|
Scenes from Portsmouth's victory parade Up to 200,000 people have lined the streets of Portsmouth to welcome home their FA Cup winning team. Fans lined the streets six deep in places to cheer on the team, who beat Cardiff 1-0 at Wembley. The players, staff, families and the Cup were on three open-top buses that travelled through the city centre. Manager Harry Redknapp told the crowds at Southsea Common: "It's fantastic. It means a lot to me. Thank you so much for turning out here today." It is the first time the Premier League club have lifted the trophy since 1939 - when they beat Wolves 4-1. 'Been crying' The team is now expected to be granted the freedom of the city. One Portsmouth fan said she had not been able to stop crying. "I've been crying since the semi-final," she said. "I've been supporting since I was 14." Hampshire police arrested 10 people there for minor public order offences. City council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said Sunday's parade was a wonderful occasion for the city.
"There's too many happy and sad and mixed emotions and yesterday was all about the perfect day and my god, what a day, it was just amazing and the best day of my life, just incredible. "And its all about being a football supporter and I think the cup final's shown two teams and two sets of fans who are really really genuine supporters who love their clubs." On Saturday some 25,000 Pompey fans were among the 90,000 people at London's Wembley Stadium who saw Nwankwo Kanu score Saturday's decisive goal. Another 60,000 - three times as many as expected - watched on a big screen on Southsea Common. Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in Cardiff Bay to welcome home the defeated Cardiff City players. The players, who had reached the club's first FA Cup final since 1927, arrived via boat from Penarth. | ||
BBC News Most Popular Now