‘It’s going to be special’: sport and fans raring to go as gates open again

16-May-2021 12:32:05 | The Guardian

Barnsley play-off and big rugby fixtures among Monday’s events
Sports hope for ‘a welcome return to normality’

Jane Utley will be one of 4,500 lucky Tykes when she gets into Oakwell on Monday evening. The Barnsley fan will watch her team play their most important game in a decade, a Championship play-off semi-final first leg with Swansea. As with every other fan in the ground, it will be her first match in 14 months.

“I think we’ll have lost our voices on the Tuesday,” she says. “I think people are going to try and make it noisy. I’m sure that anyone who normally just sits there will want to join in and shout more because it is going to be special, isn’t it, after 14 months not being there.”