Post by Taxigirl on May 13, 2006 10:10:16 GMT
www.celticfc.net/newsroom/news.aspx?id='2006-05-10_0141gk'
Roy Keane Testimonial
Tuesday May 9 2006
Old Trafford, Manchester
MANCHESTER UNITED…1
(Ronaldo 55)
CELTIC… 0
IT WAS a fitting tribute to one of the modern game’s greatest talents, celebrated by the 65,691 supporters who undoubtedly appreciated him most.
The attendance at Roy Keane’s testimonial match on Tuesday May 8 set a new Old Trafford record and the constant noise and support that rang out from both the Manchester United and Celtic supporters created an unforgettable atmosphere.
An official figure of 25,000 Celtic supporters made up that number, the Hoops almost covered Manchester city centre throughout the day and it is sometimes events such as these that show the true passion and size of the football club.
The match in itself was a largely forgettable contest, ending in a 1-0 win for the home side. It did however serve up a number of thrills in the first half and the testimonial man was himself to play a match-winning role.
Keane started the game in Celtic colours, walking out to a guard of honour comprising of his current and former team mates, both of whom were to set a surprising pace in the first 45 minutes.
It is worth bearing in mind that both sides had finished their respective league campaigns just over 48 hours earlier, although there was little sign of tiredness in the legs of Luis Saha as he took advantage of a slack pass by Stilian Petrov, jinked past Stan Varga into the box and fired his shot straight at Artur Boruc.
This trend continued with Ryan Giggs squandering a chance and then teenage striker Giuseppe Rossi forcing a good save from Celtic’s Polish stopper, all in the opening ten minutes.
Boruc’s compatriot Maciej Zurawski had fired in Celtic’s only real attempt from distance until the 16th minute, when Shaun Maloney curled in a free-kick from the left that was batted away at full-stretch by Tim Howard.
Three minutes later Roy Keane, to the delight of all four stands, fired in a long-range effort that sailed over the crossbar and by this stage Celtic had found their rhythm and were creating opportunities of their own.
The next came in the 26th minute, with Keane threading through a ball for Zurawski, that was perhaps just a yard too quick for the striker and he was denied by the onrushing Howard.
As half-time approached play eventually began to lull and in the remaining ten minutes the home side enjoyed the two best chances. First Boruc spilled a Giggs shot in front of goal and then a beautifully disguised pass from Ronaldo putting through Richardson who slipped, but still found Giggs at the back post who fired wide from an acute angle.
Given the energy that was expended in the first half, both managers made a number of changes during the interval, the most prominent of which was the swapping sides of Roy Keane.
The Celtic midfielder emerged to another roar from both the home and away supporters, this time sporting the familiar red of United and his influence was almost immediate as he put through Cristiano Ronaldo for what was the goal of the game.
It was a beautifully weighted pass through the middle from Keane, almost identical to the one played in the first half to put through Zurawski, only Ronaldo got to the ball and stroked it past Boruc from 15 yards.
In the lead-up to the goal Ronaldo had enjoyed another chance, with his close-range volley well-saved by Boruc and later he was denied what appeared to be denied a fair shout for a penalty, after colliding with Mark Wilson.
At the opposite end, with 24 minutes remaining in the game, Dion Dublin came close to levelling the score against his former club, but saw his header from an Alan Thompson cross touched on to the crossbar by Edwin van der Sar.
Dublin enjoyed another opportunity after Stephen Pearson had shown great determination to break beyond Gary Neville and cut his pass back from the byline to the big striker’s feet. But the 36 year-old leaned back and sclaffed his shot well wide of target and so ended Celtic’s last real chance of the game.
Dublin did however make amends in the final minute of the match, popping up on the Celtic goal line with 40 seconds to spare to clear a goalbound Gary Neville shot, after the defender had been teed-up by Keane.
The score after 90 minutes stood at 1-0 to United and afterwards, as the chant of ‘there’s only one Keano’ rang out around the stadium, the man of the evening thanked the supporters for a night that he said he would remember for the rest of his life.
WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Roy Keane
MAN UTD (4-4-2) Howard (Van der Sar 46); Brown (Lee 74), Vidic, Ferdinand (Keane 46), Evra (Neville 46); Ronaldo (O’Shea 85), Giggs, Pique (Silvestre 46), Richardson (Campbell 74); Rossi (Solksjaer 46), Saha (Scholes 46).
CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Telfer (Mulgrew 74), Varga, McManus, Wilson; Petrov (Quinn 84), Keane (Pearson 46), Lennon, Maloney (Thompson 46); Zurawski, Hartson (Dublin 46).
