That game will stay with me forever. The 125 year anniversary of Celtic Football Club and who rolls into town but Barcelona on a massive Champions League night at Celtic Park. The atmosphere, electricity and sheer passion for me, has never been matched at any other ground. The tifo, was outstanding and the scene was set.
Celtic were hosting the La Liga superstars who were sporting such names as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Mascherano and if you think Celtic’s current back line the now is shaky, on this night at centre back we had Kelvin Wilson and Efe Ambrose charged with keeping Barcelona at bay.
It was a pulsating atmosphere and any Celtic fan will tell you it was a footballing masterclass from the Catalonians. With over 80% of possession Celtic had to bide their time and after only twenty one minutes, Victor Wanyama put the Bhoys ahead with a bullet header from a Charlie Mulgrew corner to send the Celtic fans into Paradise.
The Hoops had to batten down the hatches as they were under the cosh for most of the 90 minutes until a youngster named Tony Watt was brought on as a substitute to partner Miku up front in the 72nd minute. It only took 9 minutes for the young man to write his name into the history books after he latched onto a failed clearance attempt by Mascherano and ran nigh on 20 yards to smash the ball under Victor Valdes to put Celtic 2-0 up. Messi pulled a late goal back in the 91st minute but it was too late as Celtic hung on for a famous victory.
A magical moment on a magical night that many many Celtic fans the world over will never forget and will always be thankful to the birthday bhoy. Happy birthday Tony and thanks for the memories.