A MILLWALL football fan will get to see the biggest day in his club?s history as they take on the might of Manchester United in this Saturday?s FA Cup Final in Cardiff ? Barry Balderstone won tickets just days before the sell-out game.
Barry, who moved to Okehampton from Bermondsey in South London four years ago, had been ?gutted? when his beloved club?s allocation of cup final tickets sold out in just five hours.
He had been following the club for more than 40 years but was worried he might miss their big day.
But lucky Barry struck gold after entering a competition on Teletext to win a pair of tickets to the final. He was chosen from thousands of entries after successfully naming last year?s winners ? Arsenal.
Barry said he will be taking his middle son, Ronald, to the game, although he does not share his father?s passion for the Lions.
?He?s an Arsenal fan,? said Barry, ?but he was the one who told me to enter the competition, so I have decided to take him.?
Barry said he was very excited about travelling to Cardiff to join the ranks of the 20,000 Millwall fans hoping for a win against the odds over Manchester United, whose millionaire stars include Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
It really is a case of David versus Goliath ? this is Millwall?s first ever FA Cup final appearance while Manchester United will be aiming to win the trophy for the eleventh time.
Barry, who works at Heinz in Okehampton, said he was not confident about making any predictions about the match.
?To be honest, I?m not expecting us to win,? he said. ?We are the underdogs, but I think a lot of people will be supporting us because we are the underdogs.?
Barry said he had been a supporter of Millwall since 1961, and this year he had been following their cup run with great excitement.
And Barry is hoping to make up for the disappointment of the last time he saw his footballing heroes in a cup final match five years ago.
?I always promised my dad I would take him to Wembley to see Millwall, and so when we got there for the LDV Vans Trophy cup final against Wigan, we went to the game. We lost 1-0 to a goal in the 93rd minute,? he said.