After a cagey first half, both teams upped the ante in the second. A penalty and a wonder strike left the two teams tied.
Celtic had the lion’s share of the possession in the first half, even if they created no true clear cut chances. The closest Celtic came was Darius Osei who steered a shot wide and was denied by a combination of great tackle and keeping inside the six yard box. Widnes’s best chances came from a Steve Irwin cross missed by Ste Milne at the back post by scant inches and a shot from Milne from forty yards that sailed feet past the post.
Both sides found a shot on target at the start of the second half, with James Steele and Connor O’Grady both cushioning headers back to their opposing keepers. As the game went into the last fifteen minutes, Widnes almost broke the deadlock, Sean Miller’s thirty yard effort requiring an athletic save from Luke Hewitson in the first proper shot of the game. Terry Cameron looked to have tripped Osei in the box, but simulation was the official decision, however; moments later Irwin clattered Osei hard in the box, leaving the Celtic striker limping and unable to take the penalty. Instead, Darius Palma in his last game for Celtic this season before he jets off, stepped up and ended his season with us with a well struck penalty.
Celtic continued to dominate the defensive portion of the field, and it would take something special to get an equaliser. Ste Milne provided such a special moment, with a thirty-five yard rocket curling into the top corner beyond the reach of Hewitson. Though Celtic tried to carve out a winner, Widnes’s defence kept Celtic at bay to ensure the Milne wonder strike did indeed earn them a share of the points as it deserved.
1 | Terry, Cameron | ||
2 | Isherwood, Louis | ||
3 | Rain, Matty | > 84 | |
4 | Byrne, Jack | ||
5 | Bell, Will | ||
6 | Wright, Olly | > 64 | |
7 | Irwin, Steve | ||
8 | Milne, Ste | ||
9 | McGowan, Jack | ||
10 | Miller, Sean | ||
11 | Steele, James | > 78 | |
12 | Holt, Kris | < 64 | |
14 | Jones, Will | < 78 | |
15 | High, Joshua | < 84 | |
16 | Battersby, Niall | ||
17 | Hassall, George |
1 | Hewitson, Luke | ||
2 | Zuk, Pawel | ||
3 | Lonsdale, Cole | ||
4 | Leonard, Max | ||
5 | O'Grady, Connor | ||
6 | McMahon, Taylor | > 45 | |
7 | Byrne, Brad | > 68 | |
8 | Whitham, Dale | ||
9 | Osei, Darius | ||
10 | Robbins, Joseph | ||
11 | Etia, Jacques | > 56 | |
12 | Wilkinson, Greg | ||
14 | Arnasalam, Leon | < 56 | |
15 | Burton, Jordan | < 68 | |
16 | Palma, Darius | < 45 | |
17 | Mugalula, Obua |