A Celtic B side featuring a few first-team members headed to Somerset Park on Sunday afternoon to take on Ayr United. The match was a testimonial for club legend Michael Moffat.
It ended in a 1-1 draw, with Scotland under-18 international Corey Thomson scoring a late equaliser for the visitors. Rocco Vata and Mikey Johnston played out wide, whilst Kwon got the nod in midfield.
At the heart of the defence, Yuki Kobayashi and new signing from Australia Liam Bonetig were solid, but perhaps the most intriguing news about the lineup was regarding Marco Tilio.
Fans have been eager to see the 22-year-old in action since he joined in the summer from Melbourne City, but injury has hampered him. He played in this game, but not where one would expect him to do so.
Predominantly a winger, Tilio turned out in the centre of midfield. For the first team, he will in all likelihood not play there and was only doing so to allow the likes of Johnston and Vata to get minutes in their wide positions.
In the coming weeks, the Australian internationalist will be eager to break into Brendan Rodgers’ side. One wonders whether or not he will continue to build up fitness with the B team, who play the University of Stirling this Saturday, or immediately join up with the senior squad for their clash with Motherwell.
Is he not too old to play for the B team in the Lowland League?
It was a testimonial for Celtic-daft Michael Moffat, Ayr United veteran. 650+ watched it beside me. Decent performances from fringe squad players. There’s potential there.