Stalybridge Celtic were left devastated at the death on Saturday, with visitors Whitby Town snatching all three points late on, through a last-minute Harrison Beeden goal.

Score - Stalybridge Celtic 0-1 Whitby Town

The hosts might have felt hard done by to lose in such circumstances, having been arguably the better side for the majority of the second half, but a lapse in concentration at the back cost them in the end.

Travellers Whitby started the game the better of the two sides, testing Celtic keeper Greg Hall early on, with a left-footed volley from Josef Wheatley forcing a save after a quarter of an hour. The best chance of the first half as far as Whitby were concerned came just before the half-hour mark, with striker Bradley Fewster showing good strength to hold off and spin his marker, before flashing his shot just over the crossbar.

The first real chance for the home side came shortly after, with on-loan winger DJ Pedro’s header flying inches away from the far post, following a pinpoint cross from the right by veteran Chris Dagnall. A couple of long-range efforts, and a free-kick which was hit straight into the Whitby wall, concluded what was a rather uneventful first half on the whole.

The half-time team talk from Celtic manager Chris Willcock was seemingly having the desired effect on his players, who started the second half much more brightly, coming close to scoring on two occasions inside the opening five minutes.

First from Harry Benns’ long-range strike, which fizzed just over the bar, then from Raul Corriea’s ambitious bicycle kick, which bounced inches wide. A stunning half-volley from captain Tom Miller was the closest Celtic came to scoring, with goalkeeper Shane Bland at full stretch to deny the full-back.

Whitby’s number one was in action again moments later, producing a fine double save to deny Correia and Benns respectively. The chances did not stop there, with the home side spurning another golden opportunity on 70 minutes, through speedy forward DJ Pedro.

It came from a quick counter-attack led by Celtic’s number seven, who carried the ball from his own half into the opposition’s final third. Surrounded by his team-mates, the teenager perhaps chose the wrong option when he elected to go alone, rather than find one of his colleages with a pass. His shot soared over.

Despite Celtic’s dominance, the away side showed that they were not going to roll over just yet, creating two brilliant opportunities for themselves, both manufactured by number 9, and arguably player of the match, Bradley Fewster.

The first, a bustling run through the heart of the opposition defence, followed by a rather poor left-footed strike which was skied over. The second, a tame side-footed effort which was easily dealt with, preceded by a stunning piece of footwork from the Whitby man.

Moments before the end, came the hammer blow to Celtic, as a lofted free kick from just past halfway was turned in by Whitby’s number six, Harrison Beeden. A rather cruel way to end what was quite an even match throughout, and considering the scrappy nature of the goal, Celtic will feel it was very much preventable.

Despite the disappointing result, Celtic manager Chris Willcock was full of praise for his teams performance: “We defended very well throughout the game, limiting them to virtually no opportunities”.  Willcock did not believe his side deserved to lose, however he noted that: “If you don’t defend set-pieces, whether it’s the first, the tenth, the 50th or the 95th minute, then you get punished”.

Captain Tom Miller was slightly more critical of himself and his team-mates: “It’s never nice conceding in the last minute but it’s down to us, we need to defend the ball properly and we’ve not done that”.

When asked if there are any positives to be taken from how his side played in the second half, he responded with: “It’s no good being good in one half and not getting the result, I’d rather be poor in both halves and win the game”. He is confident however, that his side can get back to winning ways soon enough: “We just need to pick ourselves up and not get stuck in a rut”. “We’ve got a lot more about us now than we did have, we just need to be consistent with it”, he added.

Next up for the Celts is an away trip to Broadhurst Park to face FC United of Manchester on Saturday (18 February). 

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