Airtricity XI 1 Manchester United 7:"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's a new dawn, it's history in the making," announced the Aviva Stadium's master of ceremonies at his first FAI gig of the new era.
It was a touch hyperbolic, to be honest. A more accurate prediction of what was to follow would have been: “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a complete mismatch, most of you will cheer for the wrong side, but sure, we’re making a fortune.”
Anyhow, who are we to judge? That’s sport. No, that’s football.
At least it wasn’t as one-sided as the IRFU’s supposedly evenly matched curtain raiser at the weekend. At least both sides scored. But there is something a touch disconcerting about listening to an Irish crowd chanting ‘Rooney, Rooney, Rooney’ 10 minutes into the opening game at the new stadium.
Along with John O’Shea, United captain for the night, Rooney’s name was the one welcomed with the most gusto when said MC announced the teams. Even when the referee ignored the England striker’s pleas after he was dispossessed and muscled out of it by Gavin Peers and Brian Shelley, the boos were more audible than the cheers.
However, all faith in the Irish football fan was restored when the biggest roar of the night erupted for Dave Mulcahy’s brilliantly finished effort with 12 minutes to go.
It was clear early on that the few League of Ireland supporters in the ground would struggle to be heard but they had their say in the end when a hitherto horrendously one-sided contest gave them a little something back.
Until then, Ryan Guy’s customary somersault throw-in, was about all they had to cheer.
United made all the running in the early stages. Ji-Sung Park saw a tame header gathered by Gary Rogers after he was abandoned in the box and left to attack Antonio Valencia’s cross.
The Rooney chants were heard for the first time when he dragged wide from the left after some neat interplay on the edge of the box from Michael Carrick and Park.
What Damien Richardson’s side definitely didn’t need was hara-kiri thrown into the mix. It came, however, when Peers calmly took control of Valencia’s cross from under the nose of Rogers before losing all sense of urgency and directing his clearance into the top corner via the boot of Park.
Rooney should have doubled the lead in the 22nd minute when he fed Gibson and saw the Ireland midfielder’s shot rebound into his path 12 yards out, but, in keeping with something of a tradition this summer, he blasted over the bar.
The second came three minutes later courtesy of Rooney’s blueprint Michael Owen. As had been their wont, United moved it well and as per usual, Park got his foot on the ball in a key area. He slid the ball into Owen’s feet and despite the attention of Peers and Shelley, the former Liverpool striker flicked it up and over Rogers with two touches.
In response, Richardson’s XI were not short of ideas but their opponents always had more. Even when Joseph Ndo, a former World Cup finalist with Cameroon, nutmegged Johnny Evans in the box, he appeared unsure what to do next and ended up panicking instead of picking out Killian Brennan at the edge of the box.
Ndo and captain Paul Keegan worked hard and looked for Paddy Madden when they got their heads up, but the young Bohs striker was on his own and up against new United signing Chris Smalling and newly contracted Nemanja Vidic. He never really had a chance.
Neither did Rogers when, in the 47th minute, Javier ‘Chicharhito’ Hernandez smashed the ball into the roof of the net from Valencia’s cross. It was a top class effort, the first of many from the recently acquired Mexican.
Alan Kirby, meanwhile, was on for Brennan on the left and between himself, Keegan and Ndo, there were coherent attempts to fashion a chance but rarely a foray behind the United defence and Madden remained a frustrated figure.
United upped the pace at will, even Dimitar Berbatov, who escaped the attentions of Ken Oman for long enough in the 56th minute to latch on to O’Shea’s cross and loop a header just over the bar.
One felt for Richardson’s side when the fourth went in. Valencia looked offside when latching onto a through ball from midfield, but the Ecuadorian wasn’t bothered and turned Conor Powell inside out before beating Rogers at his near post.
The goalkeeper picked out the fifth two minutes later, when Fletcher found Evans in behind Shelley and the defender picked out Park, whose finish to the top corner was sublime.
Madden was then put out of his misery when he was replaced by another bright young thing in Galway United’s Karl Sheppard, while Richie Ryan of Sligo Rovers replaced Shaun Williams.
Little changed, initially, at least. Jonny Evans found the net for a sixth and it looked like there would be nothing in it for the home side until Conor Powell motored in from the left and slid a ball between Vidic and O’Shea for Mulcahy.
The St Patrick’s Athletic man calmly slotted into the top corner with the outside of his right boot to prompt the first real roar of a new era. A chance for a second then fell to Kirby at the back post but this time substitute goalkeeper Ben Amos was equal to it.
By then, Nani had slotted a seventh from the spot for United but, mercifully, the red shirts went home without a whitewash thanks to Mulcahy.
Airtricity XI: Gary Rogers (Gerard Doherty 70), Brian Shelley, Conor Powell, Gavin Peers (Conor Kenna 54), Ken Oman, Shaun Williams (Richie Ryan 64), Paul Keegan (capt), Paddy Madden (Karl Sheppard 64), Joseph Ndo (Dave Mulcahy 70), Killian Brennan (Alan Kirby 45), Ryan Guy (Ger O'Brien 70).
Manchester United: Tomasz Kuszczak (Ben Amos 64); Johnny Evans, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea (capt), Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick (Darren Fletcher 37), Darron Gibson, Ji-Sung Park (Nani 64), Wayne Rooney (Chicharito 45), Michael Owen (Dimitar Berbatov 45).
Attendance: 49,861