Two goals in the first half gave Celtic a cushion to play decent football against a hard-working, but ultimately inadequate Wythenshawe Town.

Celtic’s opener came inside the opening five minutes when Wythenshawe over committed on a corner. Celtic broke, broke quickly and in numbers, Ellis Horan leading the charge. The visitors tried to keep up, but as they reached him, he passed inside to Andy Scarisbrick, who passed again to Ruben Jerome, wrong footing Aidan McKerney in the Town goal, Jerome lifting the ball into the back of the net. Wythenshawe were hit again moments later, Horan again leading the charge, outpacing everybody, one-on-one with McKerney, Horan went for an audacious lob on the run, the keeper getting a fingernail on it, to put it wide. However, from the corner, Aaron Chalmers kept the ball in play, nodding it to Jack Tinning who selflessly squared to Scarisbrick to tap in.

It could have been more. Mike Koral’s first effort took a slight defection to fly wide, Jordan Butterworth and Horan fired over and Koral’s effort just before the interval hit the side netting. Wythenshawe had spell for five minutes on the half hour mark, culminating in Dan Dolling’s shot being pushed round the post by the leg of Tinning.

Their effort at the start of the second half saw a low shot Chalmers knelt to block, only to be mystified at the handball call resulting in a penalty. Demi Rhami converted the spot kick and fired Wythenshawe into action. Kobe McWilliams with a close-range header found the best of Charlie Monks, and Monks caught Wealth Dasilva’s low shot through a crowd. And there ended the visitor’s hopes. Again Horan led the charge, finding Liam Tongue who put in a low cross from the line to Scarisbrick to get the slightest of touches and turn the ball in. McKerney pulled off a double save to stop Celtic going rampant, blocking Benni Smales-Braithwaite, the ball coming to Horan and McKerney pushing his shot around the post. The fourth goal came when Smales-Braithwaite wriggled along the byline and found Jack Irlam to smash in the fourth. There was still time for Smales-Braithwaite to fire over.

Celtic beat Wythenshawe across the park, spoiling Chris Wilcox’s return with Withenshawe to Bower Fold.