Stephen Welsh suffers awkward KV Mechelen fate on loan stint as he comes up against ex-Celtic teammate

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Stephen Welsh has been looking for regular game time this season.

The Celtic defender has struggled to see off the likes of Auston Trusty, Cameron Carter-Vickers or even Liam Scales at the back and that prompted the player to seek a loan switch elsewhere.

Brendan Rodgers remains a fan of Welsh but acknowledged that he needs to be playing more often than he could offer at Parkhead.

So Welsh made the move to KV Mechelen in the Belgian Pro League in a switch that has been months in the making albeit without a purchase clause.

Mechelen’s sporting director was delighted to get Welsh in the door and sees him as a strong option at centre-back for the remainder of the campaign.

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Stephen Welsh was hooked at half-time vs Genk

However, the 25-year-old will be praying his time with his new loan club will improve after a stumbling start to life over there.

Welsh’s first appearance came as he played a full 90 minutes in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Cercle Brugge last week.

No major embarrassment, Brugge sit second in the division.

The problem came yesterday evening when Welsh came up against a former Celtic pal and his league leaders.

Hyeongyu Oh started up front for Genk as they took on Welsh’s Mechelen and it did not go particularly well for the defender.

Hyeongyu Oh played directly against his ex-Celtic teammate

It started brightly and they did take the lead through Benito Raman inside eight minutes.

But two nightmare defensive lapses at the back for Mechelen allowed, firstly, a leveller from Konstantinos Karetsas and then what would ultimately prove to be the winner from Zakaria El Ouahdi inside 25 minutes.

That is where things, unfortunately, took a turn for Welsh and the Celtic man did not re-emerge from the tunnel for the second-half as manager Besnik Hasi opted to leave the former Scotland under-21s captain in the changing room.

It will have been a source of frustration for Welsh but given the pressures he’s used to playing under for Celtic, we’re convinced he can make things right and have a successful Belgian stint.