Celtic’s Greg Taylor bags another assist for Scotland vs Kazakhstan

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Celtic defender Greg Taylor’s performance against Kazakhstan last night should leave him feeling proud.

The Hoops outcast, who’s only played once for Celtic this season, bagged a second assist in two games for Scotland. He’s played more football over this international break than he has done with Celtic all season.

Taylor continues to be back-up to both Boli Bolingoli and Jonny Hayes. However, once again, he was in fine form for his country as he showed exactly what he can do.

After setting up John McGinn to score the winner against Cyprus, Taylor did the exact same at Hampden. A lovely give and go between himself and John Fleck saw him dart free down the left. His pinpoint cross only needed a touch as McGinn slotted home again. The assist came in the closing stages of the game too.

But that’s not all Taylor contributed with in the contest. Some of the combination play with James Forrest was interesting to watch from a Celtic perspective. He always seemed to know how to find himself some space on the overlap.

As well as all of the good stuff, however, he was caught out of position on a couple of occasions as the Kazakhs countered. It’s clear that Taylor’s attacking tendencies can at times leave his team a little vulnerable at the back.

Point has been proved

Going into this break, Taylor seriously had a point to prove to Neil Lennon. He’s already stated himself that he’s hoping his international form can lead to more Celtic opportunities (BBC).

He proved against both Cyprus and Kazakhstan that he’s more than able to feature for Celtic, particularly domestically. Lennon shouldn’t have any fears about throwing him in against anyone in Scotland.

He’s done all he can over the course of this international break. Things couldn’t have worked out better for him with two wins under his belt and two assists to go with them.

However, at the same time, you would also expect Boli to be the number one left-back when we resume domestic action. Hayes, meanwhile, continues to be our most used substitute this season.

Taylor will hopefully get his opportunities in the hectic festive schedule. With so many games coming up, the squad will need to be used.

The former Killie defender can return to Parkhead satisfied that he gave everything he could over the last week. We’ll now see just how impressed with him Lenny was.