Yuki Kobayashi gets the big Celtic thumbs up he needed

Yuki Kobayashi impressed the man he needed to most at Rugby Park on Sunday, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

With Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt building such a solid defensive partnership over the last two seasons, it’s exceptionally difficult for any central defenders to break into a starting eleven. When the chance comes along, it needs to be taken.

Kobayashi did exactly that in the 4-1 win over Kilmarnock, starting alongside Starfelt as the left-sided centre-back and showing why the club signed him in January.

Celtic v Greenock Morton - Scottish Cup Fourth Round — Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

The Japanese talent’s distribution was particularly impressive across the 90 minutes but he also stood up well to the challenge of Killie, who were physically robust in opposition and keen to exploit any Celtic errors at the back.

Postecoglou was pleased in the aftermath, telling reporters [Daily Record]: “I thought he was really good. It wasn’t easy to play on the surface and they were physical. It was good to get him 90 minutes but in all the games he’s played, he’s hardly put a foot wrong and he’s growing as a player.

“That’s always going to be the challenge. If it’s not Cameron or Carl it’ll be someone else. All good clubs won’t just have two good centre-halves. We want more in each position, challenging.”

Kobayashi making steady but sure progress at Celtic

Carter-Vickers is likely to come straight back into the team for next week’s match at home to Motherwell and I can’t see Postecoglou breaking up his pairing with Starfelt for the semi-final at Hampden.

Kobayashi may not even get another appearance under his belt this season, unless there is an injury or selection issue. Important then that he came through yesterday’s test impressively.

Match

Yuki Kobayashi gets the big Celtic thumbs up he needed

Kobayashi making steady but sure progress at Celtic