Belper needed to target three points from this game as Celtic were coming off the back of a poor run, and when the hosts were reduced to 10 men on the half hour mark, the onus was on Lee Attenborough's men to press home the advantage.

Tom Jackson was called into action inside the first 60 seconds when he dived to save a shot from Djavan Pedro.

The Nailers’ first opportunity came in the 7th minute when Rio Molyneaux was brought down on the edge of the penalty area, however the free kick was easily cleared by the Celtic defenders.

Jerome Greaves, who arguably produced his best performance in this game headed a 12th minute corner wide, then the Nailers were denied a stone wall penalty on 29 minutes when Molyneaux was clearly pushed as he was about to pull the trigger with only the ‘keeper to beat.

The referee had a questionable 90+ minutes to say the least and managed to infuriate both sets of supporters with his decisions.

Pedro had already been booked for an earlier incident and when he lunged into Ben Middleton in the 30th minute, he was shown a second yellow and a subsequent red card and he trudged off to the dressing room.

Molyneaux had an effort blocked shortly afterwards and the same player was denied by a great stop from the ‘keeper on the stroke of half time.

Celtic’s goal threat had been minimal in the first half but as is so often the case the team with 10 men stepped up their work rate, and Belper’s task seemed to be that much harder.

The Nailers survived some anxious moments following a 53rd minute corner kick, however when they did get into promising positions they couldn’t make the most of them.

Charlie Reaney had a half chance on 63 minutes but delayed a fraction of a second too long and his effort was blocked, and when Molyneaux pulled a 69th minute cross from the bye line, the ball went straight to the ;keeper rather than to either of 2 Belper players waiting unmarked.

Belper’s endeavour was rewarded however in the 76th minute when Greaves jumped for a cross and when the ball fell to his feet he smartly hit the ball wide of the ‘keeper to send the Nailers ahead.

It should of course been the springboard to a comfortable Nailers win and a second double of the season but unfortunately that wasn’t how things panned out.

After having an effort ruled out for a foul on Jackson, Celtic levelled the scores when Ethan Padden headed home Theo Bailey-Jones’s cross in the 84th minute.

Belper tried to step up their work rate to find another goal and nearly did so when Tom Wilson’s header went agonisingly close on 87 minutes.

The introduction of Nyahwema on 61 minutes only began to bear fruit when he moved to the left side in the latter stages.

His ability to weave in and out and subsequently cause problems looked a possible route for a winning goal. An effort from the Brewers’ loanee stung the fingers of the Celtic custodian and more promising moves gave the Nailers hope of a victory.

Unfortunately, and has been often the case this season, the Nailers let it slip away from them deep into added on time.

The goal stemmed from a harsh free kick that the referee awarded just outside the penalty area, and although the ball was partially cleared, it was pounced on by Chris Dagnall who fired an angled shot into the far corner,

Delight for the Stalybridge fans but deja vu for the travelling Belper supporters who despite the effort put in by their team, could only despair at this latest defeat.

Stalybridge Celtic: Leach, Barlow, Summers, Harrison, Burns, Miller, Bailey-Jones, Abadaki, (Padden 66), Correia, Dagnall, Pedro. Unused subs: Henderson, Crouz, Omokua, Grewal.

Belper Town: Jackson, B. Middleton (Nyahwema 61), Algar, Reaney, Wilson, Jordan, Rhodes, Burrows, Greaves, Molyneux (Tague 86), Litchfield. Unused substitutes: Avery, Cotterill, Smith-Eccles

Attendance: 413

Referee: Francis Sibley.