A well taken goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half stood as the games only goal in a contentious match, that might have swung Celtic’s way if the fine margins had faced the other way.

What few chances happened in the first half mostly fell Celtic’s way, playing a holding midfield game against the hosts. Tune Owolabi saw a stuck-out leg deflect his shot, while Liam Tongue and Andy Scarisbrick were both denied by Andrew Wycherley, the latter an unconvincing scramble around the post. A decent move saw Owolabi smash the ball into the back of the net, but he was called offside, coming as a surprise to everyone in the ground. With so few events two minute of stoppages seemed excessive, and in the last few seconds of the second minute, a lofted ball to the back post found Shaquille Leachman-Whittingham, clearing Jack Byrne’s head by millimetres. Leachman-Whittingham pulled the ball back to the edge of the box, where Kane Lewis arrived to place the ball precisely into the bottom corner with Connor Harte seeing it late through the crowd.

Celtic upped their tempo in the second half, and while it didn’t all go their way, they looked the more likely to score. Owolabi and Benni Smales Braithwaite curled efforts the wrong side of the post, the former also pushed to the floor in the box, irate at an unimpressed referee. Matthew Barnes-Homer forced Harte into a stunning close range save, while Leachman-Whittingham tried to go one better with a flicked header to the bottom corner which Harte got across to, pushing around the post. Kevin Da Vliga Montiero got precision on his header, but not pace, and the young Celtic stand in keeper plucked the ball from the air.

As the game went towards full time, Celtic ramped up the pressure further, Owolabi’s shot scrambled around the post. Kyle Brownhill tried to flick a backwards header over Wycherley, clearing the bar and deep into stoppages, a foul outside the Shifnal box was in perfect Smales-Braithwaite terriority and he didn’t disappoint, but Wycherley flew across the face to palm the shot around the post.