11-02-76: Celtic (a) 3-1 (HT 1-1) Crowd (27,000)

Match Action

The Celtic goalkeeper, Peter Latchford, puts the ball into his own net

Byron Stevenson tackles Paul Wilson

Match Report Hugh Taylor

Match Report Ian Archer

Programme:

I.D.M. Foote of Glasgow was the Referee in front of a 27,000 crowd that had braved the elements. David McNiven came on as a replacement for Duncan McKenzie and scored the third Leeds goal in the eighty-sixth minute. For Celtic Harry Hood replaced Dixie Deans at Centre Forward after half-time and in the eightieth minute future Leeds player George McCluskey replaced Andy Ritchie at Outside Right and Jim Casey came on for Paul Wilson at Outside Left.

The game was hastily arranged after Russian club Dynamo Kiev who were the Super Cup-holders, had withdrawn due to other commitments. Leeds played in all yellow , while Celtic maintained their normal strip. In a game that was to give Celtic a severe testing in preparation for their upcoming European Cup-Winners tie with East German side, Sachsenring Zwickau, Celtic gave a wonderful display for an hour before running out of steam against an experienced Leeds side. On a bitter night, when Kenny Dalglish showed everyone that he was a world-class performer, new boy Andy Ritchie also showed fine touches on at Outside Right. It was he that scored a magnificent goal to give Celtic the lead in the twenty-ninth minute. The lanky striker received the ball on the halfway-line and advanced beating man after man in a mazy run before sending a glorious left-foot shot beyond the reach of Leeds' Scottish International keeper, David Harvey, from twenty-five yards. Celtic continued to gave a great all round performance but Dalglish was the "player of the game". On a bitterly cold night both teams gave the fans fine entertainment and only Celtic's late defensive lapses were the disappointments for the home side. They had looked good up to Half-Time showing power in midfield and inventiveness in attack. That all changed five minutes before half-time when Peter Latchford could only punch an inswinging Eddie Gray corner into his own net, for the equaliser. The Gray brothers, Eddie and Frank, had fulfilled an ambition by playing at Parkhead, home of their childhood favourites and Latchford's misfotune only brought happiness to the Scottish International Outside Left and his younger brother.

After bringing on Harry Hood for Dixie Deans at the start of the second half, hoping to add power to their attack, with Paul Wilson moving into the central striking role, Celtic continued to please but could not capitalise on their good approach play. The home side gave youth a chance with George McCluskey and Jim Casey coming on after eighty minutes. A minute later, Allan Clarke gave them an object lesson in the art of goalscoring when he ghosted in on an Eddie Gray free-kick to head home past a static defence at the near post. After that it was all Leeds as their experience began to tell and their clever touches and inter-play honed on many years European experience began to show. David McNiven, fast building a reputation as a super-sub, made it 3-1 and put the game beyond the home side's reach with four minutes remaining on the clock, with a powerful shot.