Leek edged the first half, but Celtic finished the stronger, making a draw a fair result.

Leek's first chance came ten minutes in, when Oli Shenton became the last in a series of Leek attackers to try prodding the ball over the line, with Jack Tinning denying him, flinging his body along the line, the ref waving away the calls for handball. After a clumsy free kick thirty yards out, a floated ball saw Shenton get his head on it, with Charlie Monks making an excellent save, but he couldn't hold it, the ball rebounding into the path of a Leek trialist to side foot home. Celtic's best chance of the half came from a corner half an hour in, after positive build up play. Josh Granite got a towering header on the ball, but his opposite number, Liam Edwards, blocked on the line with the keeper beaten.

Leek started the second half brightly enough, with the trialist fullback bursting forward and bringing the best from Monks, and Monks was there again when Hayden Campbell beat the offside trap to go one-on-one, Monks with a super block. But from then on, Celtic looked more likely to equalise than Leek to score. Lewis Rawsthorn wriggled free, advancing on a stranded keeper. Rawsthorn lobbed him, looking destined to equalise, but the ball rebounded from the foot of the post. Just past the hour mark, a Benni Smales Braithwaite curling free kick found Jack Irlam who thumped in his header to equalise. With ten minutes to go, Celtic got a half-dozen chances, but somehow last ditch defence and fortune kept the scores level. Andy Scarisbrick's close range effort got denied by a stuck out foot, the rebound off a Leek defender palmed away, half-cleared to Liam Tongue and a desperate leg to deflect it wide. An uncleared corner came to Smales-Braithwaite, who curled a superb effort to the top corner, forcing a top-drawer save, leaving the two teams level.