Match Report -
Celtic continue to progress
By Iain Benson

Celtic continue their pre-season campaign against a reasonably strong Accrington Stanley.

In the opening minute, Celtic attacked and won a corner that Joel Bembo-Leta headed over the bar, before the game settled into a probing midfield contest. Accrington broke the deadlock first as Lewis Hatch lost the ball at the edge of the box, and the impressive James Gray went one-on-one with trialist keeper Scott Higgins, forcing a good save from the keeper with his feet. There was nothing Higgins could do when Stanley broke the deadlock, with a superbly worked goal as Gray pulled the ball back for Shay McCartan, a first time back heel into the stride of Josh Windass who struck first time with a powerful low shot that rocketed beyond Higgins's reach.

Celtic were still playing good football, and could have equalised from the spot when Obi Anorou broke into the box one-on-one with Andrew Dawber, before Karlton Watson brought him down. Sean McConville took the spot kick, but Dawber guessed right, and produced a decent stop. Despite the miss, Celtic looked more likely to score, Conal Platt going close with a curling twenty-yard effort was comfortably saved.

The Celtic goal when it came showed great vision from Kristian Platt, sending Obi Anorou on a run, and the Celtic striker showed composure to lob the onrushing Dawber and into the back of the net.

The second half saw Celtic keep the same team at first, but couldn't maintain the impetus as Accrington hit fast from the restart, and Shay McCartan got to the byline, putting the ball across the face for Marcus Carver to tap home.

Celtic came back strongly, and, if anything, outplayed their higher league opponents, a lot of the chances falling to Sean McConville. he put the ball just over with a good effort from outside the box, and moments later cut in from the wing and tried an audacious curling lob over Dawber, the shot crashing back off the far post. McConville tried to turn provider with a near post cross that Anorou flicked on, but saw the header clear the bar.

Celtic got the equaliser in unlikely fashion. Joel Bembo-Leta used his strength in the box to make space and pull the ball back for Kristian Platt who struck a thunderous low shot right in the bottom corner. Why the two were still up from a corner taken minutes before, only they know, but they combined well to produce a good goal.

After the equaliser, both sides made wholesale changes, and neither side really producing any clear-cut chances for the remaining half hour, the defences mainly coping with any attacks.