In an even first half, Celtic shaded the chances, but Avro the goals, but in the second half, Celtic found the back of the net to take the three points and keep in contention for play-off spots.

At one end, Jack Irlam and Ruben Jerome fired wide, with Horan’s header easy pickings for Cam Mason, whilst at the other, Sam Davidson fired wide, and Darrhyl Mason didn’t trouble Charlie Monks. However, when Mason broke the offside trap by an eyelash width, Monks forced him wide, and made a dive for the ball, missed and caught the Avro forward. Kyle Hawley doesn’t miss from the spot, and gave the visitors a narrow lead. Horan went close with a scuffed effort, before Mason somehow blocked a point-bank powerful header from Jerome, and then a minute later flew across the face to deny Horan. An absolute melee in the six-yard box saw Horan, Jerome and Andy Scarisbrick try and force the ball across the line, somehow the Avro defence got bodies on the line to leave the slender lead at the interval.

The second half saw Celtic press, and press hard, looking for an equaliser. Andy Scarisbrick fired wide, Irlam’s drive through a crowd took a deflection for a corner, the set-piece coming eventually to Aaron Chalmers, but his shot through a crowd was stopped by Cam Mason. Constant pressure told, and David Fitzpatrick brought Irlam down just inside the box, Irlam took it himself, equalising, and then three minutes later made it two, picking up the ball as Avro struggled to clear under pressure and firing in from twenty-five yards, finding the ball-sized hole in the defence to squeeze his shot through. Avro tried after the goal, but Celtic held firm, and even worked a few chances in the increasing gaps in the visiting backline, Benni Smales-Braithwaite trying a curling effort, only for Jake Kenny’s leg to diver the ball past the post for a corner. Again Chalmers proved the danger, this time beating Cam Mason, only for Fitzpatrick to block on the line.

The result leaves Celtic more than capable of claiming a top-five spot if results go our way against Newcastle and Bootle.