St Albans City have explained their actions after a U-turn over ticket prices for their FA Cup tie with Carlisle United.

With a bumper crowd expected to flock to Clarence Park, City announced the ticket prices on Friday, which included a rise to the norm.

This brought a wave of anger and disappointment from fans on social media and within 24 hours the club had relented, dropping them back to their original levels.

Co-owner Lawrence Levy explained to the Herts Ad the added costs involved with hosting a FA Cup tie had prompted the increase.

He said: “The initial prices were set by us in agreement with Carlisle. It was arrived at taking into account the significant increased cost of hosting this fixture, including Carlisle’s travel and accommodation costs, increased health and safety measures and additional staffing for the day.

“We also looked at similar fixtures such as Boreham Wood. It is a very rare opportunity for the club to not lose money.

“We then decided to amend the prices to try and balance the opportunity to generate well-needed funds against making this game accessible to all in the community, including our most loyal supporters and particularly those who benefit from our concessions.”

The rethink led fans to praise the club for listening to their views.

The game will now be played on Sunday, November 6, after being selected by BBC for ‘single camera use’ on their Final Score programme.

While this brings in a cash windfall of £12,500, it also brings the possibility of casual fans missing out due to clash with televised Premier Leagues involving Watford and Liverpool and the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Levy confirmed that the club had no say in the moving of the date.

City’s cup run has earned a total of £37,000 so far from the FA’s prize fund and TV and the owner said the money would help with all aspects involved in running the club, including the playing budget.