“We knew it was going to be tough and no-one really gave us a chance before the game. But it was a great team effort and in the end the draw was thoroughly deserved. We’ve had to soak up a lot of pressure but have held firm and there were a lot of strong performances. The point is a massive lift.”
It could have been a different story had Shay not produced a fine, one-handed save to deny Frank Lampard as early as the 8th minute. And, of that instinctive stop, Shay said: “It was a good cross from Malouda and luckily I’ve decided not to come for it so it’s given me time to get set. It was a good header but I’ve got a strong enough hand on it and kept it out. But it’s not about individuals, I felt the whole team really put a good shift in and worked their socks off.”
Chelsea had a goal chalked off after half-time, Joe Cole seeing his close-range stab correctly ruled out for offside. And it was another incident in which Shay played a major role after he’d shown strong wrists to parry Florent Malouda’s initial strike.
“I was just trying to save the shot first of all. But the ball has gone up in the air and Joe Cole has stabbed it in. Luckily the linesman flagged and you need those sorts of breaks. That gave us something to hold on to and fight for and you need that sort of luck.”
But Shay could have gone from hero to zero moments later. Lampard lined-up a 35-yard free-kick on the left and when the England man overcooked his centre, the United stopper, anticipating a shorter delivery, looked beaten.
But a sharp change of direction and lightening-quick back-pedal spared Shay’s blushes as he grasped the ball right underneath his crossbar – but the drama wasn’t over.
AstroTurf, barely a couple of feet behind the Newcastle goal-line, caused the Shay to loose his footing and, as he slipped back into the net, shouts went up for a home goal.
Luckily for United the officials again got it right with TV replays clearly showing Shay grounding the ball right on the white line – albeit with centimetres to spare.
And Shay added: “Frank’s got a bit more on the free-kick than I thought, I thought it was dropping shorter. But it kept sailing on and I was in two minds whether to flick it over the bar or to keep it out. I decided to go for the catch but there’s AstroTurf just behind the goal so I lost my footing on that. I fell to the floor but I was happy to keep it out and it definitely wasn’t across the line.”
Taken from NUFC.co.uk
