Celtic loanee Kwon Hyeok-kyu made his Scottish football bow on Saturday afternoon. Indeed, the South Korean midfielder started, and played the full ninety, in St. Mirren’s 1-0 win over Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup.

For the Buddies, the 22-year-old stood out in the engine room. He remained calm yet gritty, failing to put a foot wrong. His performance even saw him be named Man of the Match by the BBC.

Such a display surprised many Celtic supporters, given that Kwon has yet to make his senior debut for the club. Brought in from Busan I’Park in the South Korean second tier last summer, the imposing midfielder was limited to just one friendly appearance for the Hoops’ first team before being sent to Paisley.

So far at the SMISA Stadium, things have gone well for Kwon. There is still a hell of a long way to go, but manager Stephen Robinson seemed rather pleased with his debut on Saturday: “I was surprised he (Kwon) was able to play the whole game but he showed in glimpses that he has a lot of talent”, he said (Football Scotland).

“He and Caolan Boyd-Munce dominated the game. I thought Kwon might last for an hour but he was running the game without doing a lot of running.

“I’m delighted for him.”