Welsh rookie Rhys gets Euro call

Apr 10 2008 by Paul Abbandonato, Western Mail

WELSH rookie goalkeeper Rhys Taylor could find himself plunged into the drama of Chelsea’s mouthwatering Champions League semi-final showdown with Liverpool.

The teenager will be thrown into the Chelsea squad for the big game because of the goalkeeping crisis facing Avram Grant.

Chelsea’s first-choice Petr Cech has been ruled out for the season following facial surgery, while back-up Carlo Cudicini is out for a month after tearing his hamstring.

That leaves Chelsea with Portuguese keeper Hilario and Welsh youngster Taylor as the only fit No 1s on their books.

Taylor regularly appears in Chelsea’s reserve team and will be ready for the big Liverpool challenge should things happen in threes and Hilario also finds himself struck by the Stamford Bridge goalkeeping curse.

Wales youth guru Brian Flynn, who picks Taylor for his Welsh U19 and U21 teams, said, “It’s staggering to think that young Rhys will suddenly be involved, in some capacity or other, in the biggest game played in Britain for some time.

“But he has the temperament, and ability, to handle the situation. Have no fear about that.

“Even if Hilario were suddenly to become injured too in the next couple of weeks, and Rhys was plunged in from the start by Chelsea, he would be OK.

“This is a young man with a top future in the game and, the bigger the stage, the better he will play.”

Taylor, from Baglan, near Swansea, was wanted by a number of top Premiership clubs, before determining Chelsea was where his future should be.

Flynn has known about him since he was 12 years of age and recently put him into the Welsh U21 squad, who are on the brink of topping their European Championship qualifying group.

“Rhys has always played in teams through the age grades two years ahead of his time, so he is not exactly unused to football challenges,” said Flynn.

“He only turned 18 years old this week, but he has become an important figure in our U21 squad.

“When he was 12, he was playing with 14-year-olds. And so on and so on.

“He is obviously behind Wayne Hennessey in terms of the U21s, but Wayne is a couple of years older anyway.

“I will say right here that, over time, Wayne and Rhys will have a right ding-dong battle for the senior Welsh goalkeeping jersey.

“These are two hugely talented individuals who will play right at the top, and for many years to come.

“I can’t recall Wales having two such talented goalkeepers at any one point before.

“If you think about it, Paul Jones held own the job for many years, with no real competition for his jersey.

“Prior to that, Neville Southall was undisputed No 1 for 15 years.

“Wayne has already made the big breakthrough at senior level and looks to have the position sewn up.

“But in time Rhys will come through to challenge, and it could be sooner than we think.

“Particularly, of course, if he suddenly finds himself part of the Chelsea set-up in such a big game as the Liverpool one.

“I repeat, though, Rhys won’t be the slightest bit overawed at anything that may be thrown his way.

“He already trains day in day out with the big names at Chelsea, like Lampard, Terry, Ballack and the rest.

“And, believe this or not, he is picked ahead of Cudicini and Hilario for the Chelsea reserve team.”

Chelsea’s Champions League problems were compounded by the hamstring problem which forced Cudicini to leave the pitch during Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Fenerbache.

He is likely to be out of action for up to a month and with first-choice Cech having had 50 stitches inserted in a facial wound, it leaves Hilario as Chelsea’s only experienced keeper.

“The goalkeeping situation hasn’t helped, but we will cope,” insisted Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

The England man warned revenge could be a dangerous emotion as Chelsea seek to banish the agony of their two Champions League semi-final defeats to Liverpool.

“The last two times we played we got knocked out, but that will have no bearing on this semi-final,” added Lampard.

“To go into a game with revenge in your thoughts is not the right emotion to take into a game.

“Champions League is very much about keeping your head and concentrating for the whole 90 minutes in two legs. I don’t think it is about revenge, it is about the golden carrot of getting to the final.”