Newcastle gave Alan Shearer a fitting send off when beating
Celtic 3-2 in the Geordie legend's testimonial, with the striker
signing off in style by scoring a late penalty.
The curtain came down on Shearer's career at the end of the season,
although a knee injury cruelly robbed him of the chance to feature
in the last three games of the campaign.
He was not fit enough to take on Celtic, but did kick off the match
in front of his adoring St James' Park fans before stepping onto
the field to sign off in style.
As Shearer came onto the pitch with his family before the start,
the crowd held up black, white and gold cards depicting his name
and his famous number nine shirt.
Over 52,000 fans paid tribute to their hero and the match seemed
something of an afterthought.
Newcastle went ahead early on, with Albert Luque volleying home
from Peter Ramage's cross, but a Shaun Maloney penalty and John
Hartson header had Celtic in front.
Former Magpies star Les Ferdinand played a key part in the later
stages, as his cross was bundled into his own net by Paul Lawson to
draw Newcastle level.
Deep into injury time, Ferdinand burrowed his way into the box and
tumbled under challenge.
A penalty was awarded by Mark Clattenburg and on cue Shearer strode
onto the pitch to net one final goal from 12 yards, much to the
delight of the Geordie hordes who had come out to pay tribute to
their retiring hero.
