Radcliffe’s tenacity in the first half earned them what turned out to be an unassailable two goal lead going into the second, where Celtic tried, but were unable to overturn it.

Pressing was the order of the day for the visitors and they never let Celtic settle, harrying constantly and moving the ball with speed. It started from the whistle, Jude Oyibo using his pace to find the space in the box to force Greg Hall into an early stop. Joe Piggott’s effort five minutes later also required a decent stop from the Celtic custodian, and when Michael Grivosti had Hall beat at the near post, Dahrius Waldron threw his body in the way. A goal seemed inevitable, when an awkward free kick from Grivosti was spilled by Hall, Piggott pounced and stabbed in the opener. Just past the half hour mark, pure pressure forced a mistake from Tom Miller, screwing his clearance back towards his own goal. Faster than the Celtic defence, Oyibo raced onto it, and though Hall made himself big, Oyibo casually lifted his shot over Hall into the back of the net. Still the visitors pressed, and both Grivosti and Oyibo got further chances, but though close, missed the target.

Something had to change in the second half, and losing Waldron through injury forced that reorganisation. Celtic’s new formation and tired Radcliffe legs let Celtic apply pressure of their own. Theo Bailey Jones should have done better turning in Ciaran Summer’s low cross, but he scuffed his shot, and Tom Stewart gratefully scooped up the ball. Celtic got a life line through Harry Benns and his immaculate ball control, keeping the ball in a crowded box, and finding space large enough to slot the ball through out of reach of Stewart.

Cue thirty minutes of pressure from Celtic and some desperate defending from Radcliffe. Both Raul Correia and DJ Pedro put in dangerous crossed forcing last ditch defending from Radcliffe as Celtic probed for an equaliser. With time running out, a series of set pieces around Radcliffe’s box saw Greg Hall almost grab a goal for Celtic, but his header was cleared and Radcliffe’s one hundred percent league record against us continues for another season.

It's all about bouncing back now, for Celtic, as we travel to Bamber Bridge on Saturday.