The opening ten minutes saw chances go begging for both sides, with Adam Proudlock seeing Jan Budtz stop his early effort, whilst at the other end, good build up culminated with Greg Wilkinson's ball into the box for Phil Marsh, with the Celtic striker unable to turn it quite far enough and it hit the outside of the post. Wilkinson himself tried to fire through a crowded box moments later, with a stuck out leg from Carl Rodgers deflecting the ball over the bar. Marsh had another difficult effort with Celtic on top in the early exchanges, but couldn't quite lift it over Ryan Young with Hobson right there had the Telford keeper spilled it, whilst Young pulled off a great stop to deny Marsh with the ball falling to Greg Wilkinson eight yards out with the goal at his mercy and he lifted it over the bar in Celtic's best move and best chance of the game.
Celtic were almost punished immediately, but Jan Budtz had other ideas, blocking Phil John's tight angled shot out for a corner. However, moments later and Celtic were made to pay when Telford broke quickly from a corner and the ball was lifted into the area for an unmarked Phil Trainer racing into the box and the ex-Celtic player thumped his powerful header into the top corner beyond Budtz reach.
Wilkinson had two more chances to get Celtic back on terms, first when he swiveled in the box and fired straight at Young and just before half time when the keeper was stranded and he fired wide. Between those, Callum Warburton had a screamer of an effort curl beyond the far post and Celtic went in at the break a goal down.
Telford came out after the interval looking stronger, with everything coming through Trainer who made numerous runs into the box latching onto crosses and through balls. A stuck out foot from Budtz denied him within minutes of the restart, whilst he fired two hooked balls into the box over the bar.
Lloyd Ellams was brought on for Jack Rea, and immediately started making a nuisance of himself, with his first touch to receive the ball off Craig Hobson, and turn and shoot in the box but sending it just over the bar. A thumping shot from Warburton was parried by the keeper and put out for a corner from an alert defence. Adam Kay got into a good position on an overlapping run with Glen Rule, and had more time than he realissed when he screwed his shot an inch wide of the top corner.
At the other end, James Lawrie was getting behind the Celtic back line, and forced Budtz into a save with his foot, and saw Budtz parry over his bar from another. With ten minutes remaining, Lee Elam and Dennis Sheriff were brought on, and the pair linked up with Elam putting the ball into Sheriff's path with time almost up, and Sheriff put his shot over the bar to send Telford home with all three points having not conceded a goal away from home since the end of August, and conceding only four all season.
1 | Budtz, Jan | ||
2 | Rule, Glenn | ||
3 | McWilliams, Andy | ||
4 | White, Alan | ||
5 | Platt, Kristian | ||
6 | Rea, Jack | > 60 | |
7 | Warburton, Callum | > 82 | |
8 | Wilkinson, Greg | ||
9 | Marsh, Phil | ||
10 | Hobson, Craig | > 82 | |
11 | Kay, Adam | ||
12 | Ellams, Lloyd | < 60 | |
14 | Bembo-Leta, Joel | ||
15 | Esdaille, Laquan | ||
16 | Elam, Lee | < 82 | |
17 | Sheriff, Dennis | < 82 |
1 | Young, Ryan | ||
2 | Salmon, Will | ||
3 | Newton, Shaun | ||
4 | Rodgers, Carl | ||
5 | Whitehead, Stuart | ||
6 | Killock, Shane | ||
7 | Mills, Greg | > 82 | |
8 | Trainer, Phil | ||
9 | Proudlock, Adam | > 90 | |
10 | Lawrie, James | ||
11 | John, Phil | ||
12 | Wooliscroft, Ashley | ||
14 | Adams, Jon | < 82 | |
15 | Abbott, Steve | < 90 | |
16 | Bailey, Stefan | ||
17 | Platt, Daniel |