TC/1383

Glory glory' day for Red Devils fans as their heroes come to town

OMAGH Town may be a struggling Irish League club, but they deserve nothing but praise for their efforts over the past fortnight in raising money for the Omagh Fund.
First the Town was painted blue with the arrival of Chelsea last Wednesday night, and then on Tuesday it was painted red as the mighty Manchester United rolled in.
Both occasions were ones not to be forgotten by the near 7,000 supporters who had packed in to St. Julian's Road, and those unable to get a ticket took advantage of roof tops and also lined the road outside the ground where there was a gap between the stands.
And when a fire engine arrived, it was quickly engulfed with people, standing on top of it to get a better view.
Chelsea had brought along £50 million worth of talent to the Tyrone town, although only a few graced the superb St. Julian's turf, but it meant that the stars sitting in the 'dug outs' were fair game for autograph hunters and the big names obliged.
Manchester United also had about six regulars playing in the game, including the popular figures of Roy Keane and Denis Irwin, whose Irish links made them extra popular with the crowd.
Norwegian striker, Tor Andre Flo stole the show during the Chelsea game with four goals, while on Tuesday night it was United's Teddy Sheringham who controlled the roost, also grabbing four goals.
Accepting that Omagh Town were merely training ground fodder for Chelsea and Manchester United in the memorial matches a fact reflected in the 8-0 and 9-0 defeats but the crowds came to support their favourite English teams and that was exactly what they wanted to see at the end of 90 minutes.
However, the scorelines mattered little. These matches were specially arranged memorial games and looking around the ground one was always quickly reminded about why people were at St. Julian's Road. Some of the people who had lost relatives in the Omagh bombing were in the crowd, sitting beside those who had been injured and still bore the scars of the August atrocity last year.
And after the excitement of joining in with the 'Mexican wave' and the songs which echoed around the ground through the PA System, it was a striking contrast to the one minute's silence observed in memory of the 29 who died when the teams came onto the pitch.
It was an occasion many will never forget, and indeed the players from both sides will not recall having played so close to a crowd before a crowd that was perfectly behaved.
The icing on the cake on Tuesday night was the parading of the three trophies that made Manchester United so famous last season. The English League Premiership trophy, the FA Cup and the king of them all, the European Champions League Cup.
The players paraded the three trophies around every inch of the pitch, keeping their avid fans happy.
However, for many who were at both games, the Chelsea match had more of an atmosphere. There was a continual buzz around the ground, even during those patches when the play was scrappy.
It was a duller affair on Tuesday and some of the crowd did not even realise that United had taken the lead after just 30 seconds as they were still settling into their seats. Prior to the United game, the Omagh PA system had blasted out song after song from 'Glory, Glory Man. United' and even Gary Pallister would have been proud as the system blasted out a tune praising the current Middlesborough centre-half. One can only presume it came from the Omagh Town back catalogue.
But nobody minded and nobody seemed to mind that the next song predicted Manchester United would 'really shake them up when they won this year's FA Cup.'
It was just one of those evenings. Anything went on a day like it.
Walking along St. Julian's Road, one group of people from Carrickfergus had brought their 30 foot flag along and unravelled it across the street engulfing the oncoming traffic in the colours of United.
One car started hooting. Another followed it, and suddenly the busy road was transformed into a honking red and black procession.
Kids with painted faces stood star-struck and wide eyed as the Manchester United team bus arrived and the players stepped off. And it was the same inside the ground when a player took a throw-in or a free kick near the crowd.
And the players did not let their fans down. If their name was called they quite often turned and waved in the direction of the voice.
And there were those lighter moments during the visits of the English clubs.
Last Tuesday when Chelsea players were signing autographs one young girl was asked if she had got an autograph. Her quick reply was "I got a squiggle."
And when Andy Cole had missed a host of opportunities during Tuesday's game, a conversation was overheard between two fans, one wearing a Man. United shirt with Cole's name on the back, said 'He could fit in here at Omagh Town pretty well.'
One Omagh Town player did get his moment of glory. Mark Nixon scored a goal, it was just a pity he turned it past his own keeper. But the crowd seemed pleased with him and Nixon even could afford to smile.
As the crowd spilled out of the ground, some lining the streets to, wave goodbye to the Manchester United team bus as it passed, the sound of 'Glory, Glory Man United, as the Reds go marching on, on, on' boomed out from the ground, the perfect end to a wonderful night.
Next it is the visit of Liverpool to the now famous St. Julian's Road ground and another 7,000 will get to enjoy what twice that has savoured already.