Contentious decisions at both ends didn’t affect Celtic’s difficulty in scoring.

The first half saw Celtic start well. Ten minutes in, a free kick from Matty Carson forced Greg Hartley into a decent stop at his post, but Dylan Moonan followed the ball in and lifted in the opening goal. Theo Bailey-Jones linked up with Raul Correia, but headed straight at Hartley in almost Celtic’s last chance of the half as Ashton upped the pressure. The Celtic defence held.

That ended moments into the second half as Callum Saunders backed into Scott Holding in the box. The referee saw his fall as a penalty. Holding’s protestations of innocence became so vehement, he earned a red card. Former Celt, Matty Regan took the spot-kick, sending Hall the wrong way. Six minutes later and Celtic were behind. Another corner, this time a free header for Michael Phenix and his header a simple goal for Ashton.

A goal up and a man up, Ashton sat back, inviting Celtic pressure. Celtic supplied the pressure, but apart from set-pieces, Celtic couldn’t threaten. With minutes left on the clock, the second contentious decision. Correia brought down in the box by Regan. The referee pointed for a free kick. Outside the box, which Celtic could not convert, though Regan saw red. Celtic’s comeback was too little and too late, adding another game to Celtic’s losing streak.