Non-League Day 2014 took place last Saturday and was a resounding success as many clubs recorded their largest crowds of the season, while fans enjoyed a refreshing opportunity to attend their local team.

Non-League Day saw supporters enjoy a more “traditional” match experience that many prefer to the glitz and glamour of the Premier League. 

Supporters I spoke to cited a number of factors for this: regular 3pm Saturday kick-off times, reasonable ticket and refreshment prices, open grounds with terracing and more relaxed stewarding. 

Fans also revelled in the opportunity to potentially scout the next Ian Wright, John Barnes or Dwight Gayle who all started their careers in the lower leagues of English football. 

With non-league football respected now more than ever, supporters of Premier League and Football League clubs enjoyed the chance to see players who could represent their side in the future.

Non-League Day also represented a chance for spectators to enjoy more reasonable ticket prices when compared to the higher echelons of the game. 

In the Premier League this is a antagonistic issue, seen most visibly when Manchester City fans returned 900 of their 3,000 allocation in 2013, in protest at being charged £62 for Arsenal away. 

In contrast to this non-league fans took advantage of some fantastic ticket offers for season-ticket holders from other clubs. 

Bungay Town provided the unique offer of free punnets of mushrooms for all supporters, leading to their attendance doubling and gate receipts rising 55 per cent. 

Most importantly they went top of the Anglian Combination Division 2 league after a dramatic 3-2 win, not bad for a day’s work.

Non-League Day provided a deserved opportunity for the volunteers who keep community clubs going to enjoy their clubs gaining publicity and potentially new supporters. 

These people, unlike Wayne Rooney or Lionel Messi, are the true heroes of football, working only for the love of the game, their club and their community. 

Similarly non-league players, who let us remember often work full-time jobs too, relished the opportunity to perform to vastly increased crowds. 

The largest attendance came at Blundell Park, where 3,785 saw goals from Jon-Paul Pittman and Ross Hannah lead Grimsby to a 2-0 victory over winless Welling. 

Attendance across the three divisions of the Conference rose by over 7,000 from last week to 38,707 from 33 games.

Non-League Day also provided significant help for grassroots football and many valuable community clubs nationwide. 

The difficult economic climate, combined with vast funding cuts from the Premier League, the FA and the government, has hit grassroots football where it hurts. 

Thus it was heartening to see the lower reaches of the game get a valuable financial lift from Non-League Day, particularly as many clubs share facilities with the local community. 

Attending fans also raised £3,921 for Prostate Cancer UK, as sponsors Vanarama donated 10p for every fan who attended a Conference match across the weekend.

I attended a pulsating 2-2 draw between Dulwich Hamlet and Hampton and Richmond in the Isthmian Premier League, with Ashley Carew claiming a fabulous brace. 

Dulwich celebrated their first home game on Non-League Day through various activities, namely the entire squad partaking in the dreaded ice-bucket challenge. 

I was proud to help them break their attendance record at Champion Hill, with 2,856 comfortably beating the previous record of 1,835. 

Gate receipt profits were split between two homeless charities, demonstrating the spirit of Non-League Day perfectly.