Two-goal veteran Trevor Matthewson and Chris Hargreaves helped extend the Bulls' unbeaten run to 11 games and keep them on target for a top three finish.

But it was not until the dying seconds that man of the match Matthewson clinched victory.

Hereford broke the deadlock when Hargreaves latched onto a ball from Gavin Williams before chipping past Neil Cutler from 12 yards.

But Celtic equalised with a soft goal from Dean Martin. Lee Trundle swept it into the Hereford goalmouth but Matthewson and John Brough both failed to clear in the mud and Martin slipped in to slide past Andy Quy.

Following the equaliser Hereford piled on the pressure, Hargreaves and Brian McGorry forcing saves from Cutler. But it was Stalybridge who took the lead when Trundle fed winger Chris Dolby who fired past Quy.

Matthewson levelled it off his knee though before clinching victory on the stoke of time from McGorry's corner.

And he admitted: "We showed character to come back after giving away two sloppy goals."

"Everything was against us," reckoned the 35-year-old former Blues defender. "The weather was appalling and the pitch was the worst I've played on in 18 years of football."

Match Report: The Birmingham Post: 06/04/1998