West Ham fans sampled both ecstasy and agony when 2,000 of them returned to the London Stadium on Saturday for the first time since Covid-19 restrictions were introduced.
The locals were off their seats when Tomas Soucek fired them into a first-half lead over Manchester United in the first Premier League game to be played in front of supporters since March 9, when 32,125 spectators witnessed Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-0 at the King Power Stadium.
However, their joy turned to misery as United belatedly sparked into life, with second-half goals from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and substitute Marcus Rashford securing a 3-1 win for the visitors.
Lower down the football pyramid, Harrogate were able to play an EFL match in front of a home crowd for the first time.
Simon Weaver’s team secured promotion to League Two in August after coming through the National League play-offs, where games were played behind closed doors, and they were forced to start this campaign with no spectators in attendance.
That finally changed on Saturday when a crowd of 500 were welcomed into the EnviroVent Stadium for the clash with Forest Green, which ended 1-0 to the visitors.
