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Celtic v St Mirren - 23rd January 2019 (with thanks to Eric Arthur Blair)


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Paisley club's chief executive was at the helm in famous 3-0 victory over Celtic in 1990 that staved off relegation. Now he hopes Oran Kearney can do the same

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IT’S been nearly 29 years since St Mirren last won at Celtic Park – and Tony Fitzpatrick would like nothing better than Oran Kearney taking that record from him tomorrow night.

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Fitzpatrick was the manager when Saints last tasted victory in Glasgow’s east end back in April 1990 when a surprise 3-0 win helped stave off the threat of relegation.

And the St Mirren chief executive would like nothing better than to see current boss Kearney end that long, winless drought by beating the champions on their home patch.

Fitzpatrick said: “There would be nobody more delighted than me if the team can go to Parkhead and beat Celtic. I’d gladly lose my record as the last St Mirren manager to get a win there if it means three points for Oran and the boys. That would be a huge achievement for the whole club.

“I’m actually amazed how long it’s been since we last won there as we’ve had some good teams in that time so you thought someone would have got a win at some point. We were always competitive at Parkhead when I played and then managed but Celtic have maybe moved up a few levels since then.

“So it will be tough, no doubt about it. With it being the first league game after the break, Celtic will be keen to get off to a good start, especially with Rangers breathing down their necks. But I’m a great believer that it always come down to whatever happens on the day.

“We drew with Celtic at home in Oran’s first game earlier in the season and I thought we did really well that night. We’ve signed a few new players in this window and they’ll hopefully thrive in the experience of going there and playing in front of a big crowd.

“I’m really looking forward to it. There’s no better game to open the second half of the league season away to the champions on a midweek game under the lights. A few years ago we could have been relegated to the third tier and here we are playing at Parkhead.”

Fitzpatrick will leave the tactics to Kearney but would love to see St Mirren come out and have a go at Celtic, just as his team did in 1990.

He added: “People talk about these games being a free hit but I think you need to go to Celtic Park with the attitude that you can win the game. If your mindset is just to try to keep the score down then you’ll get murdered.

“You’re always better being really positive and just going for it. And if you end up walking off the park with a defeat then at least you have the comfort of knowing you had a real go. You’ve got to have belief in yourself. And Oran is the type of character who has that in abundance.”

The St Mirren support have a song in their repertoire about that 1990 win and the match remains ingrained in Fitzpatrick’s mind, too.

“It was a special day for us and, although we won 3-0, I felt we could have won by a lot more goals,” he added. “Nobody would have thought we could have pulled off a result like that but we played very well. I remember every moment of that game: Thomas Stickroth’s cross for Guni Torfason for the first goal, Geordie Shaw getting the second and then Paul Lambert with the third. That one came from a throw-in that we had worked on in training and it worked a treat. So it was a special day.

“It’s one the St Mirren supporters still remember and they even sing about it to this day. I still remember it fondly too.”

 
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Heading into Glasgow City Centre tomorrow afternoon for a couple of beers before heading to Parkhead. Just checked the football ground guide and guess what it says about away fans having a beer nearer the ground.

"As would be expected most bars around the Parkhead area, are partisan & particularly busy. It is probably best to drink in the city centre beforehand. However most of these bars will not serve fans wearing football colours."

Not much chance of a pint in the Kerrydale then.

COYS. Don't really expect anything but keen to see how the new team gels.

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Team looking like

                                            Hladky

P. McGinn      Baird    Ferdinand   Popescu    Erhahon

                                            Lyons

                     Hodson   S. McGinn   Tansey

                                            Jackson

 

Subs McAllister, Cooke, MacPherson, Holmes, Flynn,   &   ????   New Signing?, MacKenzie ? Breadner? Jaimieson?

 

Oh dearie me . . . 

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25 minutes ago, Sweeper07 said:

Team looking like

                                            Hladky

P. McGinn      Baird    Ferdinand   Popescu    Erhahon

                                            Lyons

                     Hodson   S. McGinn   Tansey

                                            Jackson

 

Subs McAllister, Cooke, MacPherson, Holmes, Flynn,   &   ????   New Signing?, MacKenzie ? Breadner? Jaimieson?

 

Oh dearie me . . . 

I'll still be there cheering them on.

Steep learning curve. 

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48 minutes ago, East Lothian Saint said:

Maybe 100% no defeats against Celtic. Hope he keeps it up. 

