Finishes All Square at the Marston’s

Lack of fire power on both sides ensured a low scoring draw. Kaid Mohamed returned to the side after his holiday but he started on the bench while Gareth Couch deputised for the injured Steve Cann.

Neither side could gain the initiative and on 12 minutes Liam McCreesh played the ball wide for Sacha Walters who won a corner on the right. Noah Daley couldn’t get over the cross and only succeeded in heading over the bar. Celtic responded with a through ball for full back Richard Crees but Gareth Couch was out to claim the ball just ahead of him. Kieran Parsons and Sacha Walters combined to set up a shooting chance for Parsons but his shot from 12 yards was held by Scott James in the Celtic goal. Celtic attacked again but Zach Osborne could only head a cross over the bar. Lido lost possession from their free kick Alex Gammond got back to pass it back to Gareth Couch but he under hit it, luckily Couch managed to clear the danger. Further Celtic pressure resulted in a shot going over the bar from the edge of the box. Sacha Walters went on a good run beating a couple of defenders who had both tried to foul him with the ref playing advantage. However, Sacha then fouled when in a promising position and the chance was lost. Some sloppy defending by the Lido saw Louis Feeley in on goal but his shot was wells saved by Gareth Couch. Then virtually on half time Celtic took the lead, another long ball saw Gareth Couch come out to the edge of the area with no obvious danger about. Somehow, he dropped the ball at the feet of Chris Ham who gratefully shoots into the empty net.

Kaid Mohamed replaced the injured Kieran Parsons for the start of the second half and he was immediately in the action combining with Brad Flay and winning a corner which we headed wide. In the early stages of the second half Lido were playing some good football but couldn’t find a killer touch in the area. Too often crosses or through balls found the opposition rather than a red jersey. Then on the hour a through ball saw Kaid Mohamed run on to it and from inside the box scored with the ball going in off the post. A couple of minutes later Mohamed is again in on goal but his shot sees James dive to his right to turn the ball behind for a corner. The corner taken short saw Sacha Walters shoot, again forcing a save from James. The third corner however was too close to the keeper and he had no problem collecting the cross to relieve the pressure. As the half wore on it became more scrappy with numerous free kicks spoiling the flow of the play. One free kick from 25 yards out in front of goal saw Sacha Walters fire over the crossbar. Sean Hanbury had a shot which hit a defender and rebounded to the keeper and then from a Lido corner Celtic broke at pace. Ben Symons held up the attacker until Lido regathered but Celtic still managed to get a shot away but it went over the bar. Two minutes from time Sacha Walters found Kaid Mohamed he laid the ball off for Liam McCreesh who forced a smart save out of James in goal.