A football fan who watched Tottenham’s FA Cup clash with Marine AFC from his window was delighted to receive a greeting from Gareth Bale on Twitter.

Non-league Marine’s Rossett Park ground in Crosby, Merseyside, is overlooked by houses, meaning some locals were able to watch the third-round clash out of their back windows or by standing in their gardens.

Among them was Christopher McMahon, an academic and football fan, who posted a series of tweets chronicling his experience on Sunday.

One tweet, sent in the second half, read: “Watching Gareth Bale whilst leaning out my window. Unreal”, and featured a picture of the former Real Madrid forward on the Rossett Park pitch next to Marine’s Jay Devine.

The post captured the imagination of football fans, gaining more than 180,000 likes.

It also caught the eye of Bale himself, with the Wales international responding with a waving emoji after the game.

In response to replies from other Twitter users, Mr McMahon said it was “amazing” and added that he was “never recovering from this”.

With no fans allowed in the ground because of Covid restrictions, those watching from homes and gardens were the only supporters who got to see the biggest game in Marine’s history in the flesh.

Tottenham went on to win the game 5-0 against a team who play in the eighth tier of English football.

Marine sold more than 30,000 £10 virtual tickets for the game, including many to Tottenham fans, after discovering they would not be allowed supporters in the ground and would lose out on matchday revenue.