1966–67 in Scottish football
Division One champions
Celtic
Division Two champions
Morton
Scottish Cup winners
Celtic
League Cup winners
Celtic
Junior Cup winners
Kilsyth Rangers
Teams in Europe
Celtic, Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee United, Kilmarnock, Rangers
Scotland national team
1967 BHC/UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying

The 1966–67 season was the 94th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 70th season of Scottish league football. [1]

Overview

A number of significant events occurred during the season. The domestic campaign was dominated by Celtic, who along with winning all 5 tournaments they entered, became the first British team to win the European Cup; the great Celtic team who achieved this were later nicknamed the Lisbon Lions.

1966–67 was arguably Scottish football's best ever season in European football, with Rangers reaching the final of the Cup Winners Cup and Kilmarnock reaching the Fairs Cup semi-finals. In addition, Dundee United marked their European debut by eliminating Fairs Cup holders Barcelona.

It was also a season in which the Scottish national team recorded one of their most celebrated victories, beating greatest rivals and World Cup holders England 3–2 at Wembley in the British Home Championship.

The season also marked the league debut of Clydebank, while it was the final appearance of Third Lanark, one of the founding members of the SFA and Scottish League, who went out of business in the summer of 1967.

Scottish League Division One

Celtic were champions for the second season running, losing only two matches, both to Dundee United; these were Celtic's only defeats against Scottish opposition during the entire season. They won the title at Ibrox, home of arch-rivals Rangers, in a 2–2 draw which meant they could no longer be caught (it was Rangers' final match of the season while Celtic had one more fixture to fulfil).[2]

Clyde finished third, which is their highest ever league placing. Clyde did not qualify for Europe, however, because Rangers finished second and took the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup place.

St Mirren and Ayr United were relegated, meaning the former would be outside the top flight for the first time since 1936. Ayr managed only one league win during the whole campaign, and had to wait until April to record it.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Celtic 34 26 6 2 111 33 +78 58
2 Rangers 34 24 7 3 92 31 +61 55
3 Clyde 34 20 6 8 64 48 +16 46
4 Aberdeen 34 17 8 9 72 38 +34 42
5 Hibernian 34 19 4 11 72 49 +23 42
6 Dundee 34 16 9 9 74 51 +23 41
7 Kilmarnock 34 16 8 10 59 46 +13 40
8 Dunfermline Athletic 34 14 10 10 72 52 +20 38
9 Dundee United 34 14 9 11 68 62 +6 37
10 Motherwell 34 10 11 13 59 60 −1 31
11 Hearts 34 11 8 15 39 48 −9 30
12 Partick Thistle 34 9 12 13 49 68 −19 30
13 Airdrieonians 34 11 6 17 41 53 −12 28
14 Falkirk 34 11 4 19 33 70 −37 26
15 St Johnstone 34 10 5 19 53 73 −20 25
16 Stirling Albion 34 5 9 20 31 85 −54 19
17 St Mirren (R) 34 4 7 23 25 81 −56 15
18 Ayr United (R) 34 1 7 26 20 86 −66 9
Source: RSSSF
(R) Relegated

Top scorer

Scottish League Division Two

Morton, relegated the previous year, made an immediate return to Division One. They won the title by an eleven-point margin from Raith Rovers, who were also promoted.

Clydebank, who had been established as a separate senior club in 1965 following their ill-fated merger with East Stirlingshire, were elected to the Scottish League in 1966, and finished third from bottom in their inaugural season.

Financially troubled Third Lanark finished in mid-table, but they dropped out of the Scottish League and folded, going into liquidation in the summer: they were the first League team to fold since 1933. The final league match for Third Lanark was a 5–1 defeat at Dumbarton on 28 April 1967.

Brechin City finished bottom of the league for the fourth time in six seasons.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Morton 38 33 3 2 113 20 +93 69 Promotion to the 1967–68 First Division
2 Raith Rovers 38 27 4 7 95 44 +51 58
3 Arbroath 38 25 7 6 75 32 +43 57
4 Hamilton Academical 38 18 8 12 74 60 +14 44
5 East Fife 38 19 4 15 70 63 +7 42
6 Cowdenbeath 38 16 8 14 70 55 +15 40
7 Queen's Park 38 15 10 13 78 68 +10 40
8 Albion Rovers 38 17 6 15 66 62 +4 40
9 Queen of the South 38 15 9 14 84 76 +8 39
10 Berwick Rangers 38 16 6 16 63 55 +8 38
11 Third Lanark 38 13 8 17 67 78 −11 34 Club folded
12 Montrose 38 13 8 17 63 77 −14 34
13 Alloa 38 15 4 19 55 74 −19 34
14 Dumbarton 38 12 9 17 56 64 −8 33
15 Stranraer 38 13 7 18 57 73 −16 33
16 Forfar Athletic 38 12 3 23 74 106 −32 27
17 Stenhousemuir 38 9 9 20 62 104 −42 27
18 Clydebank 38 8 8 22 59 92 −33 24
19 East Stirlingshire 38 7 10 21 44 87 −43 24
20 Brechin City 38 8 7 23 58 93 −35 23
Source: "1966-1967 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL (in Malay). Retrieved 29 April 2021.

