Celtic ensured their progression to the last eight of the Scottish Cup on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 win over St. Mirren. It was a comfortable victory for The Bhoys who will take on Livingston in the quarter-finals.
Pre-match, there were a few surprises in terms of team selection. Kyogo started alongside Adam Idah up top while Luis Palma returned to the side. A few players kept their spots, one of those being centre-half Stephen Welsh.
The 24-year-old has now started Celtic’s previous two matches, gaining some consistency. In this duo of back-to-back clashes, Welsh has done himself proud.
He contributed towards a warranted clean sheet at St. Mirren and pre-match, the Scotland internationalist revealed what the back four say to each other going into games while also touching on his partnership with Liam Scales: “Me and Scalesy have got a good relationship on and off the pitch”, he said (Celtic FC on YouTube).
“Whoever plays in that back four is together.
“We speak before the game that the most important thing is to play well and keep a clean sheet. When we do that in this team we’ve got the quality up front to win the game.”
A Celtic academy product, every Hoops boss over the past few years seems to have seen something in Welsh. He signed a new contract with the champions until 2027 in August of last year as Rodgers displayed his faith in him.
At the centre of defence in the Celtic team, there is vast competition. When Cameron Carter-Vickers returns, Welsh could see himself dropped but at the minute, he is taking his opportunities ahead of Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke in his stride.
