Macclesfield can point to their youthful team, but take nothing away from Celtic, they produced a crisp, professional performance to take advantage of the academy feel to the game.

The Macclesfield kids were fast and talented, but quarter of an hour in, Issac Modi burst past his marker to bring down Brandon Newall’s lofted ball between two defenders, sliding it into the path of Navid Nasseri. Nasseri’s strike rifled into the back of the net to open the scoring. Speed from the home side grabbed them a goal back when Cynan Douglas streaked down the field. Kyle Brownhill got across to force the speedster wide, but he dragged his cross back to the edge of the six yard, and although several Celtic players got back to make it awkward, Jamie Walker forced his shot between James McClenaghan and the post.

Continuous pressure from Celtic almost told when Modi’s cross aiming for Joe Duckworth saw Kerr Dolochin’s outstretched boot take it away from the Celtic striker, missing his own net’s top corner by scant inches. Though Celtic didn’t utilise that corner, they kept pressing and from the next, Brownhill’s header rebounded back off the bar after looping over Justin Griffith, falling nicely for Duckworth to flick in Celtic’s second with the outside of his boot. Right at the end of the half, it could have been three, Nasseri’s powerful drive left Harry McNulty rolling in agony and the ball out for a corner, which Jack Tinning was a hair’s breadth from converting. Not as close as Duckworth who ended the half by pouncing on a Griffith error, dropping the ball, but with bodies on the line, he had to lift his shot, hitting the bar.

Second half saw a lot of intricate passing by both sides, with little territorial gain. Until Modi kept in a ball he shouldn’t and placed a perfect low cross through the box to a waiting Max Leonard who had the time to stop the ball and pick his spot. Leonard could have had another moments later, again latching onto a lofted Modi cross this time, rifling in a half-volley and producing a wonderful flying save from Griffith. There was time for Greg Wilkinson to try and place his thirty yard shot, and miss by two inches, and for the save of the match from McClenaghan, flying one-handed and top corner, to palm away Freddie Savage’s super strike from thirty yards.