No league positions would be altered by the result, and Celtic were looking forward to the Cheshire Senior Cup final. The combination produced a flat match.

Had there been something at stake, Celtic may well have produced more against a long relegated City of Liverpool. Credit to the visitors, they worked all game, but it was Celtic who should have taken the lead when Lewis Rawsthorn was brought down by the most blatant penalty ever committed at Bower Fold by Evan Smith. Jack Irlam took the spot kick, but lacked conviction, the ball rebounding from the foot of the post. Benni Smales-Braithwaite really should have scored when Rawsthorn’s ball found him unmarked at the back post, and Rawsthorn himself went one-on-one with strand-in keeper Andy Owens (a former striker for Celtic, and now manager of CO Liverpool). When Celtic did score it was a slick pass and move, Joe Duckworth rolling the ball into the path of Rawsthorn who backheeled into Smales-Braithewaite’s path to rifle into the bottom corner. Irlam saw his close range shot blocked on the line by Jadel Musanhu, and Smales-Braithewaite curled an acute effort wide. Right before the interval, Lewis Rawsthorn took a free kick, arrow straight past the wall, past the keeper into the top corner.

Job done, it was about not getting injured ahead of the cup final, though an excellent ball in from Elliott Rokka was flicked in by Irlam, but the goal didn’t stand as instead a free kick to Celtic was awarded on the edge of the box, which was missed. Ethan Jones denied another flicked header from Irlam, blocking on the line as the half wore on. Truth be told, Celtic barely got out of first gear, and that almost told at the end as Liverpool pressed but apart from Rodriguez firing into Charlie Monks’s arms, and Kostas Misios lifting the ball over the bar, they barely troubled the Celtic backline. So little happened in the second half, no stoppage time was added.