Celtic Player of the Day, Coronation Cup winner Neil Mochan

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·20. Mai 2025

Celtic Player of the Day, Coronation Cup winner Neil Mochan

Neil had a remarkable Celtic career. Having played for Morton and Middlesbrough, he joined the club in spring 1953, too late to play in League games but eligible for the Glasgow Charity Cup and the Coronation Cup.

Celtic won both competitions, every game that Mochan played was at Hampden and Mochan scored in both finals, thus completing the remarkable feat of winning two Cup medals before he played a game at Parkhead!

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Able to play all over the forward line, his speciality was the left wing. He became very popular with the fans, and was famous for his mighty shot, earning the nickname “the Cannonball Kid”.

He wasn’t always popular with Mr Kelly and was never guaranteed to be in the team, but when he played, the team tended to do well. He won four domestic medals – the League and Cup double of 1954 and two League Cup medals, one of them the famous 7-1 against Rangers in which he scored twice.

He played for Celtic until 1960 when he went to play for Dundee United and Raith Rovers. Many supporters felt that he might have been made more use of at Celtic, but in 1964 in a rare piece of good judgement, Mr Kelly brought him back to be trainer. When Jock Stein came, Neil played a vital part in the team’s success.

David Potter

*Article by David Potter from The Celtic Star archives celebrating the wonderful Celtic writing of the late, great Celtic Historian.

Neil Mochan, Celtic FC, photo The Celtic Wiki

“Neilly Mochan was a greyhound enthusiast. I remember he wanted a dog from Ireland, and I put him in touch with an owner that I knew. Neilly bought it for eighty pounds. A few days later it dropped dead! He never forgave me.” Charlie Tully

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