Zech Medley made his debut for Kilmarnock on Saturday, earning praise from his manager and the media despite their defeat.

Arsenal youth defender Zech Medley moved to Kilmarnock on transfer deadline day, making the bench the next day as they lost to Celtic. The centre-back then got a chance in the starting lineup against St. Mirren on Saturday.

Kilmarnock’s caretaker manager James Fowler praised Medley’s performance, despite the side losing 2-0.

“I thought Zech Medley did well on his full debut,” Fowler said. “He has only come in and trained for a few days, but he showed he is a decent player. He will benefit from that 90 minutes.”

The Scottish Sun gave Medley a rating of 7, the highest on the Kilmarnock team, adding that he “looks a good addition and had a decent debut”.

Some of the fans also seemed happy with the player despite the circumstances, with one tweeting Medley was the “only positive from today”.

Another added, “First full game and didn’t look out of place..could’ve done better with possession but he wasn’t the worst by a country mile”.

The 20-year-old made five clearances, one interception, and created a chance at the other end. As mentioned, he perhaps could look to improve in possession, completing 31 of 47 attempted passes, but hopefully, that’ll come as he adjusts to his teammates.

Kilmarnock have a couple of injuries at the back at the moment, so Medley is likely to get plenty more chances in the coming weeks.