The ‘emotional’ day Newcastle United fans flocked to Hanwell Town

Non-league club Hanwell Town has spoken of the “emotional” day hundreds of Newcastle United fans visited the club.

Hanwell was founded 102 years ago by Magpies' fans in London and the side still plays in black and white, as well as going by the nickname 'Geordies' in homage to Tyneside.

Earlier this year the club enjoyed a spell of viral success on Twitter with posts being shared far and wide by Newcastle fans.

Hanwell saw their online following climb from just a few thousand to nearly 20,000 and stock from the club shop fly off the shelves.

On Saturday, Eddie Howe's side travelled to nearby Brentford for their Premier League fixture, giving Hanwell's newfound Newcastle supporters the perfect chance to visit the ground.

Elsa, Hanwell Town's Head of Marketing and Social Media, said: "We welcomed our first batch of fans at about 11 am.

"From then, one coach turned up, and then another batch of fans in cars, and then around 11:30 am another coach turned up.

"I think we ended with about 200 people, which was brilliant.

"To have a chunk of travelling fans at Hanwell was actually quite emotional.

"We work so hard on our social media and on everything. For people to come along and to meet them was amazing.

"We had our fans and our season ticket holders there. Our chairman Bob Fisher is 82 years old and has been at the club for over 50 years.

"He was personally shaking everyone's hand and saying thank you, to see him so happy was really nice. He thanked them all at the end for coming as well.

"Our director and CEO were there behind the bar helping out. Everyone dug in. Our fans were there selling merchandise. It was a real team effort.

"The day went the best it could and we're really proud of how we showed the club off."

Elsa spoke of her nerves ahead of the day having put up a quick Twitter post to determine who was coming - Newcastle fans had replied to say that whole buses planned to turn up.

She added that Hanwell had been forming a relationship with some of the fans for 18 months, so it was "absolutely brilliant" to meet them in person.

Of course, as much as the day was all about bringing people together, it had huge benefits for the small club too.

Elsa said: "Financially it was brilliant.

"The main part of the day was meeting all the fans, but we can't overlook the financial impact it's had on us.

"It's helped us out massively at a time when we are pushing for promotion, looking to get a new stand and other work.

"We are so grateful for the support we've been shown by Newcastle fans across the world."

Elsa also urged any Magpies fans in the area to come along to matches.

Hanwell Town also offers supporters anywhere the chance to become patrons for a small monthly fee. You can find out more here.