‘Will be an international player’: Portsmouth rising star continues to soar against Scottish champions Celtic
The Pompey academy graduate stood in the way of Scottish giants Celtic last night - and rose to the occasion in the SPL on a big night in his young career.
Toby Steward’s standing as a keeper of real promise continues to grow after his man-of-the-match performance against Scottish champions Celtic.
The Pompey starlet delivered a standout showing for St Johnstone last night, as the plucky SPL new boys went down to a 1-0 reverse to Martin O’Neill’s men at McDiarmid Park.
Accolades for Pompey keeper as he shines against Celtic
Steward made a string of impressive stops which frustrated the visitors and earned him plaudits from supporters, TV viewers and Sky Sports co-commentator Chris Sutton.
It was a big night in the 21-year-old’s young career with Steward rising to the occasion, as he continues to develop his reputation north of the border.
The former Henry Cort Community College pupil came to the fore in the fifth minute as he kept out Haissem Hassan’s drive, though the effort could’ve been going just wide.
There was little Steward could do about the only goal of the game from Mika Baur in the 52nd minute, but the academy graduate then came to the fore in the final quarter of the game with a succession of stops.
A full-length dive to his right in the 71st minute kept out Hassan’s effort, before Kasper Høgh was left with his head in his hands as Steward saved with his feet seven minutes from time.
Benjamin Nygren’s header was kept out moments later, before Shumaira Mheuka was denied in stoppage time - the ‘best save of the lot’ according to Sky pundit Sutton.
His performance saw Steward named St Johnstone’s man of the match and adds to the plaudits he’s received, after helping the Perth outfit to the Championship title last term.
The Saints fans were quick to heap praise on their loanee for this latest standout showing after the game.
‘Toby was absolutely immense,’ said Colin Douglas with Alan Stewart adding: ‘He was outstanding tonight. Can he play for Scotland by any chance?’
‘I think Toby is just great,’ added Maggie Anderson. ‘He’s still a young lad, but I’m sure one day he will be an international player. Well deserved man of the match.’
‘He’s a quality keeper,’ said Jim Ridland. ‘Hopefully we’ll hold on to him for a couple more years.’
Despite his relatively tender years, Steward has now clocked up 52 senior appearances for St Johnstone with six SPL outings arriving this term.
Speaking of his return to link up with Simo Valakari’s side last month, the keeper explained that’s the kind of progress he was looking for in his career after signing a three-year Pompey deal this summer.
Steward told the BBC: 'Obviously for me it's a good step up in terms of the league and just to be back around this place.
'I loved it last season, we had a great season and I'm just happy to be around the same people that I had such a good time with.
'It really was a special night (winning the Scottish Championship title) just to top it all off, seeing the fans out there, lifting the trophy and everybody there having a great time, it just made everything worth it.
'Last year there was an expectation that we would get promoted and this season a whole new league, better opponents, better opposition, it is a different sort of pressure because now it's about what is the success for us this year. It's first of all staying up and then further from that how high can we go.
'So, it's a different sort of pressure and for me I'm looking forward to it, I'm obviously playing against big teams and hopefully we can do well.
'I think as footballers that's what we look forward to and that's what I've wanted to do is play against big opposition in front of big crowds on the biggest stages as possible, so yeah I'm looking forward to it.'