LAST MINUTE WINNERS – TOP TEN

Football fans of the same team are no strangers to heated arguments with their fellow punter. Many a pie has been launched at the bonce of a guy who has criticised a maligned  substitute about to come on for the popular striker. Young lads at Celtic Park will have heard the words ‘SIT DOON SON!’ far too often from a veteran supporter a few rows behind. There’s even been blows witnessed over a seat that was sat in, that wasn’t theirs!

All football fans have one thing in common though. There’s something that brings the most positive and pessimistic fan together. The last minute winner.

No matter what’s been said during the game, you’ll often explode in euphoric joy when a 90th minute effort hits the back of the net and the guy you’ve spent 89 minutes wanting to put in a coma often becomes your best pal for that 60 second spell of lunacy and then all ills are forgotten.

Last minute winners seem to be the Celtic way. From McGrory to Stein to Burns to Lennon, every Celtic team has produced something incredible in the dying seconds to turn one point into three. Every fan has witnessed special last gasp moments which they will treasure forever. From Vojvodina (Cheers @CelticServant!) to Victoria Park, the last minute winner is synonymous with Celtic and here is my favourites – all broken down in a top ten format :

10 : Celtic 2-1 Hearts, November 2006. (Craig Gordon)

It’s perhaps a bit odd that the first in the list is a goal scored by someone who is not a Celtic player, but the manner in which it went in makes this imperative it’s a top ten entry. In 2006/2007, Celtic were strolling the SPL, no thanks to Agent Le Guen over at Ibrox, by ten points and Hearts, who had already won the previous meeting between the sides, were a far stronger outfit than they are these days. Velicka gave them the lead with 20 minutes to go, and it was more than deserved. Out of nothing, Jarosik equalised from a Nakamura corner. Many Celtic fans would have taken this, having been completely outplayed by the Edinburgh outfit. However, a minute into injury time, no one could imagine the turnaround which resulted in Craig Gordon spilling a McManus effort and somehow palming it into the net to gift us the three points. At the end of the game, Ronnie Biggs, watching in the directors box, met Gordon Strachan afterwards and asked if he was involved with that ‘train thing’ in 1963.

9 : Rangers 1-2 Celtic, October 1993. (Brian O’Neill)

For many seven year olds on a Saturday in 1993, they would be trying in vain to complete Super Mario Bros 2 on the NES, or attempting to blag a freebie from the local sweetie van which toured their local scheme. For me, I was being shooderied into my first ever game against Rangers. And what a game. Even as a young boy I was stunned at the madness I was witnessing. Fans clambering over each other to give the other lot ‘the vicky’. Coins and lighters being thrown at each other. Swear words I didn’t even know existed! All 30 minutes before kick off ! For me, it was the biggest adrenaline rush I’d ever experienced. Until then, it was running away from a security guard at a local complex after getting caught ‘menshying’. McCoist made it 1-0 to them. Minutes later, Collins took advantage of Ally Maxwel’s gaffe to equalise. In the last seconds, McCoist and Maxwell made a hash of a corner to allow Brian O’Neill to head in to send the fans delirious ! After the game, I asked if we would win the league. The cry was ‘YES!’, emphatically. I would need to wait five more years to actually see this for the first time.

8 : Celtic 1-0 Kilmarnock, October 2001 (Joos Valgaeren)

Kilmarnock, for quite a number of years, were an uncomfortable team to play against at Celtic Park. They would have a knack of getting a result against Celtic teams unable to kill them off when on top. Usually, their keeper Dragoje Lekovic would keep his best displays of the season til when he was playing against us. To top it off, their style of play was stuffy and tedious. A lot like their manager at the time, Bobby Williamson. In 2001, a few days before we faced Juventus in the Champions League, Martin O’Neill’s side would put in a howler of a performance against Killie. Larsson was unavailable, that much I do remember, and as always Gordon Marshall’s timewasting and gamesmanship reached apoplectic proportions. Moravcik would hit the bar, Sutton would miss a sitter and Petrov had a stonewall penalty denied as it looked increasingly likely we would need to settle for a point. With the last kick of the ball, Lennon’s long ball found Mjallby who chested the ball towards goal and, from a yard out, big Joos bundled home to send the fans wild, and 20,000 others outside the ground who left early, livid!

7 : Celtic 3-2 Hibs, February 2003 (Johan Mjallby) :

The Sevlle season. Promised so much. Ended with nothing. Yet, for many Celtic supporters, including myself, it’s one of the most memorable seasons we can remember. Delightful highs. Despairing lows. It had it all. In a 60 game season, how we took Rangers down to the last MINUTE in that campaign was nothing short of incredible. Yet, we may not have taken them that far if it wasn’t for a last second winner from our current assistant manager on a mild Sunday afternoon against Hibs. On the back of an aggregate win over Stuttgart the Thursday night before, Celtic toiled against the Edinburgh side who fought back from 2-0 down to claw level. However, as Bobby Williamson again found out, he was up against a team who weren’t willing to share the points with him and his team. Thommo curled the ball in, it hung up in the air for what seemed like an eternity, and Mjallby nodded in to send me into such a frenzy that I smashed my Noka 3310 phone’s screen. But it was worth it. It always was, when Williamson left the ground in a bigger huff than when he arrived. Fat prick.

