McGregor says Celtic can capture title despite awkward trip to Hibs
CALLUM McGregor claims Celtic’s task in clinching the Ladbrokes Premiership title could be no tougher than a trip to Easter Road today.
The Hoops are one win away from their seventh successive league triumph and remain on track for an unprecedented second straight domestic treble.
Hibernian have drawn 2-2 both home and away against the Parkhead side this term and narrowly lost a third league game 1-0, while going down 4-2 in their Betfred Cup semi-final clash.
McGregor believes confidence has increased after Celtic’s 4-0 William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final win over Old Firm rivals Rangers last Sunday, but he knows it will not be easy against fourth-placed Hibs, who retain aspirations of a second-place finish.
“The boys want to get it done as quickly as possible and we have a big chance to do it on Saturday,” he said.
“We’ve prepared well this week so hopefully we can finish the job and get the title done.
“We’re excited and raring to go. Off the back of a good result at the weekend, the confidence is high and we want to go and finish it off as quickly as possible.
“Hibs have been a great opponent for us. The games we’ve had against them have been tough.
“It would have been tough to pick a harder opponent, but everyone is looking forward to the challenge and we’re only one win away from the title, so that should spur us on.”
It is time to right a Telegraph wrong. History records that the great Gerry Armstrong finished top British goalscorer at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, taking home the Adidas Golden Boot award. But the man who now engraves trophies for a living is convinced his name should have been etched on the prize instead.
Big Billy Hamilton laughs now, 36 years on, as he explains how a Belfast Telegraph deadline cost him a place in the World Cup history books.
“It was our last match of the Spain 82 tournament,” he recalls. “We are 4-0 down to France in Madrid and Gerry has a late crack at goal. The shot hits my ankle and is deflected into the net.
“I only half celebrated. We were going out of the World Cup and going home and the mood was very flat as we trooped into the dressing room.
“I was sat there deflated when Billy Bingham came in and asked: ‘Who got the goal?’
“I said it came off me so it was my goal. I was claiming it.
“The late, great reporter Malcolm Brodie was with Bingie and he then says: ‘You can’t. I’ve already filed my report to the Telegraph and it says Gerry scored. It’s his goal.’
“I was too shattered to say anything but in time it dawned on me. That goal was the difference between Gerry winning the Golden Boot and me getting it. He then had three goals and I had two.
“It would be nice to be able to tell your grandkids you were the top British scorer at a World Cup.
“There weren’t the same multitude of camera angles then as now to clear up any doubts on the spot. But I have looked at the footage on You Tube and you can definitely hear a thud as the ball strikes me and goes in.”
Billy is philosophical, as he is about most things, looking back at how bizarre it all seems that a decision could become binding because a paper had gone to print compared to today’s instant replays and technological scrutiny of every kick.
His true reward, he says, is the treasure trove of memories he cherishes from a magical three weeks in time that he calls ‘the proudest of my life in football’.
The constant photographic reminders of Spain 82 are with him daily, adorning the walls of his trophy shop in the apt location of the Bingham Mall, just off Bangor main street.
He particularly delights in reliving his football generation’s finest hour... the night Northern Ireland’s supposed no-hopers dumped the World Cup hosts and favourites on their backsides in their own Valencia backyard.
June 25, 1982 is engraved in the memories of all who were there or watching at home on television that incredible Friday night.
“When I look back at that time and that team, it makes me so proud to think of how we stood up and were counted against all the odds,” Billy asserts.
“No one gave us a chance but there was a belief in that team. The script was written in Spain’s favour and we ripped it to shreds.
“It was supposed to be a formality for the host nation with a hostile crowd breathing down our necks in stifling heat. They put us under a lot of pressure and then
❝ No one gave us a chance but there was a belief in that team. The script was written in Spain’s favour and we ripped it to shreds
we had Mal Donaghy sent off and still we refused to buckle.”
And this time, there was no dispute over the goalscorer. Gerry Armstrong’s life and career path changed in that instant. Hamilton is just delighted to have played his part, saying: “Gerry was one of the fittest players at that World Cup. He had incredible stamina in that heat and I knew something was on when he broke into their half, passed to me out on the right and continued his run.
“I managed to get half a yard on my marker, Tendillo, but to be honest, I didn’t look to pick out Gerry with my cross. I just wanted to create a bit of havoc in their box