Celtic defender Stephen Welsh had a day to remember on Sunday, with the 20-year-old making his first senior appearance for the Hoops as they came from behind to defeat Hamilton 4-1.
The youngster had been out on loan at Greenock Morton for the first half of the season before being recalled by his parent club last month and he was brought into the team by Neil Lennon for the trip to at New Douglas Park with Jozo Simunovic, Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed all unavailable.
Welsh played for 76 minutes on his senior Celtic debut before making way for Tom Rogic as Lennon sought to add more attacking impetus to his team with the sides level at 1-1 at the time before a late flurry of goals. The young centre-back took to Twitter after the game to celebrate his “unforgettable day” [via @stephen_welsh17].
https://twitter.com/stephen_welsh17/status/1224008593088876545?s=21
David Walton of 67hailhail.com was among the reporters commending his performance afterwards, saying that his “distribution from the back was on point and he didn’t look out of place”, while Kade Kistner of thecelticbhoys.com felt that he “looked comfortable filling out the back line” and believes that he “will be a key piece moving forward” for Celtic.
These Hoops fans took to Twitter to congratulate Welsh on his debut performance for the club:
Played superb pal…no airs or graces..just a solid performance..🍀..keep humble, and working hard..🍀Well done…HAIL HAIL..💚
— 🍀 James (A Feel Good) Broonie🍀 (@Jdoc74Jim) February 2, 2020
I’ll be honest mate, as a ST holder I wasn’t even sure who you were when you were announced. You were one I the best players on the park today, an absolute joy to watch. Will be following you closely from now on, good effort lad
— Jon boy (@jonnyablett91) February 2, 2020
Excellent debut. Nothing better than seeing one of our own come in and do well. Top marks.
— CG44 (@Ticketustastic) February 2, 2020
Never looked out of place
— Anthony Harris 🇮🇱🍀🏌️⚽ (@harrisanthonys) February 2, 2020
Outstanding debut 👏👏 easily our best defender today
— Anton Plott (@AntonPlott) February 2, 2020
Played well son, I expect you’ll be making a few more appearances this season
— James 🍀 (@JREN1967) February 2, 2020
Didn’t put a foot wrong👍
Passing accuracy was about the 100% mark 👌
Good debut onwards and upwards
— chivs (@CHIVS105) February 2, 2020
Superb today. Composed and kept it simple 👏
— Brother Celtic (@BrotherCeltic) February 2, 2020
How impressed were you by Welsh against Hamilton? Can you see him getting a few more games for Celtic’s first team this season? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!
