Comfortable Celtic cruised past wobbling Witton with a solid performance, finding the net twice in the first half and once in the second, without ever really looking like conceding.

Celtic got a dream start when Brandon Newell held off the defence and laid off Jack Irlam. Despite being tugged and pulled, Irlam stayed on his feet and slotted the ball past the outflung arm of stand-in Witton keeper, Louie Fallon to open the scoring. Witton’s best chance of the game fell to James Baillie, latching onto Wealth Dasilva’s ball, but returning keeper Charlie Monks made a spectacular block with Mamdou Djabi heading the loose ball well over the bar. Newell and Irlam both went close before Irlam turned provider, unselfishly knocking Max Leonard’s ball back to the swiftly arriving Lewis Rawsthorn to blast from eight yards. Irlam could have made it three by the interval, but a stuck-out leg from Oliver Hitchcox denied him, whilst Liam Tongue’s curling free kick flew over the bar.

Witton handed Max Leonard the freedom of Bower Fold when they stood and watched him turn in the box to sweep in his low shot, before the elusive fourth nearly arrived but Fallon’s reactions allowed him to deny Rawsthorn from a yard with a blistering volley. Celtic eased off a little for the last twenty minutes, with the only notable chance falling for Navid Nasseri, who blazed a half-cleared corner over the bar. Though Witton pressed at the end, they never really had a sniff of goal, and Celtic sailed over the finish line in control.