Sir Bobby Hails Man of the Match Shay Given

By Matthew Jones
August 14 2003

Irish goalkeeper Shay Given was Man of the Match last night, and the fact that Partizan Belgrade did not score 4 or 5 goals, is all down to him!

Newcastle United boss Sir Bobby Robson was last night full of praise for a certain Magpie hero. No prizes for guessing who!

Irish goalkeeper Shay Given was Man of the Match last night, and the fact that Partizan Belgrade did not score 4 or 5 goals, is all down to him!

"Overall, he was outstanding," said Robson. "He made some good collections of the ball, he was very sharp off his line and he caught the ball well on crosses and naturally at the end, he made an incredible save.

"The player didn't hit a good shot. It was a good opportunity for him. He had all of the goal to aim for, so it was a bit of luck for us.

"But it was still a very good save.

"I think Partizan are still very much in the game and I think it will be something similar in Newcastle.

"It was as we expected, not an easy match for us. It was always close - the difference between the two sides was minimal and Partizan in the last second missed a big opportunity.

"Maybe we were a little bit lucky, but it was also a very good save by the goalkeeper, and because we won 1-0, it gives us an advantage."

---