Celtic took the lead before the half hour mark after Joe Willock was penalised for a foul inside the penalty area. Arne Engels stepped up and sent Nick Pope the wrong way to make it 1-0 to the hosts. A Pope error then made it 2-0 as Johnny Kenny stroke the ball into an empty net just before half-time.

Newcastle fell behind in the 27th minute when Willock conceded a penalty. Arne Engels stepped up to send Pope the wrong way. Pope was then at fault as Johnny Kenny made it 2-0 on

The damage was done in the first half as the Hoops stormed into a 2-0 lead before the break thanks to Arne Engels' penalty and a gift-wrapped strike from Johnny Kenny. Both came as a result of Newcastle's charitable defending after Willock took down Kenny for the penalty and Nick Pope ran out and made a hash of a routine clearance.