delight of the Celtic fans. He had never before taken a penalty in professional football and it had been expected that captain, Kenny Dalglish, would take any penalties in the event of Ronnie Glavin’s absence through injury. From that moment on Andy Lynch became Celtic’s regular penalty taker and achieved a high success rate through the years.
Season 1977/78 was a horrendous one for Celtic, and after new captain Danny McGrain sustained a serious injury in October, Andy became Celtic captain in McGrain’s absence. It was a difficult period, and he was sent off in November 1977, in the 3-0 debacle against Innsbruck in Salzburg in the European Cup. It was a dreadful season that was Jock Stein’s last as Celtic manager which saw the Celts end the season trophy-less and in fifth place in the league table
Billy McNeill became Celtic manager in the summer of 1978 and Andy remained captain for most of the season until McGrain’s return to the fold in March 1979. His experience during that time was invaluable, and he was actually Celtic’s second top scorer with 13 goals, mainly due to his high success rate from the penalty spot. He scored a memorable goal from open play against Rangers, in the 1-1 draw at Hampden in November 1978, after he and Tommy Burns had cut open the Rangers defence with a couple of swift one-twos. Sadly the TV cameras were not there to witness it.
Andy went into Celtic folklore when he was a part of the legendary 10 man Celtic team on May 21st 1979 who sensationally beat Rangers 4-2 in their final league fixture to become Scottish champions. This was an unforgettable night and is comparable to any Celtic success in their history
Andy lost his place to Alan Sneddon at the start of the 1979/80 season, with Danny McGrain moving to left back, and after this he was used sparingly. He played his last game on October 20th 1979 at Cappielow on a 1-0 defeat and moved on to Philadelphia Furies (USA) in April 1980. He was only 29 years old at the time of departure and the feeling was that he had a few more seasons left in him.
Andy Lynch was a fine servant to Celtic and is fondly remembered by the fans for his great successes against Rangers in 1977 and 1979.
He had a spell as Tommy Gemmell‘s assistant at Albion Rovers in 1993/94.
His sons carried on from their father and went on to become footballers too: Martin played for Queen’s Park in 1994, and Simon lined up for Celtic, Preston North End and Dundee. Andy and Simon have the achievement of being one of a rare breed of father and son who have both played in European ties for Celtic.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1973-80 | 130 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 185 |
| Goals | 15 | 13 | 31 | 0 | 25 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
Podcast Interview
Books
Interview: In his own words
Early Career
I WAS brought up in the Ibrox area and as a youngster I used to go along and watch Rangers.
In those days, you were allowed into the ground for free in the last 20 minutes and I used to take advantage. That was where I had my first taste of real football.
However, my family were all Celtic supporters and I soon became an ardent fan myself.
I started to go and train with Queen’s Park on a couple of nights a week when I was around 13 and their coach at that time was the former Gers player, Harold Davis. He was always pushing me forward and taking time out to help me.
I started playing junior football for Rob Roy and there were soon a lot of senior teams showing an interest. I received quite a few offers. But when Hearts came to me their chief scout said there was a vacant berth in the first team in my position that needed to be filled. So I signed for them aged 18 in 1969.
Looking back, I think that was just a ploy to get me to sign. But the manager, John Harvey, was true to his word. Within about six weeks I was in the side.
Joining Celtic
I THOUGHT I may have to go to a club in England. But then Celtic came in. It had always been an ambition of mine to play for them and I was delighted to sign at the start of 1973. There was no wrangling over conditions or wages. After a fee of (pounds) 35,000 had been agreed I just joined. Jock Stein was manager and he told me what my pay was. End of story.
I joined a team filled full of my heroes. Many of the Lisbon Lions were still there and a lot of good youngsters were also starting to emerge.
Stein said nothing was expected of me for the rest of that season. But during the next pre-season I played well and everything appeared to be going great. Then, for no apparent reason, I was kept out of the team. I was on the sidelines for a season and a half in what was a very frustrating period. I still have no idea why.
Becoming A Left-Back
I HAD been signed as a left-winger but I eventually got into the team at left-back. I was so happy to get back into the side the change of position was not a problem. I would have preferred to play at winger but playing for Celtic meant so much to me and I’d have been devastated if I had been forced to leave having not made it.
Fortunately, things worked out well after that. I won championships and cups and went on to captain the club for two years. Bizarrely enough, that was under Jock. He just said: ”You’re taking over.” The captain had been Danny McGrain. But he was put out of the game for a long, long time with a serious injury.
I was an attacking player who moved to the back. That meant I could go up the line and make crosses into the box. I prided myself on my fitness. I also found it fairly easy to defend. It suited Celtic to have somebody like that in the team.
On Scoring Two Own Goals in One Match
AS we were closing in on the League Championship in 1977 I scored two own goals against Motherwell in one of our final league matches. The first one was a mix-up with our replacement goalkeeper Roy Baines. The second one went in off me after a free-kick.
I very nearly put another one into my own net late on in that game and we ended up losing 3-1. But immediately after the final whistle, Big Jock came up to me and said: ”I thought you had scored a hat-trick there.”
In the next match we had a chance to win the league and travelled to play Hibs. I was pretty nervous. But when I came on to the park the fans chanted my name. It made me feel so much better. I set up our goal then headed the ball off the line to ensure we won the game 1-0 and with it the league. Since then, whenever I have been coaching kids I tell them that story to ensure they don’t get too down.
On the 4-2 Game in 1979
RANGERS were always our main rivals for titles when I was at Celtic. I loved Old Firm games. I’m not sure if that was something to do with the fact I was from Glasgow and was a Celtic supporter. Some players dreaded them. But the home grown players were different.
