Former Hamilton hero Mickael Antoine-Curier says his side ‘knew’ they were going to beat Celtic back in 2014, and reckons they can do it again in their Premiership curtain-raiser next month.
Accies stunned a bumper Celtic Park crowd in October 2014 when an Ali Crawford strike saw the three points head back to Lanarkshire, as Alex Neil’s side shot to the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Hamilton had only dropped seven points by that point in the season, and were one ahead of Dundee United at the summit, so they were brimming with confidence.
French-born Mickael, 37, said: “It was a day when anything could happen. I think amongst ourselves we felt like ‘we’re going to beat this team today’ and I don’t know why that was, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
“I woke up feeling absolutely great. I had an injury and played through it, a hamstring tear on my left leg, but I wanted to play the game. I felt good when I woke up in the morning and felt I could definitely play the game if I was selected.
“You know what it’s like at Celtic Park, you’re going to defend a lot, but amongst ourselves we just said to play our football and see what we can get from it.
“We knew if we could get away in the first half with a draw, or be 1-0 up, the fans would get frustrated and the players would as well, and that’s where we could get something out of the game.
“That worked well; Ali scored the goal, and we were ecstatic, because it meant we were top of the league.”
The big striker, who now runs private chauffeuring and CrossFit companies in Brussels, Belgium, enjoyed beating Ronny Deila’s side, and wants Brian Rice’s players to experience that on August 2.
“Going into the game, I wanted to beat them. I wanted to be top of the league,” he said.
“I didn’t go for the Celtic/Rangers rivalry thing, I’m not Scottish. Whoever I’m playing against I want to beat them, but particularly Celtic or Rangers.
“I like something about Celtic, and something about Rangers, but I wouldn’t choose. I just thought ‘today I want to win that game’, to beat Celtic and give Virgil Van Dijk and Jason Denayer a problem, to put them in my pocket.
“We beat them and the fans at the end of the game just stood up and clapped us. It was a good highlight, to be fair.”
Mickael added: “I think Hamilton have a chance. I’m always looking to Hamilton every day, thanks to social media, and the internet, and I’ve been quite pleased with some of the signings they’ve made.
“I hope they make again some strong signings, and the manager and the backroom staff will work their magic to get a competitive team, to finally do well and not be a contender to go down.
“If they have a good pre-season, no injuries and make good signings, I hope they can at least come out with a draw.
“Celtic will not have fans, and they have good players, but their fans make a massive difference. When they don’t have those things going on, with the fans behind them or all the hype before the game, then it’s more even.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
