Hodge & Walsh seal UEFA Cup progress
On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1983 Forest beat Celtic 2–1 at Celtic Park to win their UEFA Cup tie.
Forest produced a fine European away result by beating Celtic 2–1 at Celtic Park and winning their UEFA Cup third-round tie.
The first leg at the City Ground had finished 0–0, so the return match carried a sharp edge. Celtic Park was a demanding venue, with a crowd of 66,938 watching a tie that could still swing either way.
Steve Hodge put Forest ahead in the 53rd minute, and Colin Walsh added the second in the 74th minute. Celtic pulled one back through Murdo MacLeod late on, but Forest’s two away goals were enough to decide the contest and send them through 2–1 on aggregate.
Contemporary Celtic accounts described Forest as dangerous on the break, with the goals coming after they had stretched the Celtic defence. That gives the result more football shape than the scoreline alone: Forest did not just survive Celtic Park, they hurt Celtic at key moments.
The result took Forest deeper into a UEFA Cup run that eventually reached the semi-finals. For supporters, the night remains a reminder that Forest could still handle a hostile European knockout tie after the club’s European Cup peak.
Sources
UEFA; 11v11; The Celtic Wiki
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