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Nottingham Forest Fans Verdict: Royals Give The Fans A Happy Return

Harry rounds up the reaction of the fans after some of them were finally able to witness a game in the flesh!

By harry.chafer
PA Images via Getty Images

What a special, special occasion Saturday was. It was the day that those 2,000 of us who were lucky enough to get a ticket had been dreaming about for the last nine months.

Obviously the circumstances were very different to what we’re all used to. As I’ve said before, only 2,000 of us were let in, there was social distancing and we all had to wear face masks throughout the game. But I don't think any of us really cared about that.

There were, of course, a huge amount of fans who weren’t able to be at the game. But hopefully this monumental day gives us all a bit more hope that normality is on the horizon, and before too long we’ll all be back at the Mad Stad.

The game itself was the perfect script really. A Nottingham Forest sending-off within the opening 15 minutes gave Lucas Joao a chance to bury the spot kick with a man advantage - which he duly did.

Michael Morrison added a second just after the half time break and we saw out the game in a more than comfortable fashion from there on out.

Here's how the fans reacted to an important three points...

Return of the fans

This was, of course, the massive talking point - and for very good reason.

It was emotional, it was special, it was home. I don’t think non-football people realise just how how important football is to us fans. It’s a release and 90 minutes when nothing else matters. And we finally got those 90 minutes back after nine long months.

Here’s the best of the reaction from some of the lucky 2,000 who managed to get themselves a ticket...

Michael Olise

We didn't need the reassurance of seeing him in the flesh on Saturday to know that this kid is a serious talent. But we got it nonetheless and boy was it a joy to behold.

I can’t remember us producing a player that was this good at this age. Gylfi Sigurdsson, obviously, was and still is a sensational talent - but Michael Olise is 18 years old. It’s just ridiculous. We need to enjoy him while we can.

He put in another sublime performance on Saturday afternoon and has more than cemented himself in the hearts of the Reading faithful...

The Laurent/Rino partnership

There may be a piece coming from yours truly in the coming days that delves into this topic a bit deeper, but this season these two have been outstanding - and Saturday was no different.

Josh Laurent has just been one of the signings of the season, and one of our best signings in recent times, while Rino has just been the Andy Rinomhota we all got to know and love when he first broke into the team.

A serious midfield partnership, and one of the fans are starting to really, really love...

Conclusion

A great day for everyone involved. Well done to the club, to Veljko Paunovic and to the players. It made the return to the ground everything those 2,000 fans could’ve wished for.

They’re like buses aren't they! Wait nine months for one and two come along at once. I’ll be lucky enough to be in the crowd on Wednesday too when we can hopefully grab another important three points against Birmingham City.

URZ

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