‘Legends for Liam’ lives up to its star billing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh
The match programme was titled ‘Legends for Liam’ and the billing certainly wasn’t misleading as some of the most famous sons of Manchester United, Glasgow Celtic, and Irish football came out of retirement to honour the memory of Liam Miller.
But it was also, and of no less importance, ‘People for Liam’ day, Páirc Uí Chaoimh packing in 42,878 who came from all over Cork, Ireland, and much further afield to celebrate a man and a footballer who touched and enriched so many lives in his own far too short time on the planet.
It was bound to have been an emotional day for Liam’s family and closest friends, the people who still most acutely feel his loss, but for the vast majority present it was an occasion for more cheers than tears as, with varying degrees of success — and in a variety of shapes and sizes — the household names endeavoured to roll back the years.
After President Michael D Higgins had met with the players and Liam Miller’s children and nephews down on the pitch, there was an impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of the man of the hour. It was a poignant and solemn moment before the whistle blew and football took over in the way that football does, the crowd soon letting out a little groan of disapproval as a mischief-making Gary Neville left an early one on Robbie Keane.
And then there was an even louder chorus of approval, distinctly Corkonian in accent, when on the other side of the wide, energy-sapping pitch, the 52-year-old Denis Irwin got the better of Damien Duff.
If, as a rule, the testimonial tempo tends towards the pedestrian, nobody seemed to have told those old comrades Keano (Robbie) and Duffer, both of whom rarely passed up an opportunity to run at the United defence while, for the Reds, Louis Saha also looked pretty lively whenever he got on the ball. But when the breakthrough came for United in the 18th minute, it was as a result of Nicky Butt being upended in the box by Johan Mjallby and, despite the latter’s pantomime protests, referee Graham Kelly had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Saha was clearly ready and willing to take it but the crowd more or less insisted that Cork’s own Denis Irwin had to be the man for the job and, to delight all around, he strode forward and emphatically beat David Forde from the spot.
Saha only had to wait another seven minutes to get on the scoresheet, running through on goal and surviving a little nudge from the trailing Richard Dunne to make it two to United.
However, with three minutes to go before the break, Robbie Keane did what Robbie Keane has always done, cutting inside John O’Shea to drill one past Kevin Pilkington in the United goal. And there was still just enough time left before the interval for Paul Scholes to do what he has always done. No, not one of those sumptuous lancing passes or belters into the top corner: This was the other side of Scholes as, in trademark fashion, he wildly mistimed a tackle on Shaun Maloney.
As the older heads trooped off for a well-earned rest, if not in some cases something closer to artificial respiration, the new generation from Liam Miller’s schoolboy GAA club Éire Óg took to the pitch to give a warmly received exhibition of their talents in football, hurling, and camogie. Here was a reminder that, on this special day, Liam Miller had not only brought together Celtic and Manchester United and Ireland but also soccer and the GAA, all that initial controversy in the summer surrounding Páirc Uí Chaoimh’s hosting of the event now seeming to belong to an ancient, less enlightened past.
The second half, not surprisingly, brought changes in personnel but also in design, the ‘home’ side swapping the hoops of Celtic for the green of Ireland. But, inevitably, the change which most engaged the crowd came on the hour mark when, to a huge ovation, Roy Keane crossed the white line to take the captain’s armband from Ryan Giggs. It was a substitution which, it must be acknowledged, just ever so slightly overshadowed the simultaneous replacement of Kevin Pilkington by Mark McNulty in the United goal, though the Cork City keeper would soon by earning his own plaudits with an excellent save to deny Stephen Kelly and a later point-blank stop to prevent Kenny Cunningham levelling the scores.
However, there was nothing he could do to prevent his old City teammate Colin Healy making it 2-2 with a brilliant finish in the 8oth minute. And it didn’t pass unnoticed that two of Liam Miller’s oldest friends in football being so central to the occasion was entirely appropriate.
Though the Irish Celts finished much the stronger side, they couldn’t complete the comeback inside 90 minutes, meaning the crowd — by now entertaining itself with a Mexican wave — got what it really wanted: The bonus drama of a penalty shoot-out.
Robbie Keane was first up but McNulty made the save. Then David May beat David Forde to put United one ahead. Getting into the spirit of the GAA, Andy Reid ballooned his effort over the bar before Forde denied the other Keane, turning away Roy’s shot. A cheeky Kevin Doyle panenka was the pick of the bunch but in the end it came down to Dion Dublin converting his spot kick to win it for United.
Not the first time this year that Dublin had triumphed in a GAA stadium, it has to be said.
After that, a memorable afternoon ended with the players doing a lap of honour as ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ played over the PA and, once more, the thoughts of everyone who was there returned to the great Cork and Celtic and Manchester United and Ireland footballer who, sadly, wasn’t.
Forde; Carr, Dunne (Cunningham 45), Mjalby (McManus 26, Duff 71)), Harte (Kelly 45); Maloney, Lambert (Kavanagh 45), Petrov (Healy 45), Kilbane (Reid 45); Duff (Doyle 45), Keane.
Pilkington (McNulty 60); Neville (Clegg 45), Brown, O’Shea, Silvestre, Irwin (May 45); Butt (Fortune 60), Scholes (Saha 69), Smith (Butt, Giggs (Keane 60); Saha (Dublin 45).
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