SIMPLY fan-tastic! Gordon Strachan's yellow army travelled in their thousands to roar on the Saints in Cardiff.

And, despite the result, supporters turned the final into a colourful carnival and were sent home with a warm message from the Welsh capital of 'Come back anytime'.

It was the club's first appearance in the showpiece since 1976 and Sotonians were determined to make the most of it, creating an electric atmosphere inside the Millennium Stadium and around the city.

South Wales police control room's Sergeant Kevin Williams said: "Everything went very well, apart from the result of course.

"I'm sure we would welcome them back anytime."

And former Saints manager Dave Merrington added: "It is impossible to praise the Saints supporters enough. The sheer thrill and enjoyment they took from the game is something that will live with me.

"They were a credit to Southampton, a credit to football, a credit to the FA Cup and a fabulous example to the watching world.

"It just made me happy and delighted to be one of them.''

Thousands of fans who packed into pubs across Southampton to watch the game hoping to toast success were forced to stay and drown their sorrows after the defeat.

Scores of supporters began queuing outside venues from 10am and the city centre remained packed with Saints followers into the evening.

But Hampshire police said despite the huge turn-out it passed off relatively peacefully and without any major incidents.

Inspector Scott Chilton, based at Southampton Central police station, praised fans for their behaviour.

"Of course it was a lot busier than a normal Saturday night, but it was mainly just high spirits.

"We anticipated that the pubs would be very busy with people watching the game who would stay out drinking, so we drafted in extra resources to cope with that.

"Despite the fact there was a lot more people out than usual, the number of arrests made for public disorder offences was no more significant than it was for other Saturday nights.

"It was all very high-spirited with a good atmosphere.

"The pubs in town put on extra security arrangements as well, which helped enormously."

Cardiff police also said the match, and its aftermath, passed off peacefully with just three arrests made, one for running on to the pitch and two for ticket touting.

South Wales police chief superintendent, Jeff Cooksley, said: "Both teams have good reputations and obviously came to the city and enjoyed both the atmosphere and the football - the result was a great day for football supporters and a great day for Cardiff."

Fears that scores of fans would not be allowed to board trains to Cardiff proved to be unfounded.

At Southampton Central train station, extra staff had been drafted in to co-ordinate a smooth boarding operation.

The Daily Echo was flooded with calls from supporters in the build-up to Saturday who had been told there may not be space for them despite buying tickets several weeks ago.

The RAC said traffic heading out of Cardiff was "busy, but moving" following the final whistle, with no major incidents.

Earlier on in the day, hundreds of fans gathered at St Mary's stadium to be whisked off to Wales on one of the 103 waiting coaches for the game.

Bearing blow-up FA Cups, Saints flags, blue hair, bright wigs and football hats, the fans mingled patiently while row upon row of coaches filled the car park from 7am on the historic day.

Howard Swalheim and his 16-year-old son Carl had travelled an hour south from their home in Odiham just to soak up the atmosphere of travelling to the game with thousands of other fans.

He said: "We had to get up at 5.30am to get here, but it's beautiful. The atmosphere is electric."

THE SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO CAN NOW OFFER HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS TAKEN BY OUR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS AT THE FA CUP FINAL IN CARDIFF. GO TO THE 'THIS IS THE SAINTS' SECTION OF THE SITE AT: http://www.thisisthesaints.co.uk