Joe Hart: The Celtic number one pulled off a decent diving save to his right from Rory Mckenzie in the sixth minute and then clawed away a Joe Wright header just after the Hoops had taken the lead. His heart would have been in his mouth when Daniel Armstrong crashed a drive into the side netting and then he pulled off a fine reflex save from Christian Doidge. 8

Josip Juranovic: Ange Postecoglou made a big pre-game call as he drafted in the Croatian international at the expense of Alistair Johnston. Juranovic has been the subject of increased speculation that he will quit the club this month. His distribution at times left a lot to be desired. He cracked an effort wide of the post as Celtic went in search of a killer second. 6

Cameron Carter-Vickers: A rock. Rarely puts a foot wrong at the back of the pack and like his defensive partner was allowed lots of space to maraud into whenever he ambled forward. The American is enjoying a rich vein of form for his club and is as safe as houses. He didn't get out of second gear the whole game and strolled it in the rain. 8

Carl Starfelt: Had the freedom of Hampden to exploit whenever he roamed forward. However, he casually gifted the ball to Kyle Lafferty at one point and was lucky to see the striker float an attempt high over the top. The Swede is an accomplished defender but is prone to these lapses in concentration. Another who earned the wrath of his skipper for his failure to play a pass to Jota when he was clearly in space. 7

Alexandro Bernabei: Got done three times by Daniel Armstrong inside the opening quarter of an hour as Killie targeted him as a potential weak link. For all the good he did in the final third it was his defensive chores that he needs to brush up on. He even copped a rollicking from his captain at one stage for putting Reo Hatate under pressure with a poor pass. 6

Callum McGregor: "When the cup competitions come around, you’ve got that desire to win. I don’t think that will ever change in me personally and you’re always hungry for the next one and that’s the ambition of the group," the words of the skipper in the lead-up to this Hampden clash. The captain wasn't short in letting his teammates know when they were slacking and he had choice words with Bernabei and Starfelt in the first half. He was a calm and reassuring presence at all times and what a run he embarked upon near the end as he single-handedly took on the Kilmarnock defence. 8

READ MORE: Callum McGregor's Celtic League Cup rallying cry

Reo Hatate: The Japanese midfielder was denied a crucial second goal four minutes into the second half when he lashed home from eight yards but was denied by VAR. He screwed an effort wide soon after when he ought to have done better but was involved lots more after the break. 7

Aaron Mooy: Postecoglou turned to his compatriot once again in favour of Matt O'Riley as the Aussie made his first Hampden appearance in the Hoops. He showed real composure in the engine room and it was his free-kick into the penalty area that led to Celtic opening the scoring. 7

Jota: The Portuguese winger had a fairly quiet opening 45 minutes but his influence started to grow as the half wore on. He switched wings after the break and then started to have a greater impact on proceedings before making way for Liel Abada. 6

Celtic Way:

Kyogo Furuhashi: Celtic's talismanic striker cut a forlorn figure in attack in the first half and seemed to struggle to adapt to the conditions as he lost his footing many times. However, his pass to his compatriot who thought he had scored a second was absolutely sublime only for VAR to intervene once again when he was harshly flagged for offside. 6

Daizen Maeda: He didn't know much about it but he was in where it hurt and it mattered to divert Kyle Lafferty's wayward attempt at a clearance into the net with his chest. The Japanese winger took his tally to seven for the season and three in three games as his red-hot streak of goalscoring form continued. 8

Substitutes

Liel Abada (Jota 74): The Israeli wide man was handed the last 15 minutes to conjure up a killer second.

Giorgos Giakoumakis (Kyogo 74): His future may lie elsewhere but his manager gave him the opportunity to be a Hampden hero and he delivered with the clinching goal. Is that his final act and farewell?

Matt O'Riley (Hatate 74): He entered the fray still searching for his first goal of the season with the match still poised on a knife edge.

James Forrest (Maeda 81): Last season's League Cup semi-final match winner was given a nine-minute run-out.

David Turnbull (Mooy 90): Injury-time substitution as he made his 100th appearance for the club.

Substitutes not used: Scott Bain, Alistair Johnston, Moritz Jenz, Yuki Kobayashi.