Despite having the lion’s share of possession, Celtic failed to muster a single shot on goal, and Widnes capitalised on a largely static performance from the boys in blue.

For the first fifteen minutes, Celtic moved the ball well, and looked dangerous going forward, culminating in Max Leonard’s snap shot smashing back off the post with Mark Halstead beaten. Had it gone in, the game might have transpired differently. However, it didn’t, and a straightforward corner at the other end saw Niall Battersby rise the highest and plant his header firmly in the back of the net. Widnes were on the ascendancy and increased their lead four minutes later, when Jack McGowan latched onto a perfectly weighted lob from Nathan Caine to beat the Celtic offside trap going one-on-one with Charlie Monks, feinting and wrong-footing the Celtic custodian. The rest of the half was a disrupted affair, with Celtic seeing little if any chances and Widnes content to let Celtic pass the ball around the back four.

Misfortune struck at the start of the second half. A cross from the right was bread-and-butter for Aaron Chalmers, but the Celtic stalwart crumpled instead of jumping, pulling something in his left leg. Instead of the ball being cleared, Jack McGowan was presented with the simplest goal of his career, putting a sheen on Widnes’s performance. Tempers frayed a few times in the half, but Celtic never got going and offered little against a highly competent Widnes side who rode the second half back to the top of the table.