My most memorable Old Firm game has to be the League Championship decider in 1979. There had been a lot of games called off that season due to the weather and the papers were focusing on Rangers, Dundee United and Aberdeen. Nobody was giving us a mention. But we went on a great run and put together a lot of results to set up a match with our old enemy.
With the score 2-1 I can remember seeing Roddie Macdonald, who was particularly good in the air, before a corner and shouting: ”Make sure you bloody clear it!” He did that and it fell straight to Bobby Russell 25 yards out. He did that wonderful wee shimmy of his, made space for himself and then hit the ball through a melee of about 20 players. I just heard this thud on the old metal goalposts and saw the ball nestle in the net.
Rangers only needed to draw that match and I thought that was it. But we went right back at them and Colin Jackson scored an own goal – I’m sure he’ll thank me for reminding him about that one – and then Murdo MacLeod got the winner to give us a 4-2 victory. It was an incredible night.
Becoming The Penalty Taker Before The 1977 Cup Final
BEFORE the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers in 1977 we were at Seamill. Kenny Dalglish had missed a couple of penalties in matches before that so we’d a spot-kick tournament in training on the Friday. I won it.
When we went back to get changed, Kenny said to Jock: ”That’ll be Andy taking penalties then.” I said: ”Now hang on! Wait a minute!” I had never taken a penalty before in my life. Jock simply looked at us and said: ”I wish it was me taking penalties!” It was a cunning bit of psychology. He turned the situation around to make it seem like a great honour.
But I still went to bed that night thinking: ”There won’t be a penalty.” The next day we went for a meal and Kenny, who was captain, pipes up: ”If there’s a penalty who’ll take it?” I volunteered as I had got into that way of thinking. Lo and behold, after about 20 minutes we were awarded one.
It seemed to take an awful long time for the ball to get to me and there was enormous pressure on us. But, when it did, I put it away in what was to be the only goal of the match. I went on to take penalties regularly after that for the rest of my career and missed only one.
Leaving Celtic
After being at the club for about eight years I’d hoped to get released. But, Celtic being Celtic, they gave me a transfer. I moved to play in America and joined Philadelphia in 1980.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, playing against some world class stars. In my first game I was man-marking Johan Cruyff. I must have done well as he was subbed. I also played against Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller. Pele was also involved but he was just finishing his career.
Debut day anniversary for Andy Lynch
By: Joe Sullivan on 10 Feb, 2014 10:24
http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=5411&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Celticfcnet+%28Celticfc.net%29
WHEN Celtic took to the field against Partick Thistle on February 10, 1973, there was an air of expectancy hovering around the 32,000 huddled in the cold winter air inside Celtic Park.
The previous Wednesday’s Celtic View provided the reason for the anticipation among the crowd as the front page revealed that the Celts were sitting on 5,995 league goals and, as the View headline warned, they were to ´Watch out for No.6,000.´
With a re-arranged game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park that night, the View made a rather astonishing prediction.
It said: “With the game at Rugby Park and Saturday’s match against Partick Thistle at Parkhead we could be sitting on 6,000 goals by Saturday night.
“And if the vital goal should arrive against Thistle it will be quite a coincidence. Frank Brogan scored the club’s 5,000th goal in April, 1962 – against Thistle!”
Well, did they get it right? That remains to be seen but there was one thing they couldn’t predict – on the day that View hit the streets, Jock Stein signed outside-left Andy Lynch from Hearts.
How did the View’s bold prediction go then? Well, a crowd of 11,000 down in Ayrshire saw two goals from Kenny Dalglish with others from Jimmy Johnstone and Tommy Callaghan give Celtic a 4-0 win placing them within one goal of the 6,000 and setting up a tantalising game against Thistle.
In short, the game finished 1-1 with Bobby Murdoch having the honour of scoring Celtic’s 6,000th league goal and new Bhoy Andy Lynch made his debut.
Much was made of three blatant penalties Celtic were denied, as the View stated: “Those penalty decisions by Mr Foote were a bit of a puzzle.” And said of one particular incident: “Mr Foote must have been the only man at Parkhead to miss the incident.”
And so, the great Bobby Murdoch joined Alex McNair (1,000), Adam McLean (2,000), Jimmy McGrory (3,000), Jimmy Delaney (4,000) and Frank Brogan (5,000) in the chapter of Celtic milestone scorers.
There was one other thing the View got right though as it said: “New boy Andy Lynch, from Hearts, got a taste of the hot, competitive football Celtic players face every week. He will not be rushed.”
They hit the nail right on the head with that one as that was his only appearance that season and over the next couple of years he played only a handful of games but in the New Year reserve game of 1975 he bagged all FOUR goals in a 4-3 thriller against Rangers and Stein, who was previously prepared to accept bids for the player, changed his mind.
Lynch made a change to the left-back role and made the position his own by becoming a regular from season 1975/76 onwards.
Andy was to go on and score 25 goals in 185 games and, indeed, became Celtic captain when Danny McGrain was injured and one of his biggest claims to fame, apart from playing in the 4-2 game of 1979, was scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 1977 Scottish Cup final against Rangers.
He explained: “Kenny Dalglish usually took the penalties but he had missed a couple in matches leading up to the final. We had a penalty-kick competition the day before down at Seamill – which I won – so when we got the award on the day I stepped forward.
“The Rangers players were arguing about the decision but eventually, goalkeeper Stuart Kennedy just rolled the ball towards me. That gave me confidence; I would have thrown the ball some distance away to make the player go and get it. He made it easy for me and I struck it well away from him.”