Another season, another early exit from the FA Cup, this time at the hands of Tadcaster Albion.

On a pitch more suited to Tadcaster’s rugged play, Celtic never really got to grips with their hosts, the damage done in the first half, despite a strong second half showing. Inside five minutes, Celtic were behind, when Oliver Green got a yard on Jack Byrne and with Charlie Monks stranded, lobbed the Celtic keeper to open the scoring. Moments later and Harry Croft barrelled through Charlie Monks, going down looking for a penalty – nothing given, because the ball rolled into the net to double Tadcaster’s lead. Obua Mugalula and Benni Smales-Braithwaite both had half-chances, before Monks kept Celtic in the game with a top-drawer double save. Green went one-on-one, Monks spreading himself well to deny the Tadcaster man, the ball coming to Croft and Monks somehow got up and across to palm the ball to safety. Mugalula and Liam Tongue went inches wide and Andy Scarisbrick’s effort took a deflection wide, as Celtic looked for a way back into the game before the interval, but it didn’t come.

Jack Irlam got a chance almost from kick off, at the back post onto Tongue’s cross, but couldn’t wrap his body around it, he got closer with his next effort, his header requiring an acrobatic save from Harry Stead. Moments after Ruben Jerome blazed over when he looked certain to halve the deficit, and Smales-Braithwaite put in a great looping cross for Irlam who turned onto the cross to volley into the back of the net with twenty minutes left on the clock. Cue the frantic search for an equaliser, with both Irlam and Jerome’s efforts clearing the bar, and Smales-Braithwaite and Ellis Horan also off target. Despite the pressure on the home back line, only one gap appeared in the Celtic back line, but Monks denied Aaron Pilkington at the near post. With seconds left on the clock, Smales-Braithwaite got a chance, twenty yards out and curled an effort over the bar, sending Celtic limping home to rue missed opportunities and send Tadcaster through to the next round.