The game was one of few chances; the best of Celtic's early chances a wasted free kick from Mark Barnard, but it was Harrogate who took the lead. Paul Pettinger advanced to claim a corner and was never the favourite as Marc Smith got his head onto Lee Philpott's corner to give the home side a lead midway into the first half.

In icy conditions, even the goal wasn't enough to spark the game into life, though Celtic got two late chances in the first half, with Phil Eastwood uncharacteristically putting the ball well over the bar, and Neil Prince forcing home keeper Joe Anyon into action without any real danger.

The second half saw more purpose from Celtic, but little in the way of opening up the home defence. James Turley was brought on to continue his recuperation, and almost made an immediate impact when his speculative cross into the box was met by a thumping header from Paul Sykes with Joe Anyon nowhere near. Much to the dismay of the few hardy travelling Celtic fans, the ball smacked against the post and was cleared.

After the build up the game had, the event itself was little spectacle and the only positive was neighbours Droylsden dropping all three points also, in their match away at Worksop Town. This keeps them within reach, though Harrogate should have done enough now to ensure a play off spot. Ironically, Harrogate could give Celtic a massive boost by beating Droylsden on Saturday.