Flying the flag for City victory

The RFA Gold Rover will fly the Welsh flag if Cardiff win the FA Cup

The navigator of a Royal Navy support vessel is planning to fly the Welsh flag from his ship if Cardiff City win the FA Cup on Saturday.

Richard Llewellyn, 31, said the flag would fly from the RFA Gold Rover, even though it was currently docked in Portsmouth - home of City's opponents.

The fleet tanker is due to sail to Plymouth on Sunday where it will help with training for warships.

He will be at the game, but will return to navigate the ship.

"The captain is not a big sports fan and I just asked him," said Mr Llewellyn, who is from Cardiff.

"There are two Portsmouth fans on board but they're just a bit bemused!

Mr Llewellyn, a City fan for more than 20 years, has not found it easy following the Bluebirds' progress in the cup because he has been at sea.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship has been helping the Royal Navy in the South Atlantic for more than two years, with Mr Llewellyn joining it a couple of months ago in Rio.

Humiliating Defeats

He did manage to see the quarter-final win over Middlesbrough in a Cardiff pub, but the semi-final against Barnsley was a trickier proposition.

"I keep in touch with how they are doing but it's been quite rare to get to games these says," he said.

"We were at sea for the semi-final so I was listening to Radio 5Live on the ship's system."

The radio reception may have been patchy but Mr Llewellyn at least managed to listen to the game with a fellow Cardiff fan, the logistics supply officer.

His colleague is no longer on board but is planning to fly from his home in the Philippines to see the Wembley final.

With his ship in Portsmouth, Mr Llewellyn has been much closer to home, and has had an insight into how the opposition have been shaping up for the final.

But he did raise a few eyebrows when he tried to buy the official Cardiff City FA Cup song from a Portsmouth shop.

"There's a lot of flags and quite a lot of the shops have got stuff on display," he said.

"But I still couldn't buy James Fox's record here.

"I asked if they would order it and they wouldn't - but if you don't try you don't get!"

He may not have the official cup song, but he does believe, just about, that City can win.

"You're never confident with City because there's been many humiliating defeats in the past," he said.

"It's a big stage but we've got the momentum now.

"Portsmouth's best striker [Jermain Defoe] is cup-tied and they've got the weight of being favourites on their shoulders."