PETER  KEEN

Height  6'0"

Weight 11 9lbs

Goal Keeper 

Peter was born in Middlesbrough on the 16th of November 76.  He signed as a trainee for Newcastle on the 1st of August 95 and moved to Carlisle for a nominal fee on the 25th of June 99.

Keen's debut came away at Halifax on the 25th of September.  The Shrews won 5-2 with two of their 5 goals being penalties. On the 19th of February he played in the match against Rotherham away, a 4-2 defeat. His next game, at home on the 1st of April saw a 4-0 defeat by Hull.  In his first 3 games 13 goals conceded, in truth though the goals were not all down to Keen who  was  often left with no defensive cover and in each match also pulled off good saves. On the 24th of April Keen played in the the 2-0 defeat away at Southend, despite the score line Keen was Carlisle man of the match making some outstanding saves.  The next match was Darlington at home on the 29th of April, this was a crucial match, the penultimate of the season and one Carlisle could not afford to lose if the were to beat relegation. Keen  performed well, in particular making an outstanding save from Gabbiadini. The match ended as a 1-1 draw. The final game of the season was Brighton away, a  very physical match when  goal difference was to prove crucial to United's survival.  The match ended in a 1-0 defeat, which condemned Chester to the conference. Peter Keen  held out under the enormous pressure and again was Carlisle's man of the match.

Keen only played 3 games for Carlisle in the 00/01 season.  He was called into action against Blackpool away on the 24th of October, despite nursing an injury. It proved to be a dramatic night, weather conditions were awful, strong winds and driving rain and a poor pitch.  In the first 70 mins it all went Blackpool's way, they had built up a 3 goal cushion and Carlisle were down to 10 men after Heggs' had been sent off for a rash challenge.  Dobie managed to score for the blues in the 72nd minute, then in the 78th minute Keen took a drop kick. The ball caught the wind and travelled 90 yards, taking one enormous bounce and landing in  Blackpool's net. Peter having taken the kick had turned his back to walk back to  the goal mouth and only realised what had happened when the Carlisle fans started cheering. His last game for Carlisle came on the 4th of November a 4-1 defeat away at Brighton.  Mathew Glennon joined the club in the next week and held the number 1 spot until the end of the season.  Keen was granted a loan spell at Darlington, joining them on the 12th of March 01. He played 7 full games for them, three clean sheets and only conceding 1 goal in each of the other 4 games.

The season 2001/02 gave Peter Keen the chance to be the first choice keeper and he grabbed it with safe hands. Peter started his first game of the season away a Hartlepool on the  29th of September, the 3-1 defeat, not looking good on paper but Carlisle had had 2 men sent off and a very strong Hartlepool team seemed able to attack at will, only some decent saves from Peter stopped the game  turning into a cricket score. The next game, Bristol Rovers at home saw Peters first clean sheet  with a 1-0 win. He remained  between the sticks for every game until the end of the season with 14 clean sheets, plus 2 in cup games, winning round even his staunchest critics with his solid displays. Peter had to wait patiently for two seasons before he got his chance to prove he was good enough, having proved his worth like so many others he was released at the end of the season. 

2002/03 season. Peter was re-signed in the summer and started the season between the sticks. An injury in September meant he was to miss the Worthington Cup game against Rotherham, on the 10th of September, where loan signing Danny Naisbitt deputised.  In the period until the 19th of October Peter played 12 games with some stunning saves and three clean sheets. This at a time where the defence was being reshuffled and new personnel were finding their feet. October saw the return of popular keeper Mattie Glennon who made his debut against Macclesfield away and kept the number one spot until the last game of the season when Peter again took up the gloves.

United are in the fortunate position of having two very capable keepers on their books. With young keeper Robbie Burns showing his skills in the youth team, it looks likely that on loan goalkeepers being drafted in at the last minute are a thing of the past! 

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