SCOTTISH CUP
Clark: We halted Treble-chasing Celtic after Eddie told us Stein had brought bubbly to game... now I’m hoping Dons can sparkle again
AN all-conquering Celtic side with two legs of the Treble already in the bag and the champagne on ice ahead of completing the clean sweep. Sound familiar? It does to Bobby Clark. The Aberdeen legend was part of the Dons side whose task in 1970 looked every bit as daunting as the one facing the class of 2017 this weekend. If not even more so. Celtic might be pretty decent now but back then they were one of the best sides on the planet. Jock Stein’s men were European Cup winners three years before and were in the middle of their epic semi-final with Leeds United on the way to another final a few weeks later.
No wonder Celts were confident. But Clark revealed it was the sight of Stein with the champers just a week before Hampden that gave Pittodrie gaffer Eddie Turnbull the motivation to smash the Treble and take the Cup back to the Granite City.
Celtic were on the verge of winning the league at Parkhead but Turnbull’s men gatecrashed the party and it only inspired them to do it again 10 days later in as they humbled the Lisbon Lions 3-1 in front of 110,000 to lift the Scottish Cup.
Clark said: “The dressing room was quiet before the final. We were confident. The win the week before gave us belief. Eddie gave us a famous speech before the Parkhead game so didn’t need to do another one.
“Celtic could have won the league that night and, although I don’t know if Jock had planned it, apparently they were loading in the champagne before the game.
“Eddie told us in the dressing room, ‘Big Eat the Breid next door has brought the champagne, he thinks they have already won. My effing balls they have!’
“Arthur Graham came in at just 17 and scored the winner and that gave us a big boost for the final. When we got to