By Eric Nicolson and Jack McKeown

SAFEWAY STORES in Perth and Dundee will never have seen a morning like it, with queues stretching hundreds of yards as people waited for doors to open on Saturday.

Such was the clamour for tickets for Scotland’s Euro 2004 play-off with Holland in a fortnight that at the Caledonian Road store in Perth many would-be members of the Tartan Army were left disappointed.

Similarly, hundreds of football fans in Dundee left empty-handed after around 500 endured a night of near freezing temperatures in a bid to secure tickets.

At the Safeway store in Arbroath Road, fans told The Courier many people failed to get tickets. The supermarket had not been allowed to say how many it had to offer.

In Perth, around 30 people queued through the night and by the time the store opened at 7.30 am it was estimated that 1000 people were hoping to buy one.

Store manager Joe Turner said, “The first person was there from 8 pm the night before, complete with deckchair and sleeping bag and there were others like him.

“When I arrived before 6 am I thought there could have been 500 people but other staff members were saying that an hour later when they went out to give people information about the ticket sale, there may have been as many as 1000,” he added.

Mr Turner said the tickets were all gone in probably less than half-an-hour.

From time to time police checked the queue, which stretched to Caledonian Road at one point, but everybody was in good spirits and there was no trouble.

In Dundee, a sea of coats and sleeping bags stretched out of the car park, with the most dedicated turning up at 6.30 pm on Friday and the number increased to an estimated 500 as the night wore on.

It is understood there was some rowdy behaviour, mainly caused by drink, but police made no arrests.

Store manager Jim Byrne said on Saturday his only complaint was the mess left by the crowd.

Scotland fan Neil Cameron said anyone who came after 5 am had no chance of getting a ticket.

A Scottish Football Association spokesman said, “Support for the team at the moment is fantastic, and everyone is looking forward to another packed stadium, only the third time in four years it has sold out for a Scotland match.”

A Safeway spokesman added, “Our sympathies are with those who missed out on tickets but we would like to thank all the fans for the patience they showed.”