SOUTHAMPTON Football Club stadium bosses today admitted they underestimated the number of travelling Ipswich supporters at a match which forced dozens to stand during the first half.

SOUTHAMPTON Football Club stadium bosses today admitted they underestimated the number of travelling Ipswich supporters at a match which forced dozens to stand during the first half.

The Saints had expected in the region of 150 Blues followers to cheer on their team at St Mary's on Wednesday.

However, around 350 turned up without tickets, instead paying on the gate.

With the corners of the stadium closed in a bid to save the cash-strapped club money, there were not enough seats for the Ipswich fans inside the away section of the ground.

The problem was not rectified until half-time, when meshing separating the home and away fans was moved, providing more space for the travelling contingent.

Evening Star columnist and Ipswich fan Phil Ham was one of those inside the ground.

He said: “There appeared to be more fans in our section than seats in the first half, something which appeared to be confirmed by the fact they opened another section at half-time.

“The situation was probably due to the fact that a lot of fans turned up to pay on the day and Southampton weren't expecting it.

“They let in more fans than they had uncovered seats for and spent half-time opening up half another section so everyone could sit down.

“It took them ages to get everybody in to the ground.”

A spokesman for Southampton Football Club said: “More fans than we had allocated space for turned up.”

Were you caught up in the problems at St Mary's? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk