Despite playing with ten men for over half the game, Celtic were simply too much for Lower Breck.

Apart from one scare, Celtic dominated the first half, Jack Irlam heading a corner wide, before, at the quarter hour mark, he forced a good stop from Paddy Wharton. At the other end, Lewis Buckley broke past the Celtic backline to go one-on-one with Charlie Monks, who stayed on his feet and made a great block. That was Breck’s only chance o the game, as Celtic carved more out. Andy Scarisbrick took an angled low drive instead of a side pass to Benni Smales-Braithwaite, his shot skimming past the far post, and Charlie Doyle’s curling cross-cum-shot missed by a similar margin. Just as it seemed Celtic wouldn’t convert any of their chances in the half, Smales-Braithwaite laid off to Ellis Horan and Horan jinked past two, twisted past a third and fired under Wharton to open the scoring

. A moment of controversy. Liam Tongue, inexplicably already on a yellow for a basic accidental foul, burst through, with only Dan Lowey to beat. A stuck out foot sent Tongue flying forward, when he’d have been in a great position to make it two. Partially unsighted, the man in the middle declared Tongue simulated to get a free kick on the edge of the box and showed a second yellow, dismissing him.

Celtic held on for the until the interval and got their instructions.

The remaining ten worked twice as hard through the second half, but the visitors were also going to get more chances, starting in the opening exchange, but Monks caught well from Buckley. Despite the man disadvantage, Celtic didn’t sit back, and Irlam was put through one-on-one. He could have given Horan the easiest goal of his career with a squared pass, but took the shot, Wharton saving well. Past the hour mark, and Celtic’s best chance of the half came as Lower Breck could not get the ball out of their six-yard box. First Irlam’s shot was saved, the rebound coming to Scarisbrick, who stabbed goalward, blocked, coming to Horan who flashed his half volley to the roof of the net, only for Jay Cooper to nod off the line. Moments later and Irlam was there again, and again denied by top-notch keeping.

You cannot supress Jack Irlam when he’s in this mood, and the perfect ball from Scarisbrick came to Irlam, the whole Breck team trailing in his wake, and this time, Irlam made no mistake and doubled Celtic’s lead.

Tired legs meant gaps at the back, but this wasn’t the direct, high-speed juggernaut of a team that dumped Celtic from the Trophy at the season start. They lacked the creativity to beat a solid Celtic backline with Sam Burns and Liam Morris forced to try their luck from distance, and firing off target, allowing Celtic to emerge victorious, and Breck to drop out of the top five for the first time this season.