Viral Man Utd fan left 'heartbroken' on live stream as haircut plan dashed by West Ham

A Manchester United fan who went viral for refusing to cut his hair until the Red Devils win five matches in a row will have to wait at least another month for his trip to the barbers. The 'United Strand' was hoping that his 493-day challenge would finally come to an end on Tuesday evening, with just one win remaining on the Red Devils' part.

That's given United had achieved wins over Manchester City , Arsenal , Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur off-the-bounce ahead of their trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham . However, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Hammers in the capital, the viral sensation's tally reset, and he will now rely on United going another five matches without a loss or a draw.

Real name Frank Ilett, the 'United Strand' was left with egg on his face as he took part in a live stream on Kick for the match, his ever-growing hair sitting on the shoulders of a retro Red Devils shirt. After a goalless first-half, Tomas Soucek crushed the hopes and dreams of the social media star 50 minutes into the match, putting West Ham 1-0 up on home soil.

An incredibly cagey final 40 plus stoppage time then played out, as the weight of the result grew heavier than the luscious locks upon his head. While Benjamin Sesko levelled the match six minutes into stoppage time, it was a case of too little, too late for United, who walked away from the London Stadium sharing the points with the Hammers.

While the result will have felt like a win to United fans watching around the world , given just how far out of the fixture the Red Devils were, it will have came as a crushing blow to Ilett, who will now have to wait until at least March 20 to book his trip to the barbers.

Furthermore, United will have to secure victory over Everton , Crystal Palace , Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth to allow the 'United Strand' to finally shave his head. It marks another long 38 day wait for Ilett, who may see his challenge draw to a close on day 531 if he is lucky.

Clearly gutted by the result, Ilett was speechless as the full-time whistle blew. However, he did manage to muster some words to his fans in the aftermath.

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He said: "It's tough. It's tough to think, really. We go again, I guess.

"The main positive is that the hair gets a bit longer for the Little Princess Trust and I can donate it, that's what they want. It's just tough, I really felt this was it.

"But we keep going, we keep committed. See you on Day 500. Got to do something special for that now."

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