The 3-1 win over Partick Thistle surely proved that Cristian Gamboa isn’t the answer to Celtic’s right-back crisis.
Goals from Leigh Griffiths, Moussa Dembele, and Tom Rogic ensured the Hoops strolled into the quarter-finals of the Betfred Cup. However, this was only after a real scare from the Championship side. Andrea Mbuyi Mutombi equalised with just 17 minutes remaining before Dembele and Rogic struck.
It was the latter two goals that also saw another player come into the spotlight. That player was Gamboa.
As he bombed forward down the right, the Costa Rican provided two terrific assists for goals number two and three. It was a far cry from watching Mikael Lustig struggle to get up and down the park. Supporters were then keen to embrace Gamboa as he saved the Hoops’ skin at Firhill.
However, Brendan Rodgers cannot now afford to be fooled by those two assists. Gamboa simply isn’t the answer at right-back.
For much of the match going forward, there wasn’t much to dislike about the former West Brom man. He got into some good positions, was always keen to cross, and generally looked a threat.
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Yet, when it came to his defending, it was a totally different story.
Mbuyi Mutombo was consistently giving the 28-year-old problems down the right. With is directness and power, Gamboa struggled to contain him for large spells.
The most disappointing aspect was some of the challenges the right-back was putting in. He clearly has the pace to recover when beaten. However, too often he was struggling to stand his ground against Championship opposition.
In the past, many have hounded Lustig over his incapability in the defensive aspects of the game. Gamboa shows those same deficiencies. The only difference between the pair is the latter’s attacking intent and pace bombing forward.
What Celtic need at the moment is a proven right-back. A player who can come in and defend first whilst helping out on the overlap. Gamboa does the latter, but not the former to any great extent.
Continuing to persist with the Costa Rica international would be the wrong move at a delicate stage in Rodgers’ Celtic career. There’s a feeling at the moment that the club are a result or two away from a crisis. However, they’re also a result or two away from everything being rosy in the garden again.
Gamboa remains a great option for games where Celtic will barely be threatened. Yet when he comes up against half defence attackers, the Hoops will be in trouble if they persist with him.
Much has been made of Celtic’s refusal to spend money, but for the club’s sake, a right-back remains a necessity after Gamboa’s dodgy defensive display.