Cup honours

Scottish Cup

The first round produced one of the most famous giant killing results in the history of the competition when Division Two outfit Berwick Rangers eliminated holders Rangers 1–0 at Shielfield, Sammy Reid scoring the game's only goal.

That result meant Celtic became clear favourites to lift the trophy, and they began with comfortable victories over Arbroath, Elgin City and Queen's Park. They then overcame Clyde in a replayed semi-final to set up a final meeting with Aberdeen, who had eliminated Dundee United at the penultimate stage. A 2–0 victory in the final saw Celtic lift the Cup for the 19th time, equalling Rangers' record in the competition.

Scottish Cup Final

Celtic2–0Aberdeen
Wallace
Attendance: 127,117
Referee: W Syme, Glasgow

League Cup

Celtic picked up their first trophy of the season courtesy of a 1–0 win against oldest rivals Rangers in the final. After winning all six matches in a section including Hearts, Clyde and St Mirren, Celtic also eliminated Dunfermline and, in the semi-finals, Airdrieonians on their way to the final. The other semi saw Rangers beat Aberdeen in a replay.

League Cup Final

Celtic1–0Rangers
Lennox
Attendance: 94,532
Referee: T Wharton, Glasgow

Individual honours

Award Winner Club
Footballer of the YearScotland Ronnie SimpsonCeltic

Scottish clubs in Europe

Celtic made their debut in the European Cup and exceeded all expectations by lifting the trophy with a memorable victory over Inter Milan in the final in Lisbon, thanks to goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers. Their achievement ended the stranglehold which Latin teams had hitherto exerted on the competition, as Celtic became not only the first Scottish champions of Europe, but indeed the first British and Northern European ones also. The Lisbon Lions, as they became known, remain the only Scottish side to have won the European Cup.

In a notably successful season for Scottish clubs in Europe, Rangers had the chance to win Glasgow's second continental trophy within a week after reaching the Cup Winners Cup final for the second time, only to narrowly lose out to Bayern Munich in Nuremberg. Earlier in May there had been the possibility of Scottish involvement in the final of all three European tournaments, but Kilmarnock lost out to Leeds United in their Fairs Cup semi-final meeting. Nevertheless, it remains the club's best European run.

Dundee United had a remarkable introduction to European football; drawn against Fairs Cup holders Barcelona, United eliminated the Spaniards with victories in both legs. Of Scotland's five representatives, only Dunfermline failed to make any great impact, losing to eventual winners Dinamo Zagreb in the Fairs Cup second round.

Celtic

Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Celtic scorer(s)
28 September 1966 Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) Switzerland FC Zürich 2–0 EC1 Gemmell, McBride
5 October 1966 Letzigrund, Zürich (A) Switzerland FC Zürich 3–0 EC1 Gemmell (2 (1 pen)), Chalmers
30 November 1966 Stade Marcel Saupin, Nantes (A) France FC Nantes 3–1 EC2 McBride, Lennox, Chalmers
7 December 1966 Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) France FC Nantes 3–1 EC2 Johnstone, Chalmers, Lennox
1 March 1967 Stadium of Vojvodina, Novi Sad (A) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia FK Vojvodina 0–1 ECQF
8 March 1967 Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia FK Vojvodina 2–0 ECQF Chalmers, McNeill
12 April 1967 Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague 3–1 ECSF Johnstone, Wallace (2)
25 April 1967 Stadion Juliska, Prague (A) Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague 0–0 ECSF
25 May 1967 Estádio Nacional, Oeiras (N) Italy Inter Milan 2–1 EC Final Gemmell, Chalmers

Rangers

Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Rangers scorer(s)
27 September 1966 The Oval, Belfast (A) Northern Ireland Glentoran 1–1 CWC1 McLean
5 October 1966 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (H) Northern Ireland Glentoran 4–0 CWC1 McLean, Johnston, D. Smith, Setterington
23 November 1966 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (H) West Germany Borussia Dortmund 2–1 CWC2 Johansen, A. Smith
6 December 1966 Rote Erde Stadion, Dortmund (A) West Germany Borussia Dortmund 0–0 CWC2
1 March 1967 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (H) Spain Real Zaragoza 2–0 CWCQF D. Smith, Willoughby
22 March 1967 La Romareda, Zaragoza (A) Spain Real Zaragoza 0–2 * CWCQF
19 April 1967 Ovcha Kupel Stadium, Sofia (A) Bulgaria Slavia Sofia 1–0 CWCSF D. Smith
3 May 1967 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (H) Bulgaria Slavia Sofia 1–0 CWCSF Henderson
31 May 1967 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg (N) West Germany Bayern Munich 0–1 (a.e.t.) CWC Final

* Rangers progressed on a coin flip.

