Days of Celtic past: Hibernian 1-3 Celtic, April 11th 1995

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We continue our new ‘Days of Celtic past’ series with a look at a previous Celtic semi-final against Hibernian, as the Hoops are less than 24 hours away from taking on the Easter Road side in the Betfred Cup semi-final.

It might be difficult for some Celtic fans to remember, but the Hoops weren’t always a team that won trophies all the time.

In the early 1990s the team struggled badly. Between 1989 and 1995 the Hoops didn’t win a single domestic trophy, and failed to mount a proper challenge for the league title.

Good times were just around the corner

Things started to change when Fergus McCann arrived at the club, and when Tommy Burns was appointed manager in 1994 it looked like the good times were just around the corner.

Heading into April 1995 though the Hoops had still not managed to win a trophy in six years. They faced Hibs in a Scottish Cup semi-final at with a chance to reach the Scottish Cup final to play Airdrie. Surely the Hoops would take their chances?

On this occasion, they did. It was a night when unheralded Celtic players put their names in the history books. Willie Falconer is unlikely to ever be a Celtic legend, for example. But his turn and shot to put the Hoops 1-0 in the first-half was a great goal.

Hoops had dominated first-half

The Hoops then extended their lead before half-time, when John Collins lofted a shot into the top corner of the net. It was a deserved goal as the Hoops had dominated the first-half of the game.

It was never easy for Celtic in those days though. So it proved when Hibs pulled a goal back through Keith Wright. However, Celtic made sure of their place in the final thanks to a towering header from Phil O’Donnell.

The scenes at the end of the game were emotional, as the Celtic fans and players celebrated the club reaching its first Scottish Cup Final in five years with the 3-1 victory.

There would be even more emotional scenes to come in the Scottish Cup Final itself, as the Hoops ended six years with a trophy thanks to Pierre Van Hooijdonk goal’s goal in the final. But that is a story for another day.