Pride, passion, Poolies: This is what it means for Hartlepool United fans ahead of Torquay United play-off final

Those are the little memories that make football so special.

Hundreds of Pools supporters queued along Clarence Road last night, the queue of devoted fans going all the way back to the Raglan Quoit Club as general sale tickets went on sale this morning.

Supporters brought with them their deckchairs and supplies, the club handed out a beer as a gesture of goodwill, pizzas were delivered from local takeaways.

Spirits and anticipation high ahead of one of the biggest weekends in the club's proud history.

Pools have been on the brink in recent seasons, their fall well publicised but with the club now stable under Raj Singh, and he deserves an awful lot of credit, and Dave Challinor excelling in the dugout, Pools fans have hope and they have their club back.

An army of 3,100 supporters will head to Bristol City's Ashton Gate on Sunday eager to see the squad finish the job and secure their place back in the Football League.

Hartlepool United is a Football League club in size, stature and history but the fact is they've been a non-league club for too long now and fans are desperate for the good times to return.

The amazing pictures and videos of the fans queuing, with late-night shift workers and early-morning risers filming as they drove past them down Clarence Road doing the rounds on social media, it couldn't help but stir the emotions.

This season has seen games played behind-closed-doors but with lockdown measures eased, over 3,000 will see Pools take on Torquay United.

Just 90 minutes from promotion.

Pools could have sold three - if not four - times the amount of tickets. By the time you read this, the game will be a sell-out.

That crowd will sound more like 10,000, the roar will be incredible. 15-months of emotion pouring onto the pitch.

Hopes are high, confidence is building, Pools are within touching distance of a return to the Football League.

This has been a season like no other and the squad are close to making it a truly remarkable one.

The long-suffering Pools fans deserve their day in the sun – let's hope they are dancing in the streets of Bristol come Sunday teatime.

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