“I thought he was superb. I thought he showed his reflexes,
his spring his agility, his courage. I was hoping he would
have a good debut. I was worried about that because it is in
his home town playing for United it was important for him.
It was a big day for him, and he's come through.”
Tim Howard, speaking to the American press and MUTV, had
this to say after the game:
"I couldn't ask for more There is so much pressure to
perform in everything, not just the game, and not just the
small-side matches. But in shooting and in warm-ups.
Everything is so intense.
"There'll be more marketing, more press and more
recognition. Hopefully, I'll be able to take it in stride. I
can tell you now it won't go to my head, and hopefully
that's the truth. It's unfortunate when you see a guy who's
a nice guy and a humble guy in any sport and all of a sudden
he gets that big contract and he doesn't know you anymore.
They call him a sellout. You don't want to be that person.
"It's back to being a student again. The game is very fast.
It's like getting thrown into a frying pan. But I have to
get used to it. Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea are world
class. It's easy to play behind guys like that who are
willing to work.
"It was a good start, hopefully we can keep it going. It was
good to pull on the shirt, but once you get on the field the
ball is round, the grass is green and it felt like I'd been
there before. There was more expectation on me because of
playing in my home town, but I tried to focus that out and
concentrate on my game. The fans were great. We've got some
great fans in this area and they deserved to see a good
game. We gave that to them.