A positive first half sent Celtic in ahead at the break, but a catastrophic second half saw Celtic ship three goals in a bad-tempered finish to the game.

In almost Celtic’s first attack, Owen Morris dragged Jack Irlam to the ground outside the box. Milan Lalkovic put in an inch perfect free kick and Jordan Boon flicked a great header past David Parton to put Celtic ahead. Celtic needed another goal, and they tried. Kamoy McNair held off defensive attentions and fired across the face, narrowly missing the opposite corner. Jack Irlam got two chances, the first saw his shot deflected for a corner, a corner he got his head to, but fired wide. Isaac Modi showed great feet to get into position, but he too fired wide of the far post. A low Lalkovic cross had MmcNair sliding, but he missed by a fraction to add to Celtic’s profligacy. In stoppage time before the interval, Congleton looked dangerous, a warning for the second half, with George Sankey hitting the far post with an acute drive, and Boon clearing Max McCarthy’s low shot off the line.

From the restart onwards, for the most part, was one way traffic, though McNair’s flicked header required Parton to catch, it was a rare foray. At the other end, McCarthy brought the best out of Charlie Monks, tipping his shot over the bar, but McCarthy showed why he’s a candidate for golden boot this season, his strength saw Boon bounce off him as they came together in the box, with Monks off his line, despite the acute angle, McCarthy lobbed him with the outside of his boot equalising in emphatic fashion. Celtic looked to get back in front, but from Max Leonard’s blocked shot at one end, Peter Williams outpaced a leggy Celtic backline now lacking Jack Tinning, evaded two challenges, avoided Monks’s grab for the ball and walked in the second. But for Monks, Celtic faced a hammering. In quick succession he got across to deny McCarthy and pushed Sankey’s angled shot around the post.

In a repeat of Vauxhall, Javid Swaby-Neavin saw his legs taken from under him, the culprit Owen Morris grabbing hold of Swaby-Neavin. Again the Celtic fullback extricated himself with force, and saw red. Congleton took advantage of the missing player, adding to the scoreline with a simple back post cross, Sankey’s ball and Lewis Porter’s header. Still Monks stopped a cricket score, taking the ball at Porter’s feet when he looked set for Congleton’s fourth. And that gave Celtic a sliver of a chance, but they lacked the energy to pull a last great hurrah from the bag, and the closest they came was a decent effort from Jordan Butterworth which Parton caught comfortably.