Only a dubious offside flag denied Celtic all three points in a game which saw Avro lose a player to a red card but could have seen more.

Celtic started comfortably, looking in control of the match. A free kick from midway into Avro’s half was kept in by Jack Tinning, putting the ball through a crowded box for Max Leonard arriving at the back post to lash in Celtic’s opener with the first shot of the game. Celtic lost and regained the lead in the next ten minutes when Chiekh Thiam battled and squirmed to get into a good position, drawing the whole Celtic defence to him, before spreading the ball to Liam Ellis at the back post for the simplest of tap ins. Less than a minute later and Celtic regained the lead, coming again through Leonard. He started the move playing a one-two off Benni Smales-Braithwaite, with an immediate one-two off Lewis Rawsthorn before sliding the ball beyond Grant Shenton’s fingertips. Avro pressed, but got nowhere for the rest of the half, and the only other chance fell to Celtic, when Joe Duckworth’s precision shot lacked the power to beat Shenton.

Avro continued their high tempo aggressive game after the restart, risking bookings to win the ball. This earned them a great chance, but Charlie Monks made a decent stop to deny Thiam, with Ellis firing the loose ball well over the bar. A booking came when Kane Hickman recklessly slid with two feet through the back of Brandon Newell, seeing red. On another day, Avro might have lost two more with fouls as the last man taking out first Lewis Rawsthorn and then Smales-Braithwaite. Rawsthorn came within an inch of regaining the lead for Celtic when he evaded a challenge at the edge of the box to go one on one, but his curling shot rattled the crossbar, falling for Duckworth, who could only steer the loose ball wide. In the last fifteen minutes, Avro upped their high tempo further, but didn’t break the deadlock until in the second of four added minutes. Benito Lowe providing the cross for Dean Smalley to slide in and poke the ball under Monks. There was still time for one last moment of controversy as Greg Wilkinson's cross found Jack Irlam, who fired an overhead kick into the bottom corner, a worthy match winner. The offside flag was raised, but Irlam looked to be onside, both he and the fans outraged at the decision.