Celtic enjoyed a near-total domination of Kilmarnock as they booked their place in the next round of the Scottish Cup.
Brendan Rodgers‘ team beat Kille 2-1 in a game that wasn’t as tight as the scoreline suggests. Celtic could, and probably should, have had the game out of site in the first 30 minutes as the Bhoys battered Kilmarnock at Celtic Park.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda sealed the win but it was a moment of Reo Hatate frustration caught by Celtic’s Unique Angle at Hoops defender, Auston Trusty that grabbed out attention and it was a moment that will be understood by many fans.
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Why Reo Hatate was left frustrated by Celtic defender Auston Trusty vs Kilmarnock
Just before Celtic scored their first goal against Kilmarnock, Trusty’s passing across the back of the Hoops defence left Hatate really unhappy.
Have a watch of this:
Hatate makes a run, splitting the Killie defence but instead of playing the Japanese midfielder in, the US defender opts to play the ball back across the Celtic defence.
In the end, Trusty was correct as it was his start of the attacking phase of play that opened up the space for McGregor, but the Celtic defender’s class reaction afterwards spoke volumes.
Running to congratulate McGregor, you can see Trusty speak to Hatate on his way up to the Celtic captain and then speak to his teammate afterwards to, presumably, clear up any annoyance that Hatate may have had with his pass.
It was a great piece of leadership shown by the US defender who has come under some criticism at Celtic recently.
What Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said about Auston Trusty’s performance vs Kilmarnock
The Celtic manager was really pleased with Trusty’s performance in the Scottish Cup. The Northern Irishman could have taken the easy option and dropped the American for the game but instead, he showed faith and that faith was rewarded.
Rodgers said of the Celtic defender, “I will say, as I talked about Auston Trusty the other night, and then you see his response, I thought it was excellent today.
“Big, strong, powerful, and that’s what we expect from a Celtic centre-half.
“He’d realised himself. A lot of the time at Celtic, you may not have so much to do, especially at home. You’re there, and I always think that you get your chance to shine away from home, where you’ve got to stand up and be strong, and that’s your bread and butter.
“Then there’ll be times at home, like today, where you’ve got to stand up and be counted, and I thought he was brilliant at that.
“I spoke to him after the [Dundee] game, I spoke to him the next day. You draw a line under it, he knows exactly where he stands.
“These are men, these are men. They’re not little boys. You can talk openly and honestly to them, and that’s what every player will tell you.
“His response was excellent, he was good in training, so he had to train.
“You could see his focus, and that’s what I expect, because in the big games, the Leipzig, Atalanta, he’s been colossal in those games.”
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