1978–79 Scottish Premier Division
73rd season of top-tier football league in Scotland
Football league season
| Season | 1978–79 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Celtic 2nd Premier Division title 31st Scottish title |
| Relegated | Heart of Midlothian Motherwell |
| European Cup | Celtic |
| UEFA Cup | Dundee United Aberdeen |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Rangers |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 483 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andy Ritchie (22) |
| Biggest home win | Aberdeen 8–0 Motherwell |
| Biggest away win | Motherwell 1–5 Celtic |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → | |
The 1978–79 Scottish Premier Division season was won by Celtic, three points ahead of Rangers.
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
| 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
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results
Matches 1–18
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 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 8–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Celtic | 1–1 | 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.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matches 19–36
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.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
References
- 1978–79 Scottish Premier Division – Statto
- ^ a b c Grahame, Ewing (15 April 2020). "Long break 41 years ago helped Celtic to claim title". The Times. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ ‘Parkhead erupted as it had never done so before,’ David Potter’s 7 Magnificently Random Celtic Stories, The Celtic Star, 23 October 2019
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