Neil had a remarkable Celtic career. Having played for Morton and Middlesbrough, he joined the club in spring 1953, too late to play in League games but eligible for the Glasgow Charity Cup and the Coronation Cup.
Mochan’s remarkable feat
Celtic won both competitions, every game that Mochan played was at Hampden and Mochan scored in both finals, thus completing the remarkable feat of winning two Cup medals before he played a game at Parkhead!
The Cannonball Kid
Able to play all over the forward line, his speciality was the left wing. He became very popular with the fans, and was famous for his mighty shot, earning the nickname “the Cannonball Kid”.
Neil wasn’t always popular with Mr Kelly and was never guaranteed to be in the team, but when he played, the team tended to do well. Mochan won four domestic medals – the League and Cup double of 1954 and two League Cup medals, one of them the famous 7-1 against Rangers in which he scored twice.
Neil Mochan played a vital part in Jock Stein’s success as Celtic manager
He played for Celtic until 1960 when he went to play for Dundee United and Raith Rovers. Many supporters felt that he might have been made more use of at Celtic, but in 1964 in a rare piece of good judgement, Mr Kelly brought him back to be trainer. When Jock Stein came, Neil played a vital part in the team’s success.
Text from our archive and written by the late, great David Potter
On May 8, 1953, Neil Mochan signed for #CelticFC🍀💚
Au #Celtic jusqu’au //
268 Matchs avec les #Bhoys
111 Buts en #Hoops
1 Titre de Champion
1 Coupe d’Écosse
2 Coupes de Glasgow
1 Coupe du couronnement#COYBIG #YNWA #Celts 🍀🇮🇪🍀🏴🍀 pic.twitter.com/5lg8ZDuJTm— CelticFC_Francophone🍀 (@CSC_Francophone) May 8, 2024
