I've played here for Liverpool Vets, he said.
There was four-and-a-half thousand in that night, it was rammed.
The tiny home of Bray Wanderers, which resides a stone's throw from the Irish Sea, had just two small stands on either touchline, with nothing except grass and a pavement behind both goals.
It was hard to imagine such a crowd squeezing in.
But in the press office there was a framed photograph, proudly hanging on the wall, which highlighted that McAllister was telling the truth.
It is possible to cram such a healthy number in to a ground not too dissimilar to Whitby Town's.
When Newcastle United travelled to Bray in August 1998, more than 3,500 turned out to witness Stephane Guivarc'h play his first game in a Magpies shirt following his summer move after leading the line in France's World Cup success. And there was still plenty of space.
Jack O'Neill, the friendly and helpful PR man in County Wicklow, said: That was a great night. We had a special relationship with Newcastle after that.
Alan Shearer was here, Newcastle won 6-0, but it was disastrous for Guivarc'h. He played 11 minutes, twisted his ankle, was ruled out and missed the start of the season.
So you can imagine, having told me that prior to kick-off against Boro, O'Neill's memories must have came flooding back when Boro's new striker Kris Boyd went off just before the half hour with his own ankle trouble.
Hopefully Boyd will fare better than Guivarc'h who ironically went on to play for Rangers during his first season in the North-East.
HAVING experienced what it is like to be welcomed with open arms to two of the League of Ireland's oldest clubs in the last four days, it is such a shame that domestic football struggles to attract more than 1,000 supporters at most of the grounds across the Republic.
The committees at both Athlone and Bray could not have been more accommodating, which probably goes along way to explaining why Roy Keane was so approachable when he travelled to Ireland with Sunderland during his days in charge at the Stadium of Light.
For all Keane is perceived as being a complex and volatile character, there is one story that has tickled me more than any other during the last few days and that came from my night at Athlone.
When Sunderland travelled to Lissywoollen two years ago for a pre-season friendly, Keane stunned the locals. Everyone knew that Sunderland and Roy Keane were in town and everyone wanted to see him, with few expecting to, said media officer Chris Enright, who also carries out four other roles with the club.
It's well known in these parts, however, that Keane surprised everyone.
Totally on his own, with no-one else from the club, he went into the centre of Athlone, found a pub, sat in it from 11 till 7 drinking tea, said Chris, whose facial expression illustrated the respect such an act received.
All the time he was there, he was happy to talk with anyone in the pub, anyone who came in off the street to see him, it must've been something he just wanted to do.
With acts like that quite well known across Ireland, particularly in his hometown, it is little wonder the Corkman remains loved by most on these shores.
Source: Northern Echo
Source: Northern Echo