6 : Dundee United 1-2 Celtic , January 1998 (Craig Burley) 

Nowadays, among the Celtic support, go anywhere and say the name ‘Craig Burley’ and you’ll be lucky to be able to speak again afterwards. He’s that hated. Maybe more so than certain employees of Rangers FC, past and present. Which is a shame, because he wasn’t always a total bastard. Burley was one of Wim Jansen’s first signings for the club and was a massive player for us in our Stopping the Ten season. With 15 goals from midfield, including two against Rangers, and a Scottish Writers Player of the Year award, it’s insane to think that this man should no longer be welcome at the arena he won his only trophy at. In a must-win game at Tannadice, Burley’s last minute strike closed the gap on leaders Rangers to three points. Had he not scored, it’s frightening to imagine how damaging a draw could have been for us. Regardless of what I think about him now, I will never forget the scenes that night in Dundee when his deflected shot spun past Dykstra and into the net. Mayhem.

5. Celtic 1-1 Rangers, November 1997 (Alan Stubbs) 

In at Number five, is a goal from the same season as number six, but from a player who is more than welcome back through the Parkhead gates any time he likes. Alan Stubbs will  be remembered for scoring the single most important Celtic goal of season 1997/1998. When Marco Negri put Rangers 1-0 up, after Gascoigne was dismissed, despite Celtic, as usual, dominating, it seemed like yet another victory for Walter Smith and yet another day off school I would be demanding. With seconds to go, Celtic forced a corner, which was cleared, McNamara was allowed all the time in the world to hang a cross up in the air which the big Scouse defender rose to bullet past a static Goram. Foreigners at the club celebrated like a hardened Gallowgater. They knew how crucial it was. The only mystery of the night was how the temporary stand behind the goal didn’t collapse amongst the bedlam !

4 : Celtic 1-0 Rangers, May 2004 (Chris Sutton)

Season 2003/2004 saw Celtic do the league and Scottish cup double. It saw a remarkable 25 game winning run en route to securing the title with seven games to spare. It also saw the whitewash complete over our rivals. Martin O’Neill well and truly schooled McLeish in this season, putting to bed the ‘indian sign’ patter lazily spouted by the Scottish media after Rangers triumph domestically the previous season. In May 2004, Celtic dominated a poor Rangers team at Celtic Park, only to be continually thwarted by an in-form Stefan Klos. With seconds to go, Sutton latched onto a Larsson throughball, comfortably shrugged off Frank De Boer (A seasoned international) with alarming ease and chipped home from 20 yards to send Celtic fans mental. I was in Greece on an 18-30 when this happened and it was my best memory of that holiday. That’s how shite it was. It’s also worth noting to silence their fans, celebrating a draw with their bouncy, was also very very pleasing.

3 : Hearts 2-3 Celtic, January 2006 (Stephen McManus)

It was always going to be mentioned. It’s still remembered vividly and fondly. Celtic travelled to Edinburgh for the New Year fixture in the unusual position of being the underdogs, and after 15 minutes, you didn’t have to wonder why. Symptomatically turgid defending seen Hearts rush into a two goal lead thanks to a Ross Wallace own goal and a Steven Pressley header. Stephen Pearson, on as a sub for Alan Thompson, pulled a goal back almost immediately after his introduction. Hearts then went down to 10 men when Fyssas hauled down Maloney. With minutes to go, Nakamura’s set piece was glanced home by Stephen McManus to make it 2-2. Three minutes later, deep into stoppage time, the same man sclaffed home to make it 3-2 and give Celtic three points which seemed like a heroin induced pipedream at half time. It was the first of many last minute winners under Strachan’s team, and that desire to win and never give up was the key to three titles in a row.

2  : Celtic 2-1 Dundee United. (Andy Thom)

In at number 2 – this frantic clash in 1996. A game in which I turned up to the match with the full Real Madrid third kit on. It was a purple effort. I’m talking the FULL strip. Socks. The lot. I don’t think I had my Lotto boots on, but looking back, I deserved a doing. Even during the game, I didn’t really feel like I was standing out though, as everyone was captivated in a real old fashioned battle. Owen Coyle gave Dundee Utd lead after Gordon Marshall had saved his initial effort. As always, the goalie should have done far better though. In the second half, Celtic pounded the United goal but could find no way past Ally Maxwell. Two minutes from time, Pierre nodded in a McNamara freekick to set us up for a replay. Everyone assumed a return fixture at Tannadice would be on the cards, but 90 seconds later, we made it 2-1 when Thom latched onto a pass to send the fans into ecstasy. To this day, the noise when we scored the winner still gives me goosebumps. This is when Celtic fans didn’t rely on instructions from fangroups and social media for what to sing and how to make a noise. A wonderful moment, in a memorable season, in which yet again, we didn’t win any silverware.

1 : Celtic 2-1 Rangers, April 2008. (Jan Venegoor Of Hesselink)

I go on about this game enough. You’d have already guessed it would be number one. It is still the goal I have celebrated most and I don’t think anything will ever match it. The first midweek kick off between the clubs since 2005, it was a must win for the Celts, who seemingly only had pride to play for, with Rangers commanding such a strong lead at the top of the SPL table. The atmosphere was electric, both sets of fans were in fine voice and there’s no doubt the swallay at The Admiral Bar after a 3pm finish at work was a major reason I was cautioned on numerous instances by over zealous stewards. Nakamura scored a screamer which was cancelled out by Ratboy in the second half. McGregor would go onto make several stunning saves, including one from a Scott McDonald penalty after Cuellar handballed and was sent off. Once more, it looked like Walter Smith would emerge the happier of the managers in this fixture and extend his unbeaten run over Strachan to five games, until Caldwell flighted a ball to McDonald, who headed across goal for the big Dutchman, JVOH, who glanced the ball past sub goalie Neil Alexander. I ended up three rows in front of where I sit at Block 102, Row G and didn’t care if I dropped money or my phone. I could have broken any bones or damaged any limb and wouldn’t care given a damn. It was, and still is, my most treasured last minute goal scored for Celtic FC !

Let’s hear your favourites !