'Milestone game will be a pinch yourself moment'

John Dalby runs an independent supporters' club

Fans of a club playing in the sixth tier of English football for the first time have spoken about their pride and excitement ahead of the team's first match of the season.

Horsham FC are playing away at Chelmsford City on Saturday in their first ever game in National League South, the highest they have been in the football pyramid.

Lee Wellings, who is travelling to Essex to support his hometown club, said: "More Horsham fans will turn up at Chelmsford than they'll be expecting and we will make a load of noise and I've seen it happen time and again at away matches.

"They will say, 'oh, hello, that's who Horsham are', and that's going to [bring] a feeling of pride even if we lose."

Lee Wellings has written books inspired by Horsham FC

Horsham FC, which can trace its roots back to 1871, got promoted as Isthmian Premier League champions last season.

Mr Wellings, who said it might take a while for the club's achievement to sink in, acknowledged that a promotion meant facing stronger opposition.

"If things don't quite go the way we want them to, we know that we'll still go and sing our hearts out and have some fun," the writer and former journalist said.

John Dalby, who runs an independent supporters' club, said the game was "a pinch yourself moment" and the team had "captured the imagination" of the town.

Robert Murdoch said he had "butterflies in the stomach"

He added: "It's just so exciting, so exciting to be part of it, so exciting to be part of a more national conversation when it comes to football."

Mr Dalby said he had started to see more people in the town wearing merchandise from the club.

"That never happened, it's never happened in the first 25, 30 years of me supporting the club," he said.

Fellow fan Robert Murdoch said the "butterflies in the stomach" feeling for the game was up there with the side's famous FA Cup ties against Barnsley and Chesterfield.

He added: "The football club has got massively community based and for the town itself it's going to bring in new revenue, more away travelling fans and [it will] showcase the town."