Ronaldo Nets Winner on Keano's Night
Legend
By Chris O'Brien
May 13 2006
A packed Old Trafford paid tribute to Roy Keane as Manchester United edged out Glasgow Celtic at Old Trafford. It was a memorable night for all involved as Cristiano Ronaldo netted the only goal of the game shortly after the interval.
Old Trafford paid tribute to Roy Keane on
Tuesday night as the Irishman enjoyed his testimonial match. 69,591 packed all
sides of the ground in what was a memorable occasion for all involved.
Results in such matches rarely matter, though this was a testimonial played
largely in a competitive spirit. Would Keano have wanted it any other way? A
lively Cristiano Ronaldo bagged the only goal of the game on 55 minutes as
United squeezed past Scottish champions Celtic with a 1-0 victory.
There was something of a partisan atmosphere at Old Trafford. Celtic lived up to
their reputation of superb travellers, packing the North Stand with an amazing
following of 25,000. Green & White hoops were also dotted all over the Stretford
End and Scoreboard End, swelling this figure yet further. The game broke all
national records for numbers at a testimonial match, with the £2million raised
set to be donated to various charities.
Keane appeared for both teams on the night. He was named amongst Gordon
Strachan’s starting XI, but also on the Red Devils bench. Celtic named a
first-choice line-up, with United fielding a strong XI, making four changes from
the side what hammered Charlton on Sunday. Tim Howard, set for Everton, Gerald
Pique, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic were all given the chance to impress with
both teams boasting a packed substitute bench.
Keano was warmly welcomed to the pitch with both sets of supporters uniting with a roaring cheer of "There’s Only One Keano". However, once all the emotion had died down, the game got into something of an explosive start. Ronaldo, man of the match on the night, was quickly into action. He tested Celtic 'keeper Boruc with two attempts and Rossi also looked a handful during the opening exchanges.
Celtic's best opportunity of the half came from a set-peice. Shaun Maloney sent a slow, curling effort around the United wall which an athletic Howard punched away. However, United were stronger of the two sides for the majority of the half. Not that it matters. Sir Alex made six half-time changes, with the biggest roar following the announcement that Keane, for the final time, had adorned his famous 16 jersey again and was taking to the Old Trafford turf as Manchester United skipper.
The intensity of the match had begun to dip as the second-half drew to a close, but United were boosted by the arrival of Keane and five other half-time substitutes. The former Nottingham Forest man even played a part in the game's only goal, combining with old friends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to send Ronaldo through on goal. The Portuguese international showed his keen eye-for-goal ahead of the World Cup by burying the chance which gave the hosts a deserved lead.
As the game wore on, the revolving door of
substitutions quickened and the mood of a testimonial begun to eclipse any sense
of a competitive game. Celtic went close to an equaliser, with ex-Red Devil Dion
Dublin fluffing a handful of opportunities.
Attendance – 69,951
Manchester United: Howard (van der Sar 46) , Pique (Neville 46), Vidic, Brown (Lee 75), Evra (Silvestre 46), Ronaldo (O’Shea 84) , Ferdinand (Keane 46), Giggs, Richardson (Campbell 75); Saha (Scholes 46), Rossi (Solskjaer 46).
Glasgow Celtic: Boruc; Telfer (Mulgrew 75), Varga, McManus, Wilson; Petrov (Quinn 84), Keane (Pearson 46), Lennon, Maloney (Thompson 46); Zurawski, Hartson (Dublin 46).
Substitutes not used: Camara, Virgo, Marshall, Wallace, Lawson.