After battling past Linfield and Malta Hibernians Dundalk were delighted to be paired with Glasgow Celtic in the second round. Although the attempts to persuade Celtic to play the first leg in Oriel Park failed Dundalk officials remained optimistic.
According to the late Jim Malone “It’s the draw we wanted. We reckoned Celtic, Forest or Hamburg so we have really landed on our feet. I’m quite confident that our team is good enough to get a fair result in Scotland and ensure a big crowd for our home game”.
For this tie Dundalk’s injury problems had become critical. Hilary Carlyle was injured representing the League of Ireland in a 2-1 win over New Zealand and McConville, Dunning, Keely, Muckian, Daly and Mick Lawlor were all very doubtful for the game but were all in the 16 man squad. The only boost that Jim McLaughlin received was the news that Jimmy Dainty, who hadn’t played since the the Cup Final, had agreed to return to the club to help out.
When the Dundalk team reached their hotel on the eve of the match a piper was playing a lament. This appeared to be an apt comment on Dundalk’s chances on avoiding a mauling. Although Celtic had just lost their unbeaten record in the Scottish league the previous Saturday against Morton, Jim McLaughlin was not seeing that as a good omen. “That was the worst thing that could have happened. They will be out to make us suffer. We have grown up in Europe. We made mistakes like in the away game in Eindhoven and we have paid heavily for them. But this is probably the best team that Dundalk has ever had. We are vastly experienced with players who will not freeze at the enormity of the task and I am reasonably confident that we can frustrate Celtic.”
In the event, Dundalk’s team of near cripples played possibly the greatest game ever by an Irish team in Europe. Celtic went ahead after only 4 minutes when Keely fouled Pat McCluskey on the left side of the penalty area. Davy Proven took the free kick and Roddie McDonald headed into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Celtic doubled their lead after 32 minutes when McCluskey skillfully eluded Keely and shot low into the right corner from 12 yards. Celtic were still celebrating when Jimmy Dainty made a fine run up the right. His cross found an unmarked Cathal Muckian who headed powerfully past Latchford. Unfortunately for Dundalk, Celtic responded immediately when Tommy Burns carved the Dundalk defence open to smash in Celtics third.
At half time a mauling still looked on the cards. But there were signs that Dundalk had not just come to make up the numbers. After 55 minutes Danny McGrain underhit a backpass to Latchford was intercepted by Liam Devine but the goalkeeper saved luckily with his feet. On the hour Tommy McConville cleared a Vic Davidson header off the line and Blackmore reacted superbly to save from Roy Aiken on the rebound.
The key moment came in the 61st minute with the introduction of Mick Lawlor in place of Terry Daly. 5 minutes later Dermot Keely played a long ball out of defence. Mick Lawlor knocked it down to Flanagan who played it back to Lawlor who had beaten the offside trap. With Latchford advancing Lawlor chipped him from 40 yards to score on the best goals ever seen in Parkhead. Dundalk should have drawn the match but Liam Devine shot wide with the goal at his mercy in the 74th minute. Ritchie Blackmore, who had another outstanding match, made the save of the match in the 80th minute from a Proven header. After that Celtic lost heart and Dundalk held out for a 3-2 defeat.
At the end of the match the entire Dundalk squad ran onto the middle of the pitch and received an ovation from the 33,000 attendance, including the 500 or so Dundalk fans who made the trip. Leo “Pop” Flanagan was acknowledged as being the man of the match but most of the credit was reserved for Jim McLaughlin for achieving such an incredible result with such a half fit team. After the game he admitted that he had almost quit the job only two weeks previously due to business commitments.
Teams:
Dundalk: Blackmore; McConville; Martin Lawlor; Keely; Dunning; Flanagan; Daly (Mick Lawlor); Devine; Muckian; Byrne;Dainty.
Celtic: Latchford; McGrain;Lynch; Aitken; McDonald; McAdam; Proven; Davidson (Lennon); McCluskey; MacCleod; Burns.
2nd Leg
The first fight for Dundalk supporters was to convince the board to play the match in Oriel Park. Oliver Quinn was quoted after the first leg as saying “We would like to stage the match in Dundalk but for safety reasons I fear that it just won’t be possible”. Apparently, a number of Dundalk fans made their first protest about a possible venue switch on the flight home. Thankfully the Dundalk public were not robbed of this momentous occasion after negotiations with the Gardai.
