Temperature checks, fan chants over the tannoy and a brutally exposed home side: Inside Middlesbrough 0-3 Swansea City

For the most part, the Teessiders’ first Championship game for over three months felt like a pre-season friendly, as Jonathan Woodgate’s side were beaten 3-0 by a much sharper Swansea City outfit.

An eerie stadium, a pleasant sunny afternoon and the feeling of returning to a Championship football ground after more than three months away - yet this was unlike any previous experience.

This competitive fixture had a different feel about it from the off, from driving into the Riverside car park and having your temperature checked, to the players emerging from the sidelines to a muted reception.

With nine Championship games to go this was an important match for the Teessiders who are lingering just above the relegation zone - yet it didn’t feel like it or resemble any sort of fixture which had any real significance.

At 11:30am when the teams were being announced via Twitter, the media were allowed into the ground, with protocols in place for members of the press to go straight to their seats.

From the press box high in the west stand there were more comparables to a routine matchday, the calm before the storm with just under an hour to go until kick-off.

The same videos were played on the big screen in the South East corner, with music playing over the sound system.

Yet as the clock ticked down and the players emerged one team at a time to warm-up, there was more of a subdued feel to proceedings.

With no crowd to build the atmosphere, the players re-emerged around five minutes before kick-off, again one team at a time.

There was no sound of Pigbag or round of applause as they stepped onto the field. In truth, it was all a bit strange.

Before the off there was a poignant moment as both sides gathered around the centre circle and took part in a minute’s applause for those who have suffered and worked on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

When the teams retreated into their own halves, each player dropped to one knee in support of the Black Lives Matters campaign. A reminder there is more to live than just football.

As the game kicked off, voices could be heard shouting frantic instructions to one another as the teams jostled for some early momentum.

That was before the sound system kicked in, blaring out audible fan chants, which were recognisable as “We’re the red army from Middlesbrough.”

It wasn’t enough to rev up the Boro players, though, as Swansea ran riot in a one-sided first half.

The hosts were brutally exposed on the flanks and caught cold on several occasions, a worrying sign with eight games still to play.

Boro kept the score down in the second half after changing formation, but a lack of match sharpness and disjointed start had severely cost them.

Football is back, yet the Teessiders appear to have a lot of catching up to do.