Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CELTIC-IRELAND 2 MAN UTD 2 (UTD WIN 3-2 ON PENS)
KEANE: MILLER WOULD BE ‘DELIGHTED’ WITH GAME
ROY KEANE hit the nail on the head.
“Hopefully it’s a big boost for the family… it’s not going to fix everything but hopefully it makes them feel a bit better.”
A private man who never hogged the limelight during his career with Manchester United, Celtic and Ireland, it’s a wonder what Miller would have made of it all.
Not so much yesterday’s game that packed more paunch than punch but more so the political wrangling that went before it when it came to sorting a venue.
Thankfully all that was forgotten about as a bumper 42,878-crowd packed into the impressively revamped Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork to pay tribute to the late midfielder.
Whether the fans in attendance knew Miller or not, it didn’t matter.
They came here to rally around one of their own and the young family he left behind.
“I’m sure Liam would be delighted,” said Keane, who managed the United Legends team and made a handy enough 30-minute appearance in the second half.
They raised the roof for him too. Keane may be dividing opinion of late in his role as Ireland assistant but this is his backyard and there was no mistaking that.
And he had a bit about him. He gave namesake Robbie a tongue-lashing when he sent Mikael Silvestre crashing to the turf but then had a penalty saved in the shootout.
Keane continued: “People talk about Liam being quiet but it was a nice quiet. He was no angel but he knew how to play the game and was a good guy.
“You don’t get to the top of any sport without good confidence and a lot of determination behind you. I’m sure Liam would be looking down delighted with it.”
Martin O’neill – who was Keane’s opposite number yesterday – briefly managed Miller at Celtic before his switch to Manchester United in 2004.
But the Ireland boss felt the midfielder should have stayed with the SPL giants longer than he did.
O’neill said: “If Manchester United come calling, of course that’s what you’re going to want to do. Let’s be fair, at Celtic at that particular time we had reached the UEFA Cup final, we were housing 60,000 people every week.
“Liam was just beginning to learn the professional game and he was doing well in an environment of good players like Johann Mjallby and Henrik Larsson.
“That was a great learning period for him but he wanted to go to Manchester United and I wouldn’t blame him for that. But I just think perhaps if he had stayed with us a little bit longer he could have picked up the game.
“At Manchester United he was competing against the likes of Paul Scholes, big players. Within our environment players like John Hartson, Stylian Petrov and Larsson were helping greatly. But he had his own life to lead and while it caused a bit of friction between the two clubs for a while, that’s what Liam wanted to do.
“He was a really nice young man for a start, he was a really good footballer and I hoped he would stay at Celtic a bit longer.
“In retrospect maybe he should have done. He was learning his trade with us and he thought the move to Manchester United was something he wanted to do. “But to lose a young man in the prime of his life, a family man, those are the things that stick most in our memories.” The array of stars that pulled together for the game – played at a pedestrian pace admittedly – was testament to the esteem they held Miller in.
Denis Irwin, to much fanfare in his home city, opened the scoring from the penalty spot and United were 2-0 up soon after through Louis Saha.
Robbie Keane pulled one back before half-time while Miller’s close friend Colin Healy bagged the late equaliser that forced the shootout.
Cork City goalkeeper Mark Mcnulty – playing for the United team – saved spot kicks from Robbie Keane and Ian Harte.
David Forde thwarted Roy Keane while Dion Dublin sealed the win but the day belonged to Cork, its people and the Millers in particular.