THE great Jock Stein had told the Celtic fans there was a “special talent” emerging through the youths at Parkhead – a powerfully-built teenager by the name of Roy Aitken.
The versatile Irvine-born performer made his debut against Stenhousemuir in the League Cup on September 10 1975 at the age of 16 – and there was no looking back after that for the player christened ‘The Bear’ by his adoring legions of Hoops followers.
Aitken celebrates his 65th birthday today and CQN marks the occasion with an extract from Celtic author Alex Gordon’s ‘The Awakening‘ production which was published in 2013.
CROWNING GLORY…Roy Aitken races away in jubilation after scoring against Rangers on the extraordinary evening in the east end of Glasgow when 10-man Celtic beat Rangers 4-2 to clinch the title. George McCluskey is about to join in the celebrations while Derek Johnstone and Peter McCloy are despondent.
It was arguably Big Roy’s finest 90 minutes for the club – the unforgettable evening of May 21 1979 when a 10-man Celtic team, managed by club icon Billy McNeill in his first season, overcame Rangers 4-2 to win the title, the the 31st of the current 52 in the club’s glorious history.
Roy, at the age of 20, thumped in the team’s first goal, stormed through a Man-of-the-Match performance and was a club legend from that night on.
Alex, whose fifteenth Celtic book, ‘50 Flags Plus One,’ also looks at this particular title-winning season in great detail, remembered it likes this:
CELTIC: The Awakening…published in 2013.
RANGERS had been relentless in their pursuit. The situation for Billy McNeill’s team was clear cut; a triumph would take the Premier League championship to Parkhead.
A win or a draw would suit Rangers who still had two more games to play against Partick Thistle and Hibs. That being the case, Celtic, in McNeill’s return, would have to settle for second best. McNeill was never comfortable with that mantle.
The manager recalled, ‘I talked to the players as a team unit before the game. I didn’t pick out individuals as I didn’t think that would be fair. Jock, of course, did that every now and again, particularly with Jinky, but, then, he was exceptional, world class and could handle anything thrown at him.
TWO OF A KIND…Celtic legends Billy McNeill and Roy Aitken.
‘On this occasion, I just wanted to remind the players what we had all been through to get the club into this position. We were ninety minutes away from winning the league. I reminded them, “And listen to that crowd. That’s your fans out there. They’re worth a goal of a start.” I sensed a very determined mood in the camp.’
The hottest ticket in town was for Parkhead on the Monday evening of 21 May when football’s greatest and most ancient foes would lock horns. The scramble had been more frantic than ever with a union strike keeping TV cameras away from Parkhead.
If you wanted to see this one, you had to be there. Only flickering images shot by a fan from the terracing still exist. A thriller of epic proportions was, sadly, never witnessed by millions.
ROY’S THE BHOY…Aitken (half-hidden) slams the ball past Rangers keeper Peter McCloy.
As kick-off time approached, Celtic Park throbbed and pulsated, the old ground’s foundations heaving and rocking, as a capacity 52,000 frenzied fans, engulfed in wild emotion, prepared to watch a spectacle that would unfold in the most dramatic of circumstances. It was a night for the strong of heart.
In the ninth minute, a deadly hush swept over the Celtic end. Rangers were a goal to the good after Alex MacDonald had knocked one wide of Peter Latchford. That goal was to trigger off a remarkable series of events as Celtic desperately tried to respond. There was no change in the scoreline, though, by the time the interval arrived.
Ten minutes after the turnaround, McNeill winced as he saw his side go down to ten men. Johnny Doyle was involved in a scuffle with MacDonald, both fiery characters, and the referee dismissed the Celt for retaliation. He sobbed uncontrollably as he raced off the pitch. The game restarted at a punishing pace during this rawest and most rumbustious Old Firm confrontation, a rollicking rollercoaster, one of the most nerve-shredding in memory.
OH, GEE…Colin Jackson deflects the ball past the grounded Peter McCloy for the Hoops’ second goal.
Breathtakingly, Celtic drew level midway through the half as Roy Aitken surged forward to belt one past Peter McCloy. In the 74th minute the roar that went up from the east end of Glasgow must have registered on the Richter Scale; Celtic were ahead. George McCluskey, wily and skilful, got through on the blindside to thump the ball low into the net. Two minutes later, it was 2-2 with Bobby Russell scrambling one past Latchford from close range.
This pulverising confrontation was going all the way to the wire. Rangers sat in, obviously more than satisfied to take a point. Celtic, driven on by McNeill from the touchline, had other ideas. Six minutes were left when McCluskey fired in a dangerous low effort from the wing. It was an awkward one for McCloy to deal with. The towering keeper got down to parry the ball up and away where it struck the inrushing Colin Jackson.
The defender could only look on in horror as the clearance bounced off him into the net. Cue bedlam on the terracings. Parkhead became a rhapsody in green and white. Could there possibly be anything left to witness in this no-holds barred, shuddering conflict?
PARADISE…midfield powerhouse Murdo MacLeod accepts the cheers of the fans after making it 4-2 while Davie Provan slumps to his knees and Andy Lynch races to join the celebrations.
‘I remember picking the ball up in midfield,’ said Murdo MacLeod. ‘I knew it was late in the game, but I didn’t know how late. There was a pass on to either side of me with team-mates breaking forward. I just kept going.
‘In an instant, I knew I was going to shoot, there was no chance of me passing. I thought to myself, “Hit this as hard as you can and, even if you miss, the ball will go away into the Celtic end and it will waste time.”
‘But I struck the shot really well and it went high and dipped over the keeper’s right hand into the top corner. I still had no idea how long there was to go. We all geared up to go again when the referee blew for time-up seconds after Rangers had kicked off. I must have been the last Celtic player to touch the ball that evening.
‘It was my best-ever night in football. I had a few memorable ones, but nothing ever touched that. No team could have stopped us even when we were down to ten men.’
HAIL HAIL…Roy Aitken sports some natty headgear as he holds aloft Danny McGrain along with Peter Latchford following the epic victory.
A jubilant Celtic crowd brought the house down with their frenzied celebrations, a wall of noise enveloping the stadium. No-one had a thought of dispersing until their heroes emerged for a lap of honour.
‘The boys deserved it,’ recalled McNeill. ‘It was simply fantastic. I have never seen a game like it. When George McCluskey scored to make it 2-1 for us, I just couldn’t believe it. Then they came right back. One minute you’re up there, the next you’re down here.
‘My players would climb a mountain and then find there was another waiting for them. Our ten men did extraordinary things. To score four goals in just over half-an-hour with only ten men against Rangers was just incredible. Unbelievable.
TITLE SUCCESSES…Alex Gordon’s ’50 FLAGS PLUS ONE’, published in 2020.
‘John Greig was one of the first to congratulate me and I really appreciated that. He was as proud a Rangers man as I was a Celtic man and he must have been hurting, but he still sought me out to shake my hand. A great gesture from a genuine sportsman.
‘I was overjoyed for my players and I even had to persuade Johnny Doyle to go out there and take a bow.
‘He didn’t want to go because he thought he had let us down. Eventually, I think I threw him onto the pitch! All of my players, including Johnny, were heroes.’
