Welsh quick to show class at
Celtic’s young centre-half steals show, while there are many positives for visitors
CELTIC achieved back-to-back wins for the first time this year as they overcame a late scare to see off a game Motherwell side 2-1 at Celtic Park on Saturday.
Here are the main talking points from an afternoon that the champions made heavy weather of after a bright start…
STEPHEN WELSH MAY HAVE A BIG FUTURE
The young centre-half has not taken long to make an impression at Celtic, and he certainly did not hang around here when it came to making his mark.
A David Turnbull corner was curled in from the right with a minute-and-a-half on the clock, and the 21-year-old rose highest to head home his first goal in senior football.
It was the way he performed his bread-and-butter tasks at the other end though which earned him a deserved manof-the-match award, proving a commanding presence in his own box and showing composure on the ball.
He stood up to the physical questions being asked of him by Devante Cole in the Motherwell attack, and showed decent pace at times too when Christopher Long threatened to get in behind.
Given Celtic’s troubles at the back this season, Welsh may feel hard done by that this was just his eighth appearance of the campaign, but having now relegated Shane Duffy to the bench it is hard to see the Irishman displacing him.
“His all-round performance was superb, just the same as last Wednesday night at Kilmarnock,” team-mate Greg Taylor said. “It was difficult for him at the start of the season as it was for us all during that period. We lost a couple of games on the bounce and it was not easy for anyone within the squad.
“But Welshy acquitted himself well in those games and ever since he has come back into the side he has been a breath of fresh air.”
ODSONNE EDOUARD STILL FRUSTRATING, BUT SLOWLY CRANKING INTO GEAR
Celtic fans have been waiting all season for their star man to throw off the shackles and show the talent he undoubtedly possesses on a consistent basis, with flashes of brilliance sprinkled throughout some disappointing displays.
There was a fear early on it would be another underwhelming day from the Frenchman as he ran the ball up a cul-de-sac and lost possession, prompting manager Neil Lennon to turn away and loudly lament his forward’s tendency to turn into traffic.
He would spark into life in the second half though, playing a nice exchange at the edge of the Motherwell area and producing a fine finish to grab his fifth goal in four matches, suggesting that old consistency may be re-emerging.
“He works hard every single day and has that top quality in his play to go with it,” said his colleague, Taylor. “Odsonne has a personal pride in his performance and he puts it in every day, in training as well as games. That’s certainly all that I have seen from him.”
ALLAN CAMPBELL THE NEXT MOTHERWELL YOUNGSTER TO STEP UP?
Campbell has been quietly working away and improving his game over the last few years, letting others like close friend Turnbull hog the limelight. It is of little wonder though that he too is starting to attract attention.
Motherwell resisted a “significant” bid from Millwall to take him to the English Championship on transfer deadline day, but with his contract due to expire in the summer, the 22-year-old may indeed be moving on to pastures new soon.
It was his goal that unexpectedly made a contest of this match with a shade over 25 minutes remaining, as his deflected effort from the edge of the area bamboozled Scott Bain and flew into the net.
Suddenly, a hitherto passive Motherwell side were swarming forward and creating chances, with Campbell driving them forward from the midfield. So much so, they left Celtic Park feeling hard done by.
“We worked to the game plan well, kept Celtic going down the outside of us and they didn’t create too much,” Campbell said. “When we got the goal back to go 2-1 I thought we were going to get something from the game.
“We had a good few chances at the end, and all credit to the boys. We dug in and stuck together. It just wasn’t our day, but we can take a lot of positives from it.”
CELTIC STILL STRUGGLING WITH SET-PIECES
This point is still being raised after almost every Celtic match, which begs the question of whether it has been raised in training all season.