Cup final heartbreak for Celtic

Stalybridge Celtic missed the chance to get their hands on the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time since 2001 on Tuesday after a 3-0 defeat to Runcorn Linnets. 

Celtic came close to opening the scoring just 10 minutes in when Joe Duckworth beat goalkeeper Bayleigh Passant only to see his effort hooked off the line by the covering defender. 

From there, Linnets began to grow into the game and a quickfire brace from Adam Moseley saw Jon Macken’s side go into the break trailing 2-0. 

Things didn’t get any better for Bridge going into the second period, with Moseley capping off a superb performance by completing his hat trick on 57 minutes. 

Brad Cooke’s side went on to see the game out and lift the trophy, defeating Celtic for the third time this season in the process, after doing the double over them in the NPL West. 

“We didn’t turn up tonight,” Stalybridge Celtic boss Jon Macken told the club’s social media channel following the loss. 

“From the first minute to the last minute, we were really poor all over the park. 

“It’s disappointing, because you don’t get many opportunities to play in a cup final. 

“I’m obviously really pleased with the support, it was fantastic once again, but I can only apologise to our fans because we’ve let them down, I don’t think we even had a shot on target.”