Richard Dunne salutes Shay Given for brave Villa performance hours after learning of pal Speed's death
Published 10:54 29/11/11 By James Nursey
Richard Dunne has saluted Shay Given for helping Aston Villa gain a vital Premier League point despite being grief-stricken by Gary Speed's death.
Former Newcastle keeper Given, 35, became close friends with Speed during their time together at St James' Park from 1998-2004.
The Irish shot-stopper was one of the first to learn of Speed's tragic suicide on Sunday morning.
But Given still opted to play in Villa's game away at Swansea just hours later at 1.30pm.
And Given made a vital late stop from Leroy Lita to help Villa record a 0-0 draw despite being in tears in the pre-match minute's silence.
Defender Dunne,32, who helped prop up Given in the tribute, said: "It was terrible.
"Shay Given is really close friends with him and Shay told the rest of us.
"Shay was a bit emotional in the minute's silence before the game.
"It is difficult for him, I imagine he will be down for a while.
"It is a close friend of his and is sad for him.
"It wasn't easy at Swansea, there are more important things than football, but the game had to go ahead.
"Both teams were professional and tried as hard as we could.
"The last few minutes they had a couple of chances but Shay did great on one of them.
"He has had a tough day and to come out and not be tested until towards the end and yet he was still as sharp and agile as ever."
Villa badly needed a result at the Liberty Stadium after a dismal display against Spurs in their previous game.
They have a tough run of games looming including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.
But defender Dunne admitted it was impossible to concentrate fully on the job on Sunday at Swansea. Dunne himself knew Wales manager Speed as they were team-mates at Everton from 1996-1998.
He added: "Everyone was devastated, he was a legend and had being doing so well for Wales recently.
"I played with Gary at Everton for a few years when I was younger and it is a hard one to describe.
"The atmosphere around the ground was very sombre and it has hit everyone who loves football.
"Everyone is still in shock.
"The game went ahead but people will forget about it and we all send our condolences to his family."
