Fans left disappointed at lack of Town adventure

IT was a day that promised so much.

Tens of thousands of Town fans took over half of Manchester United’s famous Old Trafford ground for their club’s biggest game in  a decade.

And they certainly made themselves at home  on the Stretford End, chanting and singing long before the 3pm kick-off.

They’d overcome horrendous M62 traffic jams and queues for the trains, determined to enjoy their day out.

Many poured into the bars of Manchester and Salford Quays well before the game, determined to make it a day to remember and a season to cherish.

It was a friendly invasion by the Blue and White Army, and the recruits came from every  generation.

There were Town strips from so many seasons  –  the zigzag red and black, the shocking pink stripes, the Mitre gold and umpteen versions of  blue and white.

And those were the colours that Town owner Dean Hoyle had hoped would spur his club to  success.

The Town chairman paid for blue and white T-shirts – emblazoned with the slogan  “BELIEVE” – to be on every Huddersfield’s fan  seat inside the stadium.

It meant solid banks of the famous old colours gave a stunning reception to Lee Clark’s side, as they came out for the warm-up and as they took to the field against Peterborough United to a crescendo of noise, chants and  fireworks.

There were balloons, wigs, painted faces and  jester hats.

This was a real family day out, with old men sat alongside sons, grandsons and grand-daughters. It was a day when memories would be relived and, hopefully, new ones created.

The songs came thick and fast throughout the first half, with more than 30,000 joining in to the strains of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and with chants of “Lee Clark’s Barmy Army”.

The first 20 minutes of the second half were to  be Town’s best of the game, spurring even more  songs and chants from the massed ranks of the  faithful.

But there was to be no breakthrough and the Army were stunned into near silence when Peterborough took the lead through Tommy Rowe in the 78th minute.

There were brief efforts to rally the troops but two further Posh goals in the space of five minutes brought reality crashing down on the Stretford End.

The T-shirts came off, with many hurled  down the terracing to the disgust of others, and only a few remained to salute the Town players at the final whistle.