Caley shock Celtic!

By: Ian Rose | December 16th, 2007

Those of us that support small clubs have a very different experience than the supporters of the big ones. We can’t look back at Champions Leagues and domestic championships and all that, because chances are that our little hometown teams have never done anything so big as that.

Still, there are moments that make all the frustration of worrying over relegation worthwhile, moments that big-club supporters will never really understand. Giant killing moments.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club recorded its first ever league win over the mighty Celtic today, making it four wins in a row for Caley and only one win in four for the Bhoys. We have beaten Celtic before in Cups, most notably in 2000, when our 3-1 win over them prompted the now-famous headline that sits framed on the wall of Caledonian Stadium – “Super Caley Go Ballistic, Celtic are Atrocious”. But never in the league. In four seasons in the top flight, we’ve managed a few draws, but never a win, until today.

I’ll admit, I’m a little too ecstatic right now to go into too many details. Jan Vennegor of Hesselink scored twice in a few minutes in the first half to give Celtic the expected lead. John Rankin grabbed one back with a somewhat questionable penalty … however with all the calls I’ve seen Celtic get in their favor over the years, I’ll cry no tears for them. The second half was some of the most determined football I’ve seen from Caley, and goals from David Proctor and Don Cowie, the latter one of my favorite Highland players, sealed it.

More on the ramifications later. Rangers now sit firmly in the driver’s seat, two points behind Celtic in the league but with two games in hand. As much as I hate to hand such an opportunity to Rangers, it takes nothing away from the utter sweetness of today.

As if I needed anything else to be happy about, this win also moves us above Hearts in the league table. That’s just a cherry on top.