Phunya Sele Sele coach John Maduka made wholesale alterations to his starting lineup for this clash.
First-choice players – the likes of Ndumiso Mabena, Tebogo Potsane and Victor Letsoalo – dropped out of the matchday squad completely with only Lucky Baloyi retained from the 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs.
Ronald Pfumbidzai returned from suspension, while the ever-reliable Sipho Chaine also took the place of Jackson Mabokgwane in goal.
Celtic scraped through to the the first round of the CAF Confederation Cup with a rather fortuitous penalty shootout victory over Congolese side Maniema Union.
And now their chances of advancing to the second round have been dealt a blow after going down to the Dolphins, who scored in the 70th and 80th minutes to grab victory.
The Free State outfit will now look to overturn a two-goal deficit when they travel to Nigeria for the second leg on 6 January 2021.