With Saints now just one match away from the Cup final fans are finding it impossible to contain their excitement

THERE'S just 24 hours to go until the red and white heroes take on Watford in what promises to be a spectacular semi-final clash at Villa Park.

Tomorrow, thousands of fans will make the journey to the Midlands to cheer on Gordon Strachan's army in the hope they will make it to the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Those who missed out on one of the 18,000 golden tickets to the big game are planning their own ways of watching the televised match - either at home or with friends at one of the city's pubs where there is sure to be a party atmosphere.

Fervent Saints fan Edmund de Rothschild has followed his favourite football club for the past 30 years or so - and he can't wait for tomorrow's semi-final.

A season ticket holder, the owner of Exbury Gardens and his driver Clive Parry share a real passion for the club.

"You meet up with a whole group of people who are absolutely charming. We watch the football and cheer together - and I invite them to see the gardens too," he said.

"I am a great fan of the new ground. I have a very nice seat and I get looked after very well because I am rather lame and elderly."

The 87-year-old supporter has fond memories of the last time the Saints won the FA Cup in the glory days of 1976.

"Channon was a great man and I liked McMenemy too. I went to see that cup final and it was a wonderful day. I hope to be well enough to go to Cardiff this time," he said.

Mr de Rothschild will be watching the semi-final on the television but his driver will be travelling to Villa Park for tomorrow's match.

"I think the score will be 2 - 0," he said confidently.

Meanwhile, a dream has come true for a schoolboy after he won a ticket to watch his favourite team play.

Reece Wilson listened in disbelief as he was announced as the winner of Power FM's breakfast show competition for the best decorated front room.

The seven-year-old had helped decorate his cousin Ashley's Eastbrook Terrace home with Saints memorabilia - including a life-size statue of goalie Antti Niemi. Yesterday the house in Park Gate was announced as the winner. Grandmother Pamela Wilson said: "Reece was crying his eyes out. He screamed when the result was read out - we all did.

"The neighbours must have been wondering what was going on."

Ecstatic Reece, a pupil at Freegrounds Infant School, Hedge End, will travel with Ashley, a Park Gate Primary pupil, to Villa Park with his ten-year-old cousin's parents David and Samantha Simmonds.

The game will be a bitter-sweet moment for Saints fanatics Mark Forbes from Southampton and Keith Bell from Chandler's Ford when their favourites run out at Villa Park.

The pair have been forced to miss the occasion and instead will be 900 miles away watching the AC v Inter Milan derby in the San Siro in Italy.

Insurance broker Mr Forbes and his best friend have been going to the Italian derby every year for the past decade.

"Going to the Milan derby has become a ritual for us," said Mark.

"The problem is the tickets and flights were booked and paid for before Christmas - a time when Saints reaching the semi-finals, frankly, looked like a long shot!"

The excitement surrounding Saints' cup run isn't just being felt here in Southampton.

Colslaw - Committee Of Loyal Saints Living Around Watford - is preparing for the big match - and for being the only red and white decorated car travelling in a sea of yellow and black flags on the M1 to Birmingham.

This 20-strong group of Saints fans live in the Northern Home Counties of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex.

Mark Howie, 42, who lives in Hemel Hempstead just north of Watford, is a season ticket holder who's making the journey with four friends.

He told the Daily Echo: "Everybody living near or in Watford is going to the game - relatives of relatives and aunts and uncles - but all they are talking about is how much they are going to lose by.

"I've had a bit of banter with the Watford fans, who are being a bit more hopeful after getting a player on loan from Newcastle who scored four goals for them last week."

Mark, one of the founder members of Colslaw, grew up in Chandler's Ford and regularly attended the games at The Dell with his dad.

In 1976 he made the trip to Wembley for the final and saw the cup back at the Civic Centre just days before he left the south coast.

Now he's settled with his wife Debbie, 41, and son Dean, 16, but still attends all home and most away games as well as running the Colslaw website.

"I can't wait for the game," he said.

"We'll be travelling by car - probably the only red and whites on the M1 - and I'm sure Saints will win 2-0."

SEE SATURDAY'S DAILY ECHO FOR A 24-PAGE PULL-OUT GUIDE TO THE SAINTS v WATFORD FA CUP SEMI-FINAL.