The scoreline flattered the visitors who were second to every ball and couldn’t have complained if they’d been five down by half time.

In Celtic’s opening move, a little fortune, as Ben Hocknhull’s awful back-pass allowed Jack Irlam to nip in and take the ball around Ben Garrett, opening the scoring on three minutes. Celtic kept pressing looking to add to the scoreline. After Matt Tweedley fouled Max Leonard, all the visiting defence could do was concede the corner, and from the corner, Lewis Rawsthorn arrived unmarked to power his header in for Celtic’s second. He nearly got a third a minute later, flicking an excellent Irlam cross the wrong side of the post. A harsh offside saw Joe Duckworth denied a goal, while both Duckworth and Irlam were denied by quick reflexes from Garrett.

It looked like another goal was coming, but when Celtic failed to take either chance to clear their lines after a ball lobbed into the box from a free kick, and Kofi Moore struck through a crowded box from the edge, unsighted Charlie Monks tried to get down to it, but Nantwich pulled one back. Rawsthorn got two more chances in the last five minutes of the half, but again went wide with both, his sliding contact onto a low Jordan Butterwoth cross hitting the side-netting. While in stoppage time, Max Leonard got through one-on-one, only for Garrett to deny him close range.

Inside the first ten minutes, Celtic had another two on the board. Rawsthorn was denied one-on-one with Garrett, but poor positioning from the Nantwich keeper gave Liam Tongue sight of goal from a free kick and he took it, restoring the two goal lead. That became three, three minutes later. Rawsthorn through on goal from Charlie Doyle, one-on-one, again Garrett denied him, but the ball fell to Duckworth, who side stepped a challenge and returned the ball to Rawsthorn to have a second go with the keeper stranded and this time he found the back of the net.

The three goal cushion allowed a more comfortable end to the game, especially when Tom Pratt’s distance shot his the woodwork, half-scrambled back Pratt got a second chance, his shot taking three or four deflections, coming off Percy Bircumshaw last. With fifteen minutes to go, Celtic looked to improve their goal difference, but Garrett was on top form, denying Jordan Burton’s near post header with astounding reflexes, and making a flying save to block Benni Smales-Braithwaite’s curler.

With the teams above winning, Celtic got no closer to rejoining the top five, but Celtic are in with a shout.