It was a bizarre feeling going to watch the Lilywhites at Bower Fold. It felt like watching a team you didn't actually support as this bunch of strangers turned out in last season's kit. The pre match talk was of about what an acceptable result would be bearing in mind this was the first game together and Stalybridge had already played a a few friendlies and looking at their squad it contained a collection of ex-pros and players well versed in the non league pyramid. Oh and they also had Chris Hall who apparently scored goals for Oldham Athletic last season but has now harboured ideas of being an actor. Judging by last night's performance he could act out the role of a footballer as long as the script didn't include putting the ball in the net.
It came as no shock when Celtic opened the scoring and they had threatened on numerous occasions. When the lead was doubled some of the pre-match worries looked like they might surface but Kitson Gayle had other ideas when he halved the deficit in spectacular fashion. He won the ball and took it past another defender but he seemed to have over-run the ball. However, he won the ball with a strong challenge which left him on the edge of the box and he rifled the ball past the Celtic custodian. This was far too quick for my small digital camera, but for an alternative view, see Smiffy's blog or Mossley@MySpace. A dubious looking penalty was awarded but Ashley Connor made a wonderful save.
The second half saw numerous changes as both sides tried out various players, with Celtic managing to net a third goal. A very positive start to the new regime considering the strength of the opposition and hopefully some slightly less compromising opposition should give us a better picture of what to expect.
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