17,000 people crammed into Oriel Park paying gate receipts of £38,000. The standard of football was not as high as the first leg but the tension made it a gripping encounter. Dundalk, unlike the first leg, were more or less fully fit. Mick Lawlor even had acupunture treatment to overcome injury for the match. Celtic played a very defensive formation with Roy Aitken playing as a sweeper in a 5 man defence. It was the Scottish Champions who look lively early on and after 4 minutes the veteran Bobby Lennox hit a ferocious shot off the underside of the crossbar. After 11 minutes a poor back pass by Leo Flanagan was intercepted by Edvaldsson who rounded Blackmore but his tame shot was cleared off the line. Dundalk started defending with greater discipline and began to stamp their authority on the game. After 25 minutes a Flanagan cross was met by Mick Lawlor unmarked at the back post. His header went narrowly wide.
In the second half chances were in short supply. After 55 minutes a powerful 25 yard shot was saved by Blackmore. The introduction of Terry Daly added a bit more steel to the midfield and Danny McGrain was finding the going tough. After 67 minutes Daly’s cross was met by a Muckian header but went just shaved the post. Then, right at the death, came the most famous miskick in Dundalk’s history. Dundalk were awarded a free kick which was floated into the Celtic area by Flanagan. Dunning got a flick on to the back post where Tommy McConville had arrived unmarked. With the goal gaping and Latchford making a desperate effort to get across Tommy couldn’t get enough of the ball to steer it home. With that miss an extremely lucky Celtic went into the quarter finals of the European Cup against Real Madrid.
Quotes
Glasgow Herald following 1st Leg
“No one seemed to have told the collection of Irish bankers, butchers and company directors that they were not supposed to have a chance against the Scottish Champions: it was to be a picnic for Celtic and a goal feast for the fans. But Brave Dundalk, with several players less than 100% fit, defied all the odds to and came so close to nearly pulling off an even greater shock.”
Daily Record following 1st Leg
Another paper reported “Let me be blunt. This was not a case of the luck of the Irish. No Leprechauns guarded their goal. No blarney was used to con the Celts.The Parkhead crowd watched in eloquent silence as Dundalk celebrated a moral victory.”
Jim McLaughlin on Celtic (Speaking in 2010)
We were down and out after not qualifying in 1978. We sold the three lads to Liverpool which allowed us to sign elderly statesmen like Dermot Keely! So by 1979 we had one of the best teams the League of Ireland has ever seen. I never seen a back five who were played as well together. The double followed and we went on a great European run.
The height of any footballers life is to play against teams that you have supported as a child. Many of us and the fans would have supported Celtic. We already had a good relationship with Celtic. It was one of the greatest times of our lives. If only Tommy had put the ball in the bloody net instead of farting about!!!
Mickey Duffy (Dundalk Fan) on 79 team
That defence was incredible. I remember around that time we played Birmingham and their manager, Jim Smith, wanted to buy that back five en masse”.
Tommy McConville on that miss v Celtic
(Joking – I assure you) I missed it because I backed Celtic! I got a nice house in Farndreg out of it!! Seriously, Tony Cavanagh crossed the ball into the box. Cathal Muckian got a wee knick on the ball which took the ball away from me. The ball ended up jumping over my foot. That was it. I was thinking that if I scored they would take down the Maid of Erin and stick me up there!
All of these European games were fantastic. They were great occasions. There was a great buzz around town in the lead up to the games. People would come up to watch the opposition team train. It’s great to be back in Europe this season.
I was never afraid of anybody when playing in Europe for Dundalk. Apart from Keely!
Keely on Celtic
It’s match I remember well. We were getting pounded over there. I remember asking Paddy Dunning how could we survive this and he told me to “stand on the edge of the box and pray!” Dundalk were one of the first sides ever to play square at the back. Yet I stepped up twice and Celtic got in twice to score. I remember somebody going down injured and Jim McLaughlin himself ran on the pitch with a water bottle. He looked at me with venom in his eyes and shouted at me – “See if you step up again? I will f***ing strangle you!!” It was a great night. We of course nearly went through in the second leg. Tommy Mc nearly scored at the end. It was a night Danny McGrain’s beard turned grey!
Celtic was the outstanding memory of my European experience. I couldn’t believe that they could get that many people into Oriel Park and then the directors saying afterwards that they didn’t have any money to pay a bonus!
Martin Lawlor on Celtic
The Celtic game was phenomenal. We could have beaten them in Parkhead because we created a lot of our chances. We gave them a huge fright. We were a little bit naïve in the first fifteen minutes and maybe had a lack of belief. But we came into it and got a great result. We had a totally different attitude in the 2nd Leg. Our frame of mind changed completely. We went into it in a very attacking manner and we nearly got our rewards. Such a pity as we would have got Real Madrid in the next round!
Richie Blackmore on Celtic
The Celtic game was a surreal atmosphere. There was a high pitched scream the entire match. It was very different from anything else I experienced. It was the pinnacle of our time with the club. I played with the League of Ireland over in Brazil and even that didn’t match the atmosphere of Parkhead. It was really special.
