SEVENTIES EURO SPECIALS- CELTIC v OLYMPIAKOS, 1974…
On 18 September 1974, Celtic embarked on an incredible NINTH successive European Cup campaign. For the first time ever in any European competition, the Bhoys were drawn against Greek opposition in the shape of Olympiakos Piraeus.
Very little was known about the Greek champions, but the club had been backed by very heavy investment of around £500 000 by owner Nikolas Goulandris.
As well as football outfit, Olympiakos included several other sports under the club’s name, including volleyball, water polo, rowing and swimming.
The stadium had been completely refurbished and had hosted the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final and replay. The level of investment alone suggested that the Greeks would present Celtic with a much tougher challenge that previous first round opponents such as Kokkola, BK 1903, Rosenborg and TPS Turku.
In addition to facing opponents of a far higher calibre, Celtic in 1974 were also facing a few challenges of their own.
The first of these was the loss of David Hay, who was sold to Chelsea during the summer. Hay had spent much of season 1973/74 in a pay dispute with Celtic and had gone on strike at one stage. However, he had been outstanding for Scotland during the World Cup Finals and returned to Scotland apparently resolved to sign a new contract with Celtic.
The club had other ideas, however, and decided to sell Hay when his value was highest. It seems that Jock Stein and Desmond White had decided that Hay was a disruptive influence at the club and that the £250 000 offer from Chelsea was therefore too good to refuse.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his transfer, Davie Hay was a magnificent player and his loss severely weakened Celtic.
One by-product of the sale of Hay was the impact on George Connelly, whose personal problems had come to light when he walked out on the Scotland squad in the summer of 1973.
Hay was the person closest to Connelly in the Celtic dressing room and had been a source of continuous support to Connelly during his troubled periods. Without Hay, Connelly had lost the one person he trusted most at Celtic Park, and he would walk out on Celtic on the morning of the league match against Rangers on 14 September 1974.
The three other Celtic players in Scotland’s World Cup squad- Danny McGrain, Jimmy Johnstone and Kenny Dalglish- had all returned to pre-season preparations without any real chance of a rest. This showed in their performances in the opening two months of the 1974/75 season, when all looked slightly jaded and all struggled to strike any consistency.
With the loss of Hay and Connelly, and the ongoing inconsistency of three more key players, Celtic’s underlying problems were exposed in the home league match against Rangers on the Saturday before facing Olympiakos.
Rangers won 2-1, giving them their first victory at Celtic Park in SIX YEARS. The scoreline tells only part of the story, as Celtic were superb in the first half and should have had the game won by half time. Sadly, they went in at the interval only a goal ahead and in the second half Rangers took control.
The match was characterised by Rangers’ overly-physical approach, which was treated with extreme leniency by referee JRP Gordon. As a result, the match became increasingly ugly and was punctuated by a series of ongoing feuds.
Both Jim Brogan and Derek Parlane were sent off but perhaps of more significance was the clear fragility at the heart of the Celtic defence. This was highlighted by Rangers’ winning goal when, from a corner, Colin Jackson rose completely unchallenged to score with a header.
Loss of key players, loss of form by others and ongoing defensive frailties did not augur well for the European Cup match four days later.
In the Glasgow Herald of 16 September, Ian Archer perfectly summarised Celtic’s problems:
“Clearly, they are still missing David Hay. Their play lacks sustained authority, their form peeping through only in glimpses. They have problems at the heart of their defence and on the left side of the midfield. That explains why the chances are not being made or taken.” (Ian Archer, Glasgow Herald, 16 September 1974).
This would turn out to be an uncannily accurate diagnosis of Celtic’s symptoms, and the same observations would apply equally when the season ended eight months later.
With regards to the Olympiakos match, Archer’s comments were also to prove eerily prescient:
“Celtic will come again, but the immediate fear is that Olympiakos might prove to be a harder first round European Cup test than any of recent years. Observers who have watched them in training report that their approach, to say the least, is vigorous.” (Glasgow Herald, 16 September 1974).
The observers turned out to be absolutely correct. In addition to being vigorous, the Greeks were also very quick and well-organised.
In contrast, Celtic were sluggish and struggled to sustain any attacking rhythm. Despite this, Kenny Dalglish hit the post in the 17th minute and shortly afterwards Harry Hood hit his shot inches wide when he was sent through clear on goal.
These misses would prove critical, especially when the Greeks scored a crucial away goal after 35 minutes. Uruguayan international Milton Viera turned Billy McNeill superbly and finished with an excellent shot. The entire Olympiakos bench erupted with joy, running onto the field to celebrate hysterically.
Celtic continued to struggle for the remainder of the game and did not look like retrieving the match at any point. Goalscorer Viera was sent off for a second booking after 80 minutes and Paul Wilson scored shortly afterwards with a fine volley following a knock-down from Bobby Lennox. The match ended 1-1, with Celtic fans extremely pessimistic about their team’s chances in Greece.
The second leg took place on 2 October 1974. Off the field discontent had continued at Celtic Park, with FOUR players on the transfer list at the time of the return match- Jimmy Quinn, Vic Davidson, Jimmy Bone and Andy Lynch.
Team performances had continued to be unconvincing and confidence was low. This wasn’t helped by the state of the playing surface which they encountered in Piraeus. The pitch had been reseeded two weeks before the game and Jock Stein would later describe it as the worst pitch Celtic had ever experienced in a European tie.
Celtic’s problems with personnel and loss of form did not in any way make the club less attractive at the box office. At this time, the Celts still enjoyed a renowned reputation and had a huge spectator appeal across Europe.
Whilst clearly not the force they had been, Celtic still represented a significant scalp to any club which could eliminate them. The Greeks were desperate to claim victory over such an illustrious opponent.
The Olympiakos players were said to be on a massive incentive of £2000 per man to qualify for the next round, whilst their fans quickly snapped up every available ticket. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd of 41 000, with £4 stand tickets reputed to be selling for £20 on the black market.
Celtic walked into a frenzied atmosphere and found themselves a goal down after only three minutes. A free kick into the Celtic box was headed home by Kritikopolous, who rose completely unchallenged.
The Greek fans celebrated wildly by firing thousands of firecrackers in the air. A second goal followed 20 minutes later when Billy McNeill conceded a foul just outside the box. From the resultant free kick, Stavropolous found a gap in Celtic’s defensive wall and the ball was deflected past Denis Connaghan.
The Greeks went wild, celebrating by again setting off thousands of firecrackers. After 23 minutes of the second leg, Celtic were 1-3 down on aggregate but could still qualify on away goals if they could score twice without conceding.
Sadly, although the team tried hard, the task was beyond Celtic. Too many players were badly off form and star forwards Kenny Daliglish and Jimmy Johnstone never threatened the Greek defence. To add salt to the wound, Bobby Lennox-of all players- was sent off for a second yellow card five minutes from time.
It was an ignominious end to Celtic’s ninth European Cup campaign. No team could afford to lose players of the quality of Lou Macari, Bobby Murdoch, Davie Hay and George Connelly as Celtic had between January 1973 and September 1974.
In the nine seasons of European Cup competition, Celtic had reached TWO finals, TWO semi-finals and TWO quarter-finals. It was an incredible record set during the most glorious period of European success in the club’s history.
It was therefore all the more sad that the European glory years should end in with such a woeful first-round defeat.
James McDevitt
Apologies on the photographs for this feature. Match day photos from both legs not easily available.
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