As with the Manchester Premier Cup, Greg Hall once again proved the hero in a penalty shoot out to send Celtic through to the next round.

Celtic started the first half at pace, with Matty Carson interchanging with Nathan Caine to whip in a shot from an acute angle curling over Anthony Thompson and hitting the inside of the post, rebounding out, not in. He followed it up with a cracking distance effort with Thompson out of position, his shot narrowly wide of the post. Warrington slowly got back into the game, but struggled against a rock solid Celtic defence. Their only real chance of the half came from a set piece that Stefan Mols put top corner only for Hall to push over the bar. From another free kick just before the interval, Mitch Duggan headed over the bar with Hall beaten.

The second half saw Warrington up a gear, but it was Celtic who took the lead, in a defence slicing move, Carson slid the ball to Moses Yoak. Yoak held the ball for long enough for Carson to get into position, finding him with the perfect through ball, which Carson rifled past Thompson.

The euphoria went to Celtic’s collective head, their stalwart defence slipping momentarily straight after the restart, with Connor Woods putting in a simple cross for Josh Amis to power a header down, beyond Hall’s reach.

Both teams had half chances, looking for the winner, but with Tom Miller racing down the wing, Teddy Mfuti’s sliding tackle missed, with Miller requiring treatment. A second booking saw Mfuti dismissed. Even so, Warrington seemed to have a little extra in the tank, and Sean Williams forced Hall into a scrambled block, Evan Gombs firing the rebound over the bar. During that attempt, Scott Holding’s stomach got stamped on, and an incensed Greg Hall remonstrated with Gombs. For his actions in the ensuing heated discussion, the referee dismissed Josh Amis with a straight red.

During a long stoppage time, Warrington aimed for penalties, Thompson risking a dismissal for taking his time over ever goal kick, especially after receiving a booking for that infringement. Theo Bailey-Jones’s low drive may have removed the need for them, but for Duggan’s stretched out leg and time ran out.

Penalties.

The first seven penalties all got slotted home by Caine, Chakwana, Rouse and Yoak for Celtic; Dixon, Walker (both ex-Celts) and Clarke all found the net to put the pressure on Sean Williams. Greg Hall guessed right, pulling off a stunning block and leaving the all-important fifth penalty on Bailey-Jones.

He made no mistake and Celtic were through with justice for the visitors antics.