Game off - Hednesford
Match Report -
Celtic grab first home points
By Iain Benson
Workington had the better of the opening period as Celtic looked to find some kind of rhythm in a match dominated by Workington's physical style.

Dan Shannon and Anthony Wroght should have put Workington two goals to the good in the opening ten minutes, both blazing wide when it looked easier to score, Wright especially as he was unmarked in the box. Wright continued to miss chance after chance as the half progressed until twenty minutes Celtic finally clicked and started to produce. A long throw was almost nodded in by Joe O'Neill, but for a full stretch diving save from Workington keeper Tony Craig. Matty Barlow and Keith Briggs both saw efforts fly over the bar to round off a piecemeal first half.

The second half saw the introduction of Connor Jennings and Greg Wilkinson, given a full forty-five minutes to show what they could do.

Wilkinson almost booked himself an automatic start within seconds when Jenning's low cross from the by-line found him at the back post, and only a second excellent save from Craig denied Wilkinson the opener. O'Neill placed his shot from the edge of the box after a cushioned ball from Jennings gave him enough space, but Vipond deflected the ball out almost off the line for a corner.

From the corner, the ball came into Keith Briggs who smashed his volley through the crowd and into the top corner. Carr could have added to it, but his low shot was comfortably saved by Craig.

Workington didn't have long to wait for their equaliser, and though the Celtic team turned on mass to the linesman, his flag had stayed firmly down when Johnny Wright's shot came into the six yard box where Anthony Wright stood alone and deflected it into the net, despite being two yards off side.

Celtic resumed the hunt for a winning goal, and almost found it through Jennings, with a low shot that had Craig scrambling across the face, but it was Workington who took the lead when Michael Carr slid in and looked to have taken the ball off Wright, but it was seen differently by the official, who pointed to the spot, and allowed Gareth Arnison to step up and send Paul Phillips the wrong way.

It was Celtic's turn to equalise immediately, Vipond blocking Brigg's drive for a corner, and O'Neill coming in at the back post beating his man and nodding over Craig to set up an exciting end to the match. That end was not to come, as decision after decision failed to go Celtic's way, with Phil McLuckie living up to his name with a clear handball as the last man only being punished with a yellow card.

It was an encouraging second half performance from Celtic, who built some nice moves, but ultimately conceded two goals, however dubious, sharing the spoils with our Cumbrian nemeses.

1Craig, Tony  
2Langford, Andy  
3Rowntree, Gari  > 70
4May, Kyle  
5Andrews, Lee  
6Vipond, Shaun  > 80
7Henney, Matt  
8Hopper, Tony  
9Wright, Jonny  
10Shannon, Dan  > 18
11Wright, Anthony  
12Arnison, Gareth  < 18
14McLuckie, PhilYellow Card < 80
15Hardman, Andy  < 70
16Rutledge, Callum  
17Taylor, Aaran  
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