Emotions run riot at the Liberty (yeah, that was deliberate) as fans returned in numbers for the first time.
Emotions ran hot as the new turnstiles ticked over slower than a Steve Cooper substitution.
Then they sent shivers down the spine as people climbed the concourse steps for the first time in 525 days, emerging to see their Swans warming up for the live contest to come.
And then they exploded into tears of first joy and then poignancy as “our man” Kevin Johns first introduced our new manager, and then delivered a touching speech paying tribute to the fans of both sides whose lives were claimed by Covid as well as our country’s wonderful NHS and other key workers.
With the tears still drying in the eye, the much anticipated contest kicked off; a scratch Swans defence, shorn of key components Naughton & Bennett, made the best of what they had to blunt the Blades – although Benda very nearly suffered another Fender Bender as his early clearance was charged down with near catastrophic effect.
Sneaky Sheffield tried using inside information to steal an advantage, employing both Brewster and McBurnie against their former side during the evening, but neither got any change from this new look Swans set up.
The home side lacked cutting edge but Manning managed a Man of the Match (that’s easy for you to say!) performance in an unfamiliar centre back role, Brandon Cooper caught the eye in his first competitive start alongside him, and Flynn Downes had us up off our seats with a hugely encouraging debut.
For all the pretty play from the home side though it was the opposition that had the better chances…but they wasted every one of them…and so 525 days after the nil nil at home to West Brom it was another clean sheet stalemate…but a far sexier one thanks to The Russell Martin Way.
This Abbreviated Match Report is brought to you in association with THE AMBITION is CRITICAL PODCAST
