CHERRIES goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan became the first victim this season of a Cristiano Ronaldo special as the tables were turned at Dean Court yesterday.

Flahavan had enjoyed one of his career highlights when starring for former club Southend in a shock League Cup win over a Manchester United team including Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in 2006.

But although the 34-year-old made a couple of excellent saves early on, he was beaten by the Portuguese’s stunning 35-yard free-kick during Cherries’ showpiece friendly against Real Madrid.

Flahavan, who has had extended game time during pre-season due to injury to Ryan Allsop, played all but six minutes against the Spanish giants before he was replaced by Shwan Jalal.

And discussing his latest duel with Ronaldo, Flahavan told the Daily Echo: “There aren’t too many people who come out on top against him. I did it once but, unfortunately, I couldn’t do it a second time.

“It was a fantastic experience to play against some of the best players in the world. We knew it was going to be difficult and, unfortunately, we couldn’t make more of a game of it.

“But taking away the result, there were some good bits in there and things we can improve on. We knew any little mistake or wrong decision would get punished by them.

“They are the best in the world and that is what happens. But not every week in the Championship are we going to get punished like we were by Real Madrid so we have to take the positives. On a personal note, I really enjoyed it.”