Former Manchester United and West Ham goalkeeper Roy Carroll has come out of retirement at the age of 45, just 18 months after first hanging up his gloves.
Carroll, who played for 28 years at the highest level, including for clubs such as Rangers and Olympiacos, plus 45 caps for the Northern Ireland national team, surprisingly turned out for Ballinamallard in their NIFL Championship meeting with Annagh on New Year’s Day.
Carroll has been in a coaching role with Northern Ireland, but it seems he couldn’t resist giving playing another go, albeit at a far less competitive level than he’s used to.
United fans will no doubt remember their former ‘keeper best for his frantic effort to keep out a long-range striker from Jorge Mendes at Old Trafford, which just about crept over the line.
Still, Carroll’s desperate bid to get back there and clear the ball away surely contributed to the linesman missing it and the goal not being given.