The first half saw Celtic change plans early on with Richard Battersby taken off injured. Celtic adjusted, with Graeme Law replacing Battersby. However the first half was mainly about Fleetwood. Gareth Seddon was their main outlet, and Tim Ryan almost gained concussion getting in front of an early effort, before he shot into the side netting, and forced a decent stop out of Dave Carnell. Celtic's only shot of the half came just after Dave Hankin was substituted due to injury, with Lee Dodgeson coming on. Keith Briggs worked an opening and fired in, only for Jamie MacNulty to put his body in the way. Jamie Maguire and Sean Clancy both drove efforts straight at Carnell, before Ryan stopped the ball stretching and Seddon ran straight over the trailing leg, an earned his team a penalty.

Sean Clancy stepped up and fired home, sending Carnell the wrong way and Fleetwood into the lead at the interval.

Celtic had a little more urgency about them in the second half, with Matty Barlow curling a hopeful effort wide from the corner of the box, whilst at the other end Anthony Barry cut inside and forced a decent stop from Carnell. However, Celtic were looking more dangerous in the opening period than they had in the entire first half, and Joe O'Neill held off MacNulty long enough to test visiting keeper Danny Hurst for the first time, and found him on top of his game.

There was nothing Hurst could do moments later when O'Neill burst into the box onto Matty Barlow's through ball and his shot took a wicked deflection off Michael Taylor, looping over Hurst and bringing Celtic level. Fleetwood tried for the instant reply but Adam Warlow should have done better off the corner, with a free header at the back post he put wide, and Jamie MacNulty thundered a header over the stand and off towards Gee Cross.

O'Neill made the visitors pay for their misses when Jody Banim's one two fell handily for the Celtic front man and he lashed his shot past Hurst to put Celtic into the lead.

Fleetwood went for glory, and Alan Wright's distance effort was tipped away for a corner, which was headed goalward by Macguire, only for Carnell to pull off a good stop. Celtic had two great chances to put some distance between them and Fleetwood, a free kick routine was driven in low by Graeme Law, but went the wrong side of the post, and Banim tricked his way into the box, but was driven wide, only to pull off a wonderful shot that produced a super reaction parry, and Banim could only put the loose ball into the side netting.

From a long throw Fleetwood drew level, as the Celtic defence dallied in their own six yard box, Adam Warlow didn't, and smashed the ball low past Carnell. Into stoppage time, and Celtic conceded a corner, again, there was too much hesitation in the back line, and again Warlow took advantage of Carnell failing to stop Nathan Pond's initial effort completely to tap into the empty net and steal all three points for Fleetwood.