As we come to the end of another sporting year, we're looking back on some of our favourite stories on Balls.ie from 2024. As Manchester United prepared for their final home game of the 23-24 season against Newcastle, there was a lovely moment between Roy Keane and Andy Cole. Here's our story from the time.
Roy Keane was joined by two fellow Manchester United legends on Wednesday night, as his former club took on Newcastle in their final home game of the season.
Wayne Rooney is becoming something of a Sky Sports regular since his exit as Birmingham City manager, and Andy Cole made up the final part of a fairly talented punditry trio at Old Trafford.
Though Keane played with Rooney at the club for one full season, he has far more memories with Cole to call on, with the pair sharing six years together at United.
Ahead of Wednesday night's game, the pair looked back on their memorable title races with Newcastle in the 1990s - and one moment seemed to have Keane uncharacteristically emotional.
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Roy Keane shares lovely moment with Andy Cole
It's hard not to look back on the classic rivalry of the 1990s whenever Manchester United and Newcastle United face off.
That is exactly what the Sky Sports panel did on Wednesday night, with Roy Keane and Andy Cole reminiscing on the iconic 1996 title race.
After Kevin Keegan's infamous rant, Newcastle collapsed from out in front, throwing away a 12-point lead in early 1996 to ultimately finish four points behind Alex Ferguson's United side.
Ngl this got me a bit emotional, dare I say Keano was too? pic.twitter.com/8pEJN6Xtov
— Jay Motty (@JayMotty) May 16, 2024
Footage played on Sky Sports of Keane and Cole celebrating with the trophy at the Riverside on the final day of that famous '96 campaign.
It appeared as though the memory had Keane surprisingly emotional, as he smiled and made a quiet remark to Cole while putting his arm around the Englishman.
Cole and Keane shared five title-winning seasons at United, with Cole claiming the top prize in all but one of his full seasons with the club.
Wednesday night's punditry panel was among the most illustrious Sky have ever put together, with 17 Premier League winners' medals across the three-man team.
The outlook at Manchester United is somewhat changed from the days of Roy Keane and Andy Cole - or even from the days of Wayne Rooney alongside them.
United triumphed 3-2 over Newcastle on Wednesday to at least end their home campaign on a high point. However, just about any hope of even snatching Europa League football is all but gone now, with Erik ten Hag's side appearing resigned to a lowly eight-placed finish.
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