James Chester winced as he recalled the first time he came up against Eden Hazard but the Wales defender is confident the lessons he learned from that chastening experience at Stamford Bridge almost two years ago will ensure he is much better equipped to deal with Belgium’s most influential player in Click & Close Ads
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Cardiff on Friday.
The Hull City defender has faced Hazard on three occasions since that opening game of the 2013-14 Premier League season and has taken heart from the way he has handled the PFA Footballer of the Year, in particular during a backs-to-the-wall performance for Wales in Brussels in November, when Chris Coleman’s side came away with a credible 0-0 draw.
Chester is hoping he can reproduce more of the same in a return fixture that has captured the imagination of the Welsh nation. With the mood in the country buoyant after Wales won 3-0 in Israel in March to maintain their unbeaten record in this Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, there will be a 33,500 sell-out crowd inside Cardiff City Stadium to see the top two teams in Group B go head to head. It is also an occasion that, with two of the most talented individuals in world football on show, will be billed as Gareth Bale versus Hazard.Click & Close Ads
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“They are two players on either side who can win a game,” said Chester. “I’ve not come up against Gareth in a match but Hazard gave me my toughest 90 minutes on a pitch in my first season in the Premier League. It opened up my eyes to the ability the top players have. He could hurt you anyway he wanted really and it opened my eyes that I needed to improve and dedicate myself to the game fully. I am pretty sure he would be doing that and I knew I would have to work even harder to improve myself and compete against the players at that level.
“Since then, I’ve felt that when I have come up against him I’ve handled him better than I did the first time. We know we will have to be at the top of our game to keep him quiet because he’s such a great talent.
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Chester, who was born in Warrington but qualifies for Wales through his mother, was asked what it was about facing Hazard that made him realise he had to go away and work on his game. “Just how difficult it was to try and stop him,” he said. “The manager [Steve Bruce] wanted me to show him down the line but I knew he was quick enough that if I did that he would just run past me! So it was a difficult learning curve but I needed to experience it to improve.”
Chester was forced to watch the hugely impressive victory in Israel from home after undergoing surgery on a dislocated shoulder, and his return to fitness at the end of a season in which he was relegated with Hull represents a major boost for Wales. With Tottenham Hotspur’s Ben Davies and West Ham United’s James Collins injured, Chester is certain to start alongside Ashley Williams in what will almost certainly be a flat back four and not the five-man defence Wales employed in Israel.
It promises to be a demanding night for a man who won his first international cap only 12 months ago. “They have got talented individuals but we showed out in Belgium that we can cope,” Chester said. “We defended for long periods and we kept a clean sheet, which I thought we deserved on the night. If we do that again then we have players who can win the game. We believe there are areas where we can hurt them.”
So much, as ever, will rest on Bale’s shoulders. The Real Madrid forward has scored six in his past six games for his country and overtook the great John Charles when he struck twice in Israel to take his tally to 16 in 49 internationals. Chester, however, has been just as impressed with the way Bale conducts himself off the field.
“He’s down-to-earth, even with all the success he has had,” Chester said. “What has surprised me the most is when we have meetings and he’s always sat at the front offering his advice, and experiences that he has had playing at the top level. What he is achieving is fully deserved.
“His ability is frightening but it’s not happened by accident. If you watch him on the training pitch he is always working hard and trying to get better.Click & Close Ads
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Friday, June 19, 2015