Dundee United

Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Dundee United scorer(s)
25 October 1966 Camp Nou, Barcelona (A) Spain Barcelona 2–1 FC2 Hainey, Seemann
16 November 1966 Tannadice Park, Dundee (H) Spain Barcelona 2–0 FC2 Mitchell, Hainey
8 February 1967 Stadio Comunale, Turin (A) Italy Juventus 0–3 FC3
8 March 1967 Tannadice Park, Dundee (H) Italy Juventus 1–0 FC3 Døssing

Dunfermline Athletic

Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Dunfermline scorer(s)
24 August 1966 Unknown, Oslo (A) Norway Frigg Oslo 3–1 FC1 Fleming (2), T. Callaghan
28 September 1966 East End Park, Dunfermline (H) Norway Frigg Oslo 3–1 FC1 Delaney (2), T. Callaghan
26 October 1966 East End Park, Dunfermline (H) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dinamo Zagreb 4–2 FC2 Delaney, Edwards (pen.), Ferguson (2)
2 November 1966 Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb (A) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dinamo Zagreb 0–2 FC2

Kilmarnock

Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Kilmarnock scorer(s)
25 October 1966 Bosuilstadion, Antwerp (A) Belgium Royal Antwerp 1–0 FC2 Mclnally
2 November 1966 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (H) Belgium Royal Antwerp 7–2 FC2 Mclnally (2) Queen (2, 2 pens) McLean (2, 1 pen.), C. Watson
14 December 1966 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (H) Belgium AA Gent 1–0 FC3 Murray
21 December 1966 Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent (A) Belgium AA Gent 2–1 (a.e.t.) FC3 McInally, McLean
19 April 1967 Bruno-Plache-Stadion, Leipzig (A) East Germany Lokomotive Leipzig 0–1 FCQF
26 April 1967 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (H) East Germany Lokomotive Leipzig 2–0 FCQF McFadzean, McIlroy
19 May 1967 Elland Road, Leeds (A) England Leeds United 2–4 FCSM McIlroy (2)
25 May 1967 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (H) England Leeds United 0–0 FCSM

Other honours

National

Competition Winner Score Runner-up
Scottish Qualifying Cup - North Elgin City 5 – 4 * Nairn County
Scottish Qualifying Cup - South Hawick Royal Albert 8 – 2 * Tarff Rovers

County

Competition Winner Score Runner-up
Aberdeenshire Cup Keith
East of Scotland Shield Hibernian 2 – 1 Hearts
Fife Cup Raith Rovers 5 – 1 East Fife
Forfarshire Cup Dundee 4 – 3 Dundee United
Glasgow Cup Celtic 4 – 0 Partick Thistle
Lanarkshire Cup Airdrie 2 – 1 Hamilton
Renfrewshire Cup St Mirren 3 – 2 * Morton
Stirlingshire Cup Falkirk 5 – 1 Stenhousemuir

* - aggregate over two legs

Highland League

Top Three
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Ross County 30 24 4 2 107 32 +75 52
2 Elgin City 30 19 9 2 111 37 +74 47
3 Inverness Caledonian 30 21 3 6 101 54 +47 45
Source:

Scotland national team

Unbeaten Scotland became outright British champions for the first time in four years. Following a draw in Cardiff and victory at home to Northern Ireland, Scotland travelled to Wembley needing to beat England, who had won both their matches, to take the title. This was secured with a 3–2 win which has become legendary in Scottish football, not only because it was England's first defeat since becoming world champions the previous year, but due to Scotland's assured performance and the skillful arrogance of Jim Baxter, who at various times juggled the ball by himself.

At the same time, Scotland's Home Championship win got Scotland off to a good start in their first attempt to qualify for the European Championships, with this and the following season's tourney doubling as qualifying matches for the 1968 finals.

Scotland had begun the season with Kilmarnock manager Malky McDonald in temporary charge for the games against Wales and Northern Ireland. Bobby Brown was then appointed as the national team's first full-time manager, with the England match proving to be a memorable start to his tenure.

Date Venue Opponents Score[4] Competition Scotland scorer(s)
22 October 1966 Ninian Park, Cardiff (A)  Wales 1–1 BHC / ECQG8 Denis Law
16 November 1966 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)  Northern Ireland 2–1 BHC / ECQG8 Bobby Murdoch, Bobby Lennox
15 April 1967 Wembley Stadium, London (A)  England 3–2 BHC / ECQG8 Denis Law, Bobby Lennox, Jim McCalliog
10 May 1967 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)  Soviet Union 0–2 Friendly

Key:

  • (H) = Home match
  • (A) = Away match
  • ECQG8 = European Championship qualifying - Group 8
  • BHC = British Home Championship

References

  1. ↑ "1966/67 - the Scottish Football League". www.scottishfootballleague.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Celtic's Ibrox title-clinchers". Scottish Football Answers to Questions (archive). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 The score of the Scottish team is shown first.
  4. ↑ Scotland's score is shown first.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.