HOME victories for Hamilton Accies over Celtic tend to arrive about as frequently as Halley’s Comet. Since a 2-0 league win in September 1953, there has been only one other triumph over the Parkhead club for the home fans at Douglas Park - as it was then - to get excited about. Since moving to their new stadium in 2001, it has been a recurring tale of disappointment, although a 1-1 draw last year at least delivered some cheer to their long-suffering supporters.
Hamilton will try to go one better on Friday night when they welcome Brendan Rodgers’ side to the Super Seal Stadium looking to land a first home win over Celtic since April 8, 1989. That sparked a rare outpouring of joy amid an otherwise underwhelming campaign that saw Accies relegated out of the Premier League. They would not return for another 19 years.
Revenge was also in their minds that day. On their previous visit to that corner of Lanarkshire, Celtic had ran out 8-0 winners with Frank McAvennie claiming a hat-trick. Hamilton pride was stung. Even against a Celtic team that had just returned from Dubai as the unofficial British champions, they felt they could do something. Two goals from Stuart Gordon sealed a memorable victory.
Man of the match that day was Paul McDonald. Now Kilmarnock’s academy director, the midfielder was still shy of his 21st birthday but put in the sort of performance that would earn him a move to Premier League Southampton a few years down the line. He would have an additional reason to celebrate when he eventually made it back to the dressing room.
“I remember it was the same day as the Grand National that year,” he recalled. “A horse called Little Polveir won and I had a bet on it. So with that and us beating Celtic it was a decent day all round.
“It was a disappointing season overall with us being relegated so beating Celtic was undoubtedly the highlight of the year. They had just beaten Liverpool in a Battle of Britain game in Dubai just a few days earlier so it was a good win for us.
“In the last game between the sides at Douglas Park they had beaten us 8-0. And I remember that one just as vividly as I do the win as it was a real sore one to take. The last thing you ever want as a player is to be humiliated on your own turf.
“Celtic were a fantastic machine at that time and had some terrific players playing for them – Paul McStay springs to mind as one of their top performers. So I think our first aim in the second home match was simply to not get done over as badly as we had done in the first game.
“But we definitely surpassed that by winning. On a personal level I always enjoyed playing well against the better teams. It shows you’ve got a bit of ability hopefully.”
McDonald was a Motherwell boy but it would be at neighbours Hamilton where he would both begin and end his playing career, spending a total of a decade there over two spells. In the eight years in between leaving in 1993 and returning in 2001 the club went through some difficult times, selling their ground and landing up in the bottom tier of Scottish football after being unable to fulfil their fixtures. Despite it all, McDonald was happy to go back.
“I was an ‘S’ form signing at Motherwell but got released and ultimately ended up at Accies. That’s where I properly started out and I’ve still got a lot of fond memories. There were a lot of great people at the club, some of whom who are still there and who I spoke to last week before the match here at Rugby Park.
“You don’t spend seven years at a club and not have any affinity with them. And then I got asked to go back again later on in my career when they had just moved into their new stadium which was quite appealing.
“Ally Dawson was the manager and asked me to come in and I was grateful for that. It was a bit of a struggle as it was a different club second time around. I had left when they were more stable and aiming for the Premier League and then when I went back they were finding it hard. There were different expectations, too, as they had been through a tough time financially. But it was still good to go back.”
It was during that second spell that McDonald moved into coaching, starting out on the path that would eventually lead to his current post with Kilmarnock.
“At that time I was already working with the local authority on some SFA development programmes. Then Chris Hillcoat became manager and he asked me to oversee the youth development programme at Accies and help him with the reserve team. There was an opportunity for me to do more coaching which I loved.
“I then left Accies and got a job as a community coach with Kilmarnock and I’ve been here now for nearly 14 years, the last four in the academy. Now I’m the academy director and oversee our youth development programme, and the manager has also asked me to help with the first team on a matchday as an extra pair of hands for him. It’s a job I love at a great club.
“Alan Robertson was here for many years and is a hard act to follow. But we’ve got a steady stream of young players coming through who have been given opportunities in the first team. That’s down to the manager having the bravery to give them a chance and we’ve now got a reputation for doing that.”
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