Several players, including Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville, were suffering from a flu virus in the lead-up to the game, and were still suffering the effects on matchday, but were all deemed fit enough to play. Henning Berg was injured, so Ronny Johnsen and David May started in defence. For Newcastle United, the FA Cup final was their last game of the season, meaning that they were uninhibited in their squad selection for the match; however, manager Ruud Gullit's final team was unpredictable and the players were unsure as to who would be picked until the day of the game. Goalkeeper Steve Harper recalled being unsure of whether it would be himself or Shay Given who would start in goal, midfielder Rob Lee said he had "resigned [himself] to not playing in the final", and right-back Warren Barton said he thought he was "in the team until the Wednesday"; Harper was ultimately selected in goal, while the right-back position was given to 20-year-old Andy Griffin, who had the job of marking Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, having performed a similar role against Tottenham's David Ginola in the semi-final. According to the BBC, the biggest selection dilemma for Gullit was whom to pick to play up front alongside captain Alan Shearer: Georgian Ketsbaia or Scottish forward Duncan Ferguson, who was due for an operation on a herniated groin two days later. Ketsbaia was selected to start, with Ferguson named as a substitute. Kits Manchester United wore their first-choice kit of red shirts, white shorts and black socks for the final. Had Newcastle worn their traditional first-choice kit, there would have been a clash between the two sides' socks; however, Gullit requested that his players wear white socks with black trim rather than their usual black socks with white trim, citing the success of his former teams who had also worn white socks. Match Summary First half Newcastle United kicked off the match, attacking from east to west, and fashioned the first chance after three minutes; Shearer's header to Nolberto Solano allowed the Peruvian to volley on target, but the strike was not clean and Manchester United goalkeeper Schmeichel gathered it at the second attempt. Meanwhile, tackles from Dietmar Hamann and Gary Speed on Scholes and Keane both produced injuries, but while Hamann was able to continue with a dead leg he sustained in the challenge (and picked up a yellow