Alan's big night oot!

NEWCASTLE UNITED XI:
Given (Harper 45'), Carr (Ferdinand 71'), Boumsong, Bramble (Taylor 45'), Babayaro (Elliott 45'), Watson (Faye 31') (Lee 67'), Emre (Pattison 45'), Clark (Speed 34'), N'Zogbia (Ramage 45'), Ameobi (Luque 45'), Shearer (Chopra 1') (Shearer 90').

Goals: Luque 70', Virgo (o.g.) 90'+1, Shearer (pen) 90'+3.

CELTIC GLASGOW:
 Marshall, Wilson (Virgo 86'), Varga, Mulgrew (Camara 75'), McManus, Petrov (Wallace 69'), Lennon (Telfer 45'), Thompson (Pearson 45'), Zurawski (Lawson 45'), Maloney (Quinn 78'), Dublin (Hartson 45'). 
Sub not used: Boruc.

Goals: Maloney (pen) 79', Hartson 83'.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Attendance: 52,275

Since the last kick of the league season against Chelsea, the whole city had been getting ready for this game. Shop windows and city landmarks had almost all received a makeover to honour all things black and white. This sunny Thursday evening saw the build up end in a great climax.

The players' entrance was the first of many memorable moments on the night. Both sets of players walked out first to form a guard of honour, then the name everyone was waiting for was announced and Alan Shearer, his wife and three children all appeared from the tunnel. On cue all stands of the stadium stood and displayed the carefully orchestrated "tiffosi". Both the Leazes end and the Gallowgate saw a golden number nine appear, while the East stand had the name of Shearer

The game got off to quick start, both sets of players giving each other a lot of space to try flicks and tricks. Things soon died down however, and we had to wait for the twenty one minute mark for a first shot on target, Chopra it was who saw his effort cleared off the line by a combination of a Celtic defender and the keeper.

Chopra was kept busy in the game and seemed to be at the heart of most things, he played the ball to Speed who put Ameobi through one on one with the keeper, only for big man Shola to decide not to shoot but run the ball out of play instead. Why not.

The half time interval provided some light hearted entertainment with an England v Scotland penalty shootout in which the ever popular Paul Gascoigne took part and scored. At the break number of substitutions took place: Harper took over in between the sticks after warming up during the half time shootout, Pattison came one, so did Ramage and crowd favourite Steven Taylor made his return to action. Ameobi was also finally prevented from being a further embarrassment to himself and the game and was replaced by Luque.

The atmosphere did not die down one bit however in the second half, as the crowd continued with numerous chants: "England's number one", "stand up if you love Shearer", "Walking in a Shearer wonderland" ... all the classics.

The capacity crowd finally got what was missing from the game on the 70 minute mark. Albert Luque it was who broke the deadlock on the night with a stunning controlled left foot volley. The Spaniard celebrated his first goal at St James' Park in familiar fashion. 1-0

The home side enjoyed a healthy spell of possession after taking the lead, putting Celtic under pressure on numerous occasions. But when Maloney broke away for a counter attack and was brought down by Ramage in the penalty box, 1-1

And if that wasn't enough, the visitor threatened to ruin the party by taking the lead minutes later. Hartson it was who rose above the black and white defence for a strong header that Harper could only touch on its way in. 1-2

With the last minutes counting down Luque played a quick free kick on the edge of the box to Les Ferdinand who ingeniously beat the offside trap (just about), dribbled past two Celtic defenders, spotted a breach in their defence and played the ball into the back of the net off a combination of Virgo and Lawson. Great skill! 2-2

Sir Les also played his part in the winner seconds later as He was savagely brought down in the area, no hesitation from referee Mark Clattenburg, penalty. Roeder then called for a substitution to be made, off came Chops to be replace by number 9, Alan Shearer. The hero of the night stepped up, placed the ball on the spot and sent the keeper the wrong way in front of the Gallowgate. The whole stadium went scarf-waving mad to acclaim their goal scoring hero. 3-2

The final whistle blew but the emotional part of the night had only just started. While "Time to say goodbye" was performed by Keedie, the stage was being set in the centre circle. When all was ready Ant and Dec ran on to say a few words and introduce Alan to the crowd. The man of the night gave his version of the night's events:

"I've lived the dream, and you've made it all possible, thank you!"

The guard was most certainly down as the emotion could be felt in his voice, as well as his eyes, he later admitted.

Hollie, Chloe and Will all joined dad Alan for a final lap of honour all the way around the ground. Scarves and flags were being thrown down to the Shearer family as they frequently paused to acknowledge the crowd and shake a few hands.

It was quite simply a night to remember, and not only for the big man himself but for the club. Shearer will be missed.