Crowd urged City on until the end

By Nick Horton BBC News, at Wembley

Cardiff fans cheered on their team until the dying seconds of the game

Cardiff City fans were down but not out as their remarkable FA Cup adventure ended in defeat at Wembley.

The 25,000 Welsh supporters maintained a rousing barrage of noise for almost all of their clash with Portsmouth.

Even when most surely realised that the game was up, they roared their team on to the dying seconds.

While some City fans held their heads in despair, and others could hardly look, a hardy few urged the team on to the final whistle.

Only rarely were they outsung by the Pompey contingent.

Just as impressively, they heeded the pre-match urging of Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp to stay in the ground and applaud, whoever won the cup.

As the exhausted Cardiff team applauded their fans after the final whistle, there was a mass outbreak of City's unique trademark salute, the Ayatollah.

Ultimately, it was Portsmouth's day, but it was one that will live long in the Cardiff memory too.

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