Euro 2020: Scarborough councillor Neil Heritage watches England against Italy in final at Wembley

A Scarborough councillor was one of 60,000 fans at Wembley last night who watched England play their first men's Euros final and first men's major tournament final since 1966.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Cllr Neil Heritage, of the Yorkshire Coast Independents Alliance, who represents the Newby Ward, had previously watched England win against Germany and Denmark in the quarter and semi finals and had hoped they would make it all the way to lifting the trophy.

Read More
Euro 2020: 27 photos showing the highs and lows of England fans watching the fin...

However, sitting high in the stand at behind the opposite goal, Cllr Heritage admitted he hadn't seen much of that goal.

Councillor Neil Heritage at Wembley. Picture: Neil Heritage.Councillor Neil Heritage at Wembley. Picture: Neil Heritage.
Councillor Neil Heritage at Wembley. Picture: Neil Heritage.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"You go for the atmosphere but you do miss stuff," he explained, "I usually rewatch games when I get back."

However, Cllr Heritage said the stadium was not as noisy last night as it had been for the previous two fixtures.

He said: "You could definitely feel the nerves there.

"It went wild after the goal but then [the team] just decided to sit back for 80 minutes.

Representing Scarborough in London. Picture: Neil HeritageRepresenting Scarborough in London. Picture: Neil Heritage
Representing Scarborough in London. Picture: Neil Heritage

"In my opinion we scored too early."

Neil secured his tickets to the matches as a member of the official England Supporters' Club and first got them almost two years ago before the pandemic caused the tournament to be postponed for a year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was not able to attend group matches due to capacity restrictions.

Yesterday he travelled down with friends from Scarborough and they spent the afternoon on Wembley Way soaking up the atmosphere.

Councillor Heritage, right, with a friend in London. Picture: Neil Heritage.Councillor Heritage, right, with a friend in London. Picture: Neil Heritage.
Councillor Heritage, right, with a friend in London. Picture: Neil Heritage.

The group were proudly representing Scarborough on their trip to Wembley by sporting a custom Scarborough St George's Cross flag.

However he was the only person who had a ticket to the game and watched in the stadium alone saying that all the fans talk to each other and are like 'a family'.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite reports of violence after the match, Neil said he didn't see any disruption, adding that it was very much a minority of England fans who had behaved that way.

"They've spoilt it for us all really," he added, "Good luck hosting another one after that I think."

A shot of the stadium during the opening show. Picture: Neil HeritageA shot of the stadium during the opening show. Picture: Neil Heritage
A shot of the stadium during the opening show. Picture: Neil Heritage

Despite thinking that the best team of the tournament won last night after a nail-biting penalty shootout, Neil remains hopeful for a successful final for England in future.

He said: "Yes coming out of the ground I was gutted but to look at the positives, it's a young side. In Germany 2024 a lot of these guys will still be around.

"The future's bright for the English football team."