Carling Cup Final Tickets

"Very dedicated football fans will be rewarded for their patience!"

CARDIFF City fans camped through freezing temperatures overnight as the scramble for 31,000 Carling Cup final tickets began today.

But some supporters reported problems with the e-ticketing service provided by distribution company Ticketline for the Wembley clash with Liverpool in a fortnight – including the option to buy a second ticket for ambassadors who have renewed for next season.

Many said they had spent long periods online or on the phone before being unable to purchase the second ticket.

And the club later issued a statement saying it was working to resolve problems “as soon as possible”.

A club statement said: “An update at 1.30pm said The second ticket option for qualifying renewing Season Ticket Holders is currently undergoing problems via the online Ticket Master e-ticketing service.

“This is being investigated and will be resolved as soon as possible.”

The first tickets for the Wembley clash with Liverpool in a fortnight’s time went on sale to “club ambassadors” only at the Cardiff City Stadium from 9am today.

Many supporters got to the Cardiff City Stadium well before the ticket office opened – with those at the very front of the queue having camped out from 6pm the night before.

Many more joined in the early hours of yesterday and by 9am a queue ran the length of the ground’s Canton Stand, inside the stadium and the length of the Ninian Stand.

At the front were Clare Coleman, 25, from Splott, and mother Suzanne, 45, from Llanedeyrn.

They were the very first ticket hunters to arrive on Saturday evening, pitching up with a sleeping bag and camping stove at 6pm on Saturday.

Clare said: “It’s been amazing. We have got a good bit of banter.

“At first of all there were seven of us and some other people came about half nine-ish and then the majority of people didn’t turn up til three or four o’clock.

“From the last Wembley trip we came early but there was quite a big queue. But we made sure we got here bright and early.

“We had someone singing to us: ‘You daft so and sos’.

“I bet they don’t think that now if they are all the way at the back of the queue.”

" Here is a chance for my readers to get tickets through a lottery if you are part of the trust. Sign up today for your chance to win."

The Trust is delighted to announce that once again they have exclusive tickets for this year's Carling Cup Final, featuring the Grecians' conquerors Liverpool, and our Welsh neighbours Cardiff City.

This match is at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 26th February 2012 and we have access to an allocation of tickets by virtue of our Football League membership, and will be making three pairs of tickets available for our members to purchase.

If you're a member of the Trust and are interested in purchasing tickets you are invited to enter into our official free draw - The winners will win the right to purchase a pair of tickets at face value.

Application for this draw must be made by midnight on Thursday 16 February. The Trust will then announce the results as soon as possible after this.

Winners of this draw will need to collect the tickets from reception at St James Park or have them posted out at your own risk if you are unable to get down to the Park or arrange alternative delivery methods.

To apply you need to supply the following details:

Name*
Trust Membership Number/your Priority Number [you must be a Trust member as at the date of this e-mail to be eligible to enter]
Home Address*
E-mail Address*
Home, Work, and Mobile Phone numbers*
Whether you want tickets at any price and for any team**
Whether you only want Liverpool/Cardiff/£72/£90

For further information regarding this draw, please contact Neil Le Milliere via the details above or email trust@ecfc.co.uk for further information. Further details will be available on the Trust website in due course.

"Be careful of not going to false websites promoting fake tickets. Stick with the big name ticket brokers listed on these pages. It is the only way to not get taken advantage of!"

Football ticket websites are already offering Carling Cup final tickets for sale for hundreds of pounds.

An announcement on tickets is due tomorrow and Cardiff City has stressed that any information before then is rumour.

But with fervour growing for tickets, websites have sprung up offering fans who might not be guaranteed a place at Wembley the chance to buy tickets – albeit for more than £100 each.

One website was last night offering tickets for Bluebirds supporters in the corporate section for £323, with prices at the lower end pitched between £237 and £307.

That comes after the Football League said prices for City fans would be set as £90 for the best seats in category one, £72 for category two seats, £56 for category three and £40 in category four.

Half price tickets will be available on all categories for senior citizens and under-16s.

The Bluebirds and fellow finalists Liverpool have each been given 31,000 tickets and City’s more than 18,000 season ticket holders are likely to get first option.

Cardiff City Supporters’ Club (CCSC) has finalised its travel arrangements for the big match on February 26, with the cost of coach travel at £25 for adults and £20 for seniors. New members will be charged £30 for adults and £25 for seniors.

It will cost £20 for children and young adults and £15 for accompanied under-16s.

CCSC stressed that coach travel is available to members only – non-members must join the club to travel.

A £1 donation has been added to all coach fares, to raise funds towards the Fred Keenor Statue Fund.

A statement from CCSC said: “If we can get everyone behind this – there’s no reason why people travelling up in minibuses and cars cannot get into the spirit of things either, we could raise a considerable chunk to get us nearer the target.

“Wouldn’t it be great if at the end of a season when Cardiff City have reached another major domestic cup final, we could finally get to see Fred with the FA Cup as a permanent fixture outside our stadium?”

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/cardiff-city/cardiff-city-fc/2012/01/30/cardiff-city-v-liverpool-fc-carling-cup-final-tickets-already-being-offered-for-sale-for-hundreds-of-pounds-91466-30223428/#ixzz1kxWZW0zJ

I Can't  Wait for the game with Liverpool and Cardiff!

Liverpool will play Cardiff City in the English League Cup final after a thrilling 2-2 draw at home against Manchester City completed a 3-2 aggregate success for Kenny Dalglish’s side. Cardiff v Liverpool Tickets

The Premier League leaders twice took the lead at Anfield thanks to goals in either half from Nigel de Jong and Edin Džeko but the hosts responded swiftly on both occasions with Steven Gerrard’s penalty and Craig Bellamy’s strike booking a place in the showpiece on 26 February.

City cancelled out the hosts’ first-leg advantage when De Jong curled in a sublime effort from distance after 31 minutes. Gerrard’s penalty had separated the sides in the first meeting and when Micah Richards was penalised for handball nine minutes later, the Reds’ captain again registered from the spot.

Joe Hart made a string of saves to keep Roberto Mancini’s men in the tie and his interventions appeared decisive when Aleksandar Kolarov’s cross was turned in by Džeko midway through the second half.

Liverpool roused themselves again, however, and Bellamy made it 2-2 after 74 minutes by exchanging passes with Glen Johnson before sweeping in a low finish to secure a place in the final against Championship side Cardiff.

Cardiff made to to Wembley after beating Crystal Palace 3-1 on penalties Tiesday. Anthony Gardner, who scored the only goal of the first leg, headed past his own goalkeeper to give Cardiff an early lead and level the aggregate score. The visitors forced extra time, though, despite the second-half dismissal of Patrick McCarthy only to fall in the shoot-out.