Subs: Marshall, Camara, Virgo, Wallace, Lawson.
Roy Keane Testimonial
Tuesday May 9 2006
Old Trafford, Manchester
MANCHESTER UNITED…1
(Ronaldo 55)
CELTIC… 0
IT WAS a fitting tribute to one of the modern game’s greatest talents, celebrated by the 65,691 supporters who undoubtedly appreciated him most.
The attendance at Roy Keane’s testimonial match on Tuesday May 8 set a new Old Trafford record and the constant noise and support that rang out from both the Manchester United and Celtic supporters created an unforgettable atmosphere.
An official figure of 25,000 Celtic supporters made up that number, the Hoops almost covered Manchester city centre throughout the day and it is sometimes events such as these that show the true passion and size of the football club.
The match in itself was a largely forgettable contest, ending in a 1-0 win for the home side. It did however serve up a number of thrills in the first half and the testimonial man was himself to play a match-winning role.
Keane started the game in Celtic colours, walking out to a guard of honour comprising of his current and former team mates, both of whom were to set a surprising pace in the first 45 minutes.
It is worth bearing in mind that both sides had finished their respective league campaigns just over 48 hours earlier, although there was little sign of tiredness in the legs of Luis Saha as he took advantage of a slack pass by Stilian Petrov, jinked past Stan Varga into the box and fired his shot straight at Artur Boruc.
This trend continued with Ryan Giggs squandering a chance and then teenage striker Giuseppe Rossi forcing a good save from Celtic’s Polish stopper, all in the opening ten minutes.
Boruc’s compatriot Maciej Zurawski had fired in Celtic’s only real attempt from distance until the 16th minute, when Shaun Maloney curled in a free-kick from the left that was batted away at full-stretch by Tim Howard.
Three minutes later Roy Keane, to the delight of all four stands, fired in a long-range effort that sailed over the crossbar and by this stage Celtic had found their rhythm and were creating opportunities of their own.
The next came in the 26th minute, with Keane threading through a ball for Zurawski, that was perhaps just a yard too quick for the striker and he was denied by the onrushing Howard.
As half-time approached play eventually began to lull and in the remaining ten minutes the home side enjoyed the two best chances. First Boruc spilled a Giggs shot in front of goal and then a beautifully disguised pass from Ronaldo putting through Richardson who slipped, but still found Giggs at the back post who fired wide from an acute angle.
Given the energy that was expended in the first half, both managers made a number of changes during the interval, the most prominent of which was the swapping sides of Roy Keane.
The Celtic midfielder emerged to another roar from both the home and away supporters, this time sporting the familiar red of United and his influence was almost immediate as he put through Cristiano Ronaldo for what was the goal of the game.
It was a beautifully weighted pass through the middle from Keane, almost identical to the one played in the first half to put through Zurawski, only Ronaldo got to the ball and stroked it past Boruc from 15 yards.
In the lead-up to the goal Ronaldo had enjoyed another chance, with his close-range volley well-saved by Boruc and later he was denied what appeared to be denied a fair shout for a penalty, after colliding with Mark Wilson.
At the opposite end, with 24 minutes remaining in the game, Dion Dublin came close to levelling the score against his former club, but saw his header from an Alan Thompson cross touched on to the crossbar by Edwin van der Sar.
Dublin enjoyed another opportunity after Stephen Pearson had shown great determination to break beyond Gary Neville and cut his pass back from the byline to the big striker’s feet. But the 36 year-old leaned back and sclaffed his shot well wide of target and so ended Celtic’s last real chance of the game.
Dublin did however make amends in the final minute of the match, popping up on the Celtic goal line with 40 seconds to spare to clear a goalbound Gary Neville shot, after the defender had been teed-up by Keane.
The score after 90 minutes stood at 1-0 to United and afterwards, as the chant of ‘there’s only one Keano’ rang out around the stadium, the man of the evening thanked the supporters for a night that he said he would remember for the rest of his life.
WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Roy Keane
MAN UTD (4-4-2) Howard (Van der Sar 46); Brown (Lee 74), Vidic, Ferdinand (Keane 46), Evra (Neville 46); Ronaldo (O’Shea 85), Giggs, Pique (Silvestre 46), Richardson (Campbell 74); Rossi (Solksjaer 46), Saha (Scholes 46).
CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Telfer (Mulgrew 74), Varga, McManus, Wilson; Petrov (Quinn 84), Keane (Pearson 46), Lennon, Maloney (Thompson 46); Zurawski, Hartson (Dublin 46).
Subs: Marshall, Camara, Virgo, Wallace, Lawson.