THE sun shone, the skies were blue and any tension between Huddersfield Town and Leeds United fans dissipated into the December air as police congratulated themselves on maintaining order.
There was little hostility between the two sets of fans at Saturday’s match, with Town supporters unable to stop themselves from chuckling at an amusing taunt from the other side of the stadium when Leeds were comfortably 4-2 ahead.
Click below to see our fans' gallery from the game.
“You should have gone Christmas shopping” they shouted.
There were occasional miniscule flare-ups such as when a couple of young Leeds fans were marched out of the Huddersfield end after celebrating Leeds’s equaliser in the first half.
Supt Dave Lunn said afterwards: “This was a successful policing operation of a local derby which saw only four arrests for public order offences, one of which was in the ground.
“Our priority was around achieving a safe and enjoyable match for all those attending, both prior to and following the end.
“We worked closely with the club to ensure this outcome.
“I would therefore like to thank the fans for their behaviour throughout, in particular their patience in relation to exit arrangements from the ground.”
The latter remark was a reference to Town fans being kept away from an area much beyond the Town shop, meaning they had to queue patiently in their hundreds to cross the narrow bridge on to Leeds Road.
I did not hear a single murmur of discontent. It was that kind of day.
Although Town had been roundly beaten it had been an enjoyable match with plenty of goals, the sun was still shining and there was still plenty of time for Christmas shopping.
One seasoned Town fan sounded a note of caution, however, observing that next week’s home match against Bolton might be a more raucous not to say forbidding affair.
Earlier in the day there was a heavy police presence around the town centre with most streets marked by the clip-clop sound of horse’s hooves.
But it was hard to discern any sign of tension on the streets before the lunchtime kick-off.
Nearly all of the town’s pubs appeared to be enjoying a brisk trade though one or two employed bouncers and some seemed only open to well-known regulars.
And there was an enjoyably Christmassy feel to the first Saturday of December with a Salvation Army band playing In the Bleak Mid Winter and other crowd-pleasing favourites.
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