 

Edit

That is OK not getting beat rather than IOBS and his confusing Stats. Sorry Ian

We've played them once under OK and got a draw,not 100% in my book.

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1 hour ago, East Lothian Saint said:

Heading into Glasgow City Centre tomorrow afternoon for a couple of beers before heading to Parkhead. Just checked the football ground guide and guess what it says about away fans having a beer nearer the ground.

"As would be expected most bars around the Parkhead area, are partisan & particularly busy. It is probably best to drink in the city centre beforehand. However most of these bars will not serve fans wearing football colours."

Not much chance of a pint in the Kerrydale then.

COYS. Don't really expect anything but keen to see how the new team gels.

There are a few reasonable pubs near park head. I usually have a few in the area and have never had a problem. Usually end up blethering to a few of the decent celtin ones.

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1 hour ago, HSS said:

We've played them once under OK and got a draw,not 100% in my book.

You could argue it's 33.33333333333333333333333333......%  but I think he meant OK is undefeated against Celtic, which is not something you can say about many other teams he's played, so statistically we do well against them. Hopefully his run of no defeats shall continue against the Bhoys but I agree 100% is not the way most of us would perceive his record. With any luck tomorrow night he will achieve a 66.66666666666666...% record against Celtic and we can update our 1990 hit by adding the fourth was scored etc. Then again any winning score will do.

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I’d say just go 9-0-1, doesn’t matter what positions the back 9 are as long as they form a line on the edge of the 18 yard box. Simeon Jackson is used to having aimless long balls punted at him so it’ll be normality for the poor guy anyway
Sorry, I read that formation back to front (too much time in middle east):

Keeper, no midfield and everyone else up front (only need 9 outfield, giving them a chance!)
Let's go for it !!
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18 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

Hopefully the players have more belief in themselves than half our support.

If we go out there trying not to lose we may as well pack it in now.

Shades of Craig Levein's infamous international line up seem to be suggested by some. Admittedly we need a sound defensive performance to have a chance of getting anything from the match but in 90 minutes there usually are chances to score. COYS

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8 hours ago, East Lothian Saint said:

Good man. I'll play it by ear. Any you'd recommend.

To be honest I cannot remember the names. There was one called. The prince something next to the bus stop for the 61 bus but I sm afraid I cannot be more specific. Lot of dives as well but even in them none has ever bothered me.

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5 hours ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

Hladky

 

P. McGinn    Baird     Ferdinand    Popescu    Hodson

Tansey

S. McGinn                                       Lyons

McAllister

 

Cooke

 

Subs: Holmes; MacPherson, Erhahon, Flynn, Jackson, Jamieson

I'd probably swap Jackson for Cooke, this shows how threadbare the squad is.

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7 hours ago, Gordon Urquhart said:

This game is made for Lyons. Hope he keeps the head and takes it for the opportunity that it is on such a big stage.

They will target him to wind up, get booked or sent off again. Just be a hero Brad....

 

 

 

Jezzo, that's a wee bit over dramatic is it not, I'd be surprised if anyone from Celtic has even heard of him....

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11 hours ago, Sweeper07 said:

Team looking like

                                            Hladky

P. McGinn      Baird    Ferdinand   Popescu    Erhahon

                                            Lyons

                     Hodson   S. McGinn   Tansey

                                            Jackson

 

Subs McAllister, Cooke, MacPherson, Holmes, Flynn,   &   ????   New Signing?, MacKenzie ? Breadner? Jaimieson?

 

Oh dearie me . . . 

If we play that formation we might as well not bother turning up because we'll spend 90 minutes camped in our own penalty box.

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13 hours ago, East Lothian Saint said:

Heading into Glasgow City Centre tomorrow afternoon for a couple of beers before heading to Parkhead. Just checked the football ground guide and guess what it says about away fans having a beer nearer the ground.

"As would be expected most bars around the Parkhead area, are partisan & particularly busy. It is probably best to drink in the city centre beforehand. However most of these bars will not serve fans wearing football colours."

Not much chance of a pint in the Kerrydale then.

COYS. Don't really expect anything but keen to see how the new team gels.

Malky I was in the Prince Charlie before our cup game had my scarf and Saints Beanie there was no problem. Also very good pub with quick service would no hesitate to go back there. I'm not making the game unfortunately. Enjoy see you Sunday. 

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