Celtic looked the strongest they have all season against an attacking Marske team looking to continue their own good form, with Celtic’s two minute period of defensive shakes costing them anything from the match.

From the off, Celtic’s attacking paid dividends. Raul Correia used strength and agility to worm to the touchline, pulling the ball back into the path of lurking predator Theo Bailey-Jones. His first time strike was low and hard into the bottom corner with Ryan Catterick unable to do anything about the opener. It should have been two moments later, when Harry Benns turned beautifully, firing through a crowd. Catterick saw the shot late, pulling off a superb stop. It wasn’t all one-way traffic, and Josh McDonald’s run in on goal required Greg Hall to be brave to deny the Marske man. The lion’s share of chances fell Celtic’s way, with Bailey-Jones twice denied and Tom Miller’s power run and shot too close to Catterick, but the signs were positive for Celtic for the second half.

It looked like it might go Celtic’s way, continuing the solid first half performance. A stuck out leg from Kevin Burgess denied a drive from Osebi Abadaki, before Marske got their first corner of the match. The initially cleared corner was lifted back in by McDonald for Adam Boyes to stick his head on, diverting it past a stranded Hall. Celtic looked to regain the lead, with Abadaki’s turned in cross narrowly wide of the mark, before it all went wrong in a two minute spell.

Curtis Round got his cross in, and though Boyes’s header lacked any power, it was perfectly placed to put Marske ahead just past the hour mark. A minute later, sensing blood, Boyes raced from the halfway line, drew Hall and squared to Connor Simpson to side foot into an empty net. Celtic pounded the Marske backline, Abadaki’s drive scrambled round the post by Catterick. From the corner, Tom Miller bravely stooped between a forest of legs to flick his header in reducing the deficit with ten minutes still on the clock. Despite a staunch defensive performance, Celtic still worked three more chances. Yoak’s thirty-yard lob didn’t catch Catterick snoozing and Godwin Abadaki couldn’t turn his shot inside the post. Right at the death, deep in stoppages, Ethan Padden latched onto Greg Hall’s free kick, a yard from goal, but was always stretching, lacking the power to steer the ball past Catterick, who fell on the ball with relief to extend Celtic’s losing streak to six.