NOTTS County have confirmed that Saturday's pre-season friendly against York City will be played behind closed doors.

The match was set to be one of several pilot events to prepare for the safe return of fans into ground amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, following Tuesday's government announcement of a pause to spectators entering stadia from October 1 at the elite sport level, this decision has now been reversed.

The limited crowd of 1,000 at Meadow Lane was restricted to solely home supporters, though City fans will be able to watch their side's final pre-season match via a stream from the home side on their YouTube channel.

The Notts County statement read: "Supporters will no longer be able to attend Saturday's pre-season friendly against York City after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced that all planned pilot events for the safe return of supporters to stadiums cannot proceed due to rising Covid-19 cases.

"We were due to welcome up to 1,000 2019-20 season ticket holders who entered a ballot last weekend.

"However, following a statement from Boris Johnson and further confirmation from Oliver Dowden, the match will now be played behind closed doors.

"As per our other pre-season fixtures, we will be providing a free live stream of the York match on our website and YouTube channel."

Steve Watson's side have played four pre-season matches ahead of the start of their 2020/21 Vanarama National League North campaign, winning 4-1 away to Newcastle United Under-23s before defeats against South Shields (3-0), Whitby Town (2-0) and Stockport (0-1).

Their competitive season is due to commence in the second qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday, October 3.