The Scottish Championship belonged to Celtic even before a ball was kicked this season as quite simply there is no other team capable of challenging for it. Therefore, as expected, Celtic dominated league proceedings in Scotland, breaking records whilst doing so: most notable being Fraser Forster’s clean consecutive clean sheet record.
The championship was officially secured on Wednesday 26th March in the new look Glasgow derby against Partick Thistle. Based in the North West of Glasgow, Thistle’s small stadium – which is walking distance from Glasgow City Centre – played host to the long awaited title celebrations of the Celtic team and support.
The Celtic fans were in party mood from the outset as our third championship in a row was almost delivered. After a sluggish start from the Celtic team they finally began to turn the screw and put on a performance worthy of champions. With the Celtic support packed into two stands (and even some in the home end) they were in fine voice from the outset, chanting to and from each other between stands and producing a few customary smoke bombs after some of the goals.
With Celtic cruising to an emphatic 5-1 victory the fans upped the tempo and began to take the piss out of the police and stewards by singing of our intention to invade the park at the final whistle. This resulted in the typical, draconian and killjoy efforts we’re accustomed to in Scotland with an army of stewards forming lines to prevent the impending pitch invasion. With the game brought to a close and Celtic crowned league champions again only one young fan managed to break the steward line and provided entertainment to the rest as he danced and forward rolled past those trying to catch him (vague photo below!). Just seconds later though hundreds of fans surged onto the pitch to try and celebrate with the Celtic team who unfortunately but unsurprisingly were quickly stewarded away in the opposite direction.
As a result the Celtic fans would have to wait until the weekend match at home to Ross County before they could applaud their champions. The match on Saturday 29th March was a rather dull affair though with zero atmosphere in the ground due to the absence of the Green Brigade who still have ongoing problems with the Celtic hierarchy. The Celtic performance matched the subdued mood of the support as they had to come from behind to earn a point in a rather lacklustre 1-1 draw. At the end of the match the team enjoyed a lap of honour only tainted by the now familiar sight of empty seats throughout the stadium.
Absent from the ground, the Green Brigade had to make do with watching the match in the fan club a short walk from the stadium, whilst also planning our next return to the stadium to give our team the champions reception that they deserve and have still to receive.
