1978–79 Scottish Premier Division

The 1978–79 Scottish Premier Division season was won by Celtic, three points ahead of Rangers.

Scottish Premier Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsCeltic
2nd Premier Division title
31st Scottish title
RelegatedHeart of Midlothian
Motherwell
European CupCeltic
UEFA CupDundee United
Aberdeen
Cup Winners' CupRangers
Matches played180
Goals scored483 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Ritchie (22)
Biggest home winAberdeen 8–0 Motherwell
Biggest away winMotherwell 1–5 Celtic

Severe winter conditions meant that many games had to be rescheduled, with clubs finishing their fixture lists at different times.[1] When Dundee United finished their season they were three points ahead of Rangers and four in front of Celtic, but both Old Firm clubs had four games left to play.[1] Celtic subsequently clinched the championship in their final match with a 4–2 Old Firm derby victory against Rangers;[2] although Rangers still had two further matches still to play, the resulting 5-point gap could not be closed.[1]


Heart of Midlothian and Motherwell were relegated.

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic (C) 36 21 6 9 61 37 +24 48 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Rangers 36 18 9 9 52 35 +17 45 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3 Dundee United 36 18 8 10 56 37 +19 44 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Aberdeen 36 13 14 9 59 36 +23 40
5 Hibernian 36 12 13 11 44 48 −4 37
6 St Mirren 36 15 6 15 45 41 +4 36
7 Morton 36 12 12 12 52 53 −1 36
8 Partick Thistle 36 13 8 15 42 39 +3 34
9 Heart of Midlothian (R) 36 8 7 21 39 71 −32 23 Relegation to the 1979–80 Scottish First Division
10 Motherwell (R) 36 5 7 24 33 86 −53 17
Source: Statto and RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

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Matches 1–18

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During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).

Home \ Away ABE CEL DNU HOM HIB MOR MOT PAR RAN STM
Aberdeen 1–1 0–2 5–0 0–0 1–2 8–0 2–1 2–1 1–2
Celtic 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 4–2 2–1
Dundee United 2–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 4–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–0
Heart of Midlothian 0–0 0–3 0–3 1–2 0–1 3–0 0–2 3–2 1–2
Hibernian 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 2–1 0–2
Morton 0–1 1–0 3–1 2–2 3–0 6–0 2–2 0–2 1–0
Motherwell 1–1 3–4 0–4 3–2 0–3 3–3 1–1 1–2 0–3
Partick Thistle 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 6–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 3–1
Rangers 2–0 1–0 1–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–0
St Mirren 2–2 0–2 2–1 2–1 2–3 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–2
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–36

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During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).

Home \ Away ABE CEL DNU HOM HIB MOR MOT PAR RAN STM
Aberdeen 4–1 1–0 1–2 4–1 3–1 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1
Celtic 0–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 2–1
Dundee United 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–1
Heart of Midlothian 1–4 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 0–0 1–1
Hibernian 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–0
Morton 2–1 1–2 3–1 3–2 2–2 1–2 1–0 2–2 1–3
Motherwell 1–1 1–5 0–1 0–1 2–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–2
Partick Thistle 0–1 2–3 1–1 3–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–1
Rangers 1–1 1–1 1–1 5–3 2–1 3–0 4–1 0–0 0–1
St Mirren 2–1 0–1 1–3 4–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–1
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Grahame, Ewing (15 April 2020). "Long break 41 years ago helped Celtic to claim title". The Times. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. ^ ‘Parkhead erupted as it had never done so before,’ David Potter’s 7 Magnificently Random Celtic Stories, The Celtic Star, 23 October 2019