Neil Mochan
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 April 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Carron, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 28 August 1994 (aged 67) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Outside Left / Centre Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dunipace Thistle | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1944–1951 | Morton | 82 | (57) |
| 1951–1953 | Middlesbrough | 38 | (14) |
| 1953–1960 | Celtic | 191 | (82) |
| 1960–1963 | Dundee United | 69 | (30) |
| 1964–1964 | Raith Rovers | 18 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1954 | Scotland B | 1 | (0) |
| 1954 | Scotland | 3 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:40, 15 July 2007 (UTC). | |||
Neil Mochan (6 April 1927 – 28 August 1994) was a Scottish professional footballer whose twenty-year playing career included periods in both the Scottish and English top divisions.
Born in Carron, Stirlingshire, he attended St Francis RC School in Falkirk, concurrently developing his footballing skills with juvenile side Dunipace Thistle.[1] He joined Morton in 1944 and played seven seasons in Greenock before a £14,000 transfer to Middlesbrough. He returned to Scotland two years later joining Celtic for £8,000.
Mochan's Celtic career started with a flourish, his new side winning the Coronation Cup in only his second game for them. He enjoyed further success the next year as Celtic won the Double in 1953-54. He made his debut for Scotland at that season's end and was selected in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. However, he couldn't prevent Scotland succumbing to both Austria and Uruguay and exiting the competition in the first round.
Mochan had predominantly played as a centre-forward of outside left during his career but, despite a consistent scoring record, he was not always a first-team regular at Celtic Park. Resultantly, he became somewhat of a utility player, filling in at inside-left and even left-back when required.[1] He was selected at outside left in what was probably his most famous performance for Celtic, in the 1957-58 Scottish League Cup final. This match, commonly referred to as Hampden in the sun, witnessed Mochan score twice as Celtic defeated their Old Firm rivals Rangers by 7-1.
In 1960, Mochan joined newly promoted Dundee United and helped the side comfortably secure their position in the top division. In 1963 he signed for Raith Rovers, his younger brother's former club.[1] Dennis Mochan had joined Raith from East Fife in 1959 but left for Nottingham Forest the year before Neil moved to Stark's Park.
Mochan returned to Celtic as a trainer after his playing retirement in 1964. He served for many years as head trainer under his former team-mate Jock Stein and continued in a coaching capacity well into the 1980s, under Stein's successors Billy McNeill and Davie Hay.[1]
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