Joe Hart's goalkeeping performance against Kilmarnock at Hampden showed he remains a man for the big moments, insists Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou.

Hart pulled off several big stops to ensure Celtic progressed to their sixth League Cup showpiece in seven years.

His manager was impressed by his heroics - but decidedly unsurprised that he came up trumps for him in Glasgow's south side.

He told BBC Sportsound: "We haven't needed Joe [Hart] a lot but that's the beauty of him, he's an experienced campaigner.

"In the big moments he's there and we needed him a couple of times today. Their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves, too. Both keepers played their part.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic player ratings from 2-0 League Cup win over Kilmarnock

"I am a lucky man, so maybe it filters through to the players as well."

Postecoglou was happy with his side's resilience amid a poor national stadium pitch and a Killie side that preferred spoiling tactics in a bid to upset Celtic's rhythm.

"Battling is performance," he added. "Performance is giving the best you can under the conditions that are presented to you. There was never any chance that was going to be an open game. It was going to be a game of mistakes, battles. Credit to this group, they don't shirk away from that either. If they need to roll their sleeves up, they just do it.

"Credit to Derek and his boys, they gave everything. It's a semi-final of a cup and that's what you expect. It was a battle today. Conditions made it tough, the pitch made it tough. Credit to my boys again, they always find a way irrespective of what the challenge is. They found a way again today."

Celtic Way:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features every day directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!