Danny believes the worst thing he could have done was score against Celtic
When Hibernian travel west to meet Celtic this afternoon, they’ll do so knowing that they’ve gone through eight managers, 11 seasons and 17 matches since they last recorded a win over the Hoops in Glasgow Scoring the goal which gave the visitors all three points should have been the launch pad for a great career. However, for 19-year-old winger Danny Galbraith, it proved to be a false dawn. It also turned out to be the former Manchester United youngster’s only goal for Hibs, as bad luck with injuries and indifferent managers saw him pack in football entirely. Now 30, he’s back playing for hometown club, Gala Fairydean Rovers.
But his memories of the night he made headlines – January 27, 2010 – have been tarnished by what came afterwards.
“Looking back now, it seems like the worst thing I could have done,” he said. “Marc-antoine Fortune had given Celtic an early lead, but Anthony Stokes equalised before half-time. However, when I came on for Derek Riordan, we were hanging on. “I remember that they had a corner, and it was a classic case of us hitting them with a sucker punch while they were chasing a winner at a set-piece. “The ball was cleared, Anthony gave it to John Rankin and he played me in on goal. “Artur Boruc was a big, intimidating figure in their goal, but I had time to take a touch with my right foot before shooting with my left.
“By that time, he was off his line, and the only place I could put the ball was in the bottom corner.
“Fortunately, that’s where it ended up. “Unfortunately, my dad wasn’t there to see it because he worked nights – and it was his birthday as well!” Galbraith expected that would be the first of many great nights for him. Instead, it was the beginning of the end. “Ater the game, our manager, John Hughes, told the media that the goal would do wonders for my confidence – but it didn’t turn out that way,” Galbraith continued. “I was an unused substitute in our next game, and didn’t even make the bench for the five after that.
“I made more appearances before I scored that goal than after it, and never started for John Hughes at all.
“He was sacked nine months later, but he never gave me a reason for leaving me out, and I’m not the type of person who goes knocking on the manager’s door.
“It doesn’t get much better for a young player than scoring the winning goal at Parkhead. “That was my sliding-doors moment. I was absolutely buzzing, and that’s when I should have kicked on. But it just didn’t happen.” Ankle, knee and groin operations during his last 20 months at Old Trafford had hampered his United ambitions, and more problems saw him restricted to 63 games for Hibs, mostly as a substitute.
He then turned out for Limerick and York City before retiring at the age of 26.
“I’d had enough by that point and decided I’d call it a day,” he admitted. “I was doing an Open University degree, in journalism, while taking exams to become a financial adviser, which is now my full-time job. “To be honest, I don’t exactly look back on my career with great fondness.”