Those who attend Manchester United matches at the home of the club were familiar with the scenes outside Old Trafford.
Thousands of fans lined Sir Matt Busby Way an hour or so before kick-off, with T-shirts a popular purchase on a nice spring day. Business was brisk at the fast-food outlets selling burgers and chips.
This was not the same as other matchdays.
The autograph hunters were not looking for the signatures of two players. They wanted the three of them to sign their shirts.
Six of the Manchester United women's team, including goalkeeper Mary Earps, were featured on a giant poster above the front of the megastore.
The Theatre of Dreams had a Super League fan in it. On a historic day for the club, United's women's team played in front of fans at the stadium for the first time.
A crowd of more than 20,000 watched as Russo scored twice as the team beat the team to keep their hopes of getting into the playoffs alive.
I don't want rubbish cliches but I think women's football won.
Fans who had followed the team since it was reformed were able to enjoy this day.
The last home game for United was againstLeicester atLeigh Sports Village and drew a crowd of 1,303.
The crowd on Sunday was a season high.
The ticket prices were kept low in order to get a good attendance. It paid off.
United have averaged just under 2,000 this season and supporter Natalie Burrell hopes more will make the journey to Leigh.
She said that a lot of people who haven't watched the women's team live before made the effort to be here.
They haven't been to Leigh because it's hard to get there unless you drive.
If we can get some of the 20,000 to come back regularly, it will make it a fortress.
Jonathan Foster paid 39 pounds for a United women's season ticket and makes 180 mile round trips to watch the team.
He said that it was good that the club had done something to raise awareness of the women's game.
It's amazing to get 20,000. However, there is a bigger plan in place and we need to make sure that some of the fans who were here today do come to Leigh Sports Village.
There were no fans present for the WSL game at Old Trafford.
There was a carnival atmosphere one year later.
The lower tier of the four sides was occupied by fans, while the away section was occupied by fans.
The Stone Roses song "This is the One" was the song the men's team walk out to.
Fans jumped from their seats and punched the air when Russo scored the first of her two goals to cancel out Emslie's exquisite finish.
One of the storylines of the match was provided by Katie Zelem.
When the men's team walked out for European games in Manchester, the captain used to wave the banner in the centre circle.
In the 54th minute of the game, she stepped up to score a penalty in front of the Stretford End and then assisted the second goal for Russo.
Skinner tried to speak to Zel afterwards.
For her to score a penalty in the Stretford End and for Alessia to score as well is a wonderful way to seal a dream.
Old Manchester has hosted competitive women's football before. Alex Morgan hit a 120th-minute winner against Canada as the United States closed in on a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
The ending on Sunday might have lacked the late drama of 10 years ago, but it still provided plenty of excitement.
Skinner said it was important United played a key part in helping push women's football forwards.
Playing in big stadiums will expose us to better experiences. We are working towards where we can attract 20,000 people.
In the future, why can't we fill Old Manchester and have a lot of fans waiting for us?
All Rights Reserved © 2024
