Couple’s ‘Match of the Day’ at Turf Moor

Despite the Clarets 1-0 victory over the champions, City fan Will Norris left with a big smile after he had his half-time proposal to his Burnley-supporting girlfriend Nichole Taylor accepted.

Will, who is a teacher at Pear Tree Special Needs school in Kirkham, did have the chants of ‘You don’t know what you doing’ ringing in his ears but those, and the loss, certainly didn’t spoil his day.

“Saturday was always going to be a memorable day,” said Will (26) “It was Nichole’s 27th birthday and last year on that day her grandma, Isabelle Poole, who was born in Burnley and worked at Clarks all her life, died.

“It was also Mother’s Day the following day and, while Nichole doesn’t live in Burnley, she considers it home as all her family are from there.

“I had been thinking about proposing for a while but this just seemed the ideal time.

“I emailed the club to ask if I could do it and we were seated near the half-way line about three rows back. The announcer called me and Nichole onto the pitch at half-time, as Man City and Burnley fans, and I gave my run down of the first half - I predicted a 1-0 win for Burnley which got a cheer - and then I wished Nichole ‘Happy Birthday.’

“She had come onto the pitch with me and, while she looked a bit shocked, she just went along with it.

“I then said I had one more thing to do and I got down on one knee and proposed. Nichole burst into tears and accepted.”

While they did get a bit of crowd ‘banter’, they did come off to cheers and congratulations from Nichole’s family, her mum and dad, Cathy and Chris Taylor, her uncle Ian Poole and her nephew Christian Taylor-Tomlinson - all season ticket holders at Turf Moor.

“The Burnley fans around were all really accommodating - they were friendly and everyone was congratulating us. It even made me think about becoming a Burnley fan!” added Will.