A qualifying programme pockmarked by trouble ended appropriately in a mini-riot at Bursa's Ataturk Stadium last night with the Republic of Ireland going out of the European Championship on the away goals rule.

Intense rivalry, bubbling just beneath the surface throughout, erupted after the final whistle when police and other security personnel had to intervene to protect the uneasy peace as players jostled each other.

Tony Cascarino, who had provoked the wrath of the crowd by refusing to back off when pushed by Ogun Temizkanoglu, was the target for fans and Turkish players in a brief melee.

The Irish striker complained afterwards that he had been punched in the face by a fan and then kicked from behind. Kevin Kilbane, Gary Breen and Denis Irwin immediately went to the striker's assistance and Roy Keane, who was on the verge of entering the tunnel, raced back to lend further help.

Fortunately the Irish players with the assistance of the police eventually got Cascarino off the pitch intact.

FAI president Pat Quigley confirmed that there will be an official protest to UEFA. "We have already contacted the UEFA representative at the game because this kind of thing is unacceptable. Hopefully UEFA will at least make contact with the Turkish FA and make our feelings known.

"We have been treated with respect and hospitality up until the game but what followed after the final whistle was a shameful scene and surely a case for punishment."

But whatever happens in the backrooms now, the Republic will have to reflect on the third occasion in the last four years that they lost a play-off.

Tayfur Havutcu's late equaliser from the penalty spot at Lansdowne Road four days earlier hung like a millstone around the necks of brave Irish players throughout this long, raucous night.

When intense late pressure by the men in green produced nothing more than a couple of corner kicks, both hastily dispatched by the home defence, the final indignity of this harrowing campaign had materialised.

Despite that late pressure, it is fair to say that the home team might have won the game handsomely after creating some superb chances immediately before and after half-time.

Hakan Sukur might have had two before the break and later Okan Buruk, introduced in one of two changes from the team which played at Lansdowne Road, replicated that double miss. Then Arif Erdem, presented with the perfect chance by Hakan Sukur's measured cross, headed against the crossbar.

And before the end Dean Kiely pulled off a splendid save from Sergen Yalcin after the midfielder had careered through a broken Irish defence.

Kiely, pressed into service because of injuries to Alan Kelly and Shay Given, embodied Ireland's defiance in a performance of some resilience and earlier produced a save of equal improbability to thwart Hakan Sukur at point-blank range.

Ireland's scoring chances on the night were considerably fewer. Roy Keane, played in by David Connolly's dummy, failed to hit his angled shot sufficiently cleanly to beat the goalkeeper and in the second half Niall Quinn couldn't convert Rory Delap's long throw into a golden goal.

To that extent, Turkey deserved to go through on the night. It set the scene for some loud celebrations as the home supporters streamed into town to mark the second consecutive occasion they have qualified for the finals.

Yet one couldn't help but sympathise with Mick McCarthy and his players, who were so close to qualifying in Macedonia and who were now reaping the bitter fruit of those injury-time disasters in Zagreb and Skopje.

As ever, they defended with immense heart. Kiely justified McCarty's faith in him with a display which could not have been bettered by Kelly or Given. In front of him the team recovered from the early shock of seeing Steve Carr carried off injured to hold their lines comfortably until sheer persistence finally created those scoring chances for Turkey immediately before and after half-time.

Breen and Kenny Cunningham looked secure until tired limbs and the growing necessity to push forward created gaps for the Turks. On either side of them, Jeff Kenna and Irwin were generally secure against the pressure.

Midfield, as ever, was crucial and for 40 minutes or more Ireland played with sufficient authority in that area to suggest that they could qualify against all the odds. Roy Keane was still not the commanding figure of old but when the pressure was on, he was usually available to take the ball from hard-pressed colleagues and relieve the danger.

Alongside him Mark Kinsella was excellent in the first half, defending resourcefully when required to do so and yet flexible enough to be able to project a couple of excellent passes to his front men.

Delap looked more comfortable here than at Lansdowne Road, with his facility for throwing the ball long particularly useful, but the best of the line was undoubtedly Kilbane. Revelling in the challenge of taking on the uncompromising Turks, Kilbane was never afraid to run at defenders and on two occasions in the first half spread raw fear by his sheer persistence.

As ever Niall Quinn was magnificent in his work rate but after a bright start Connolly's influence on the game faded and he was eventually replaced by Damien Duff.

Thus did a brave campaign perish. And if a heavy sense of inevitability surrounded the outcome after the concession of that vital home goal last Saturday, they went out with their heads held high and the knowledge that once again only a streak of bad fortune had done them down.

Fears that Bursa would be bedlam for the visiting team were scarcely overstated. For hours before the eight o'clock (local time) kick-off, the stadium was filled and by the time the French referee got the game under way, there were thousands outside the ground and hundreds more inside it who can scarcely have seen anything because of the over-crowding.

The noise levels rose, and yet in spite of the cacophony, the Irish showed remarkable composure in the early stages with Kilbane illustrating his growing maturity at this level with a couple of fine runs down the left.

On the first occasion, Ali Eren Beserler was forced to concede the corner to prevent Connolly bearing down on goal, but shortly afterwards there was undisguised alarm on the Irish bench when Carr was injured in making the tackle on Abdullah Ercan. It gave an unexpected chance to Kenna, out of the side for so long, but with Turkey unable to construct a concerted attack, the rebuilt Irish defence did not come under any real pressure until much later in the game.

Alpay Ozalan did enough to prevent Quinn getting his head to a Kilbane cross in the 30th minute and shortly afterwards, Kilbane climbed above goalkeeper Rustu Regber only to miscue his header from Delap's cross.

The goalkeeper, so influential in the game at Lansdowne Road, required protracted treatment after that collision and was carried off injured. He was replaced by Engin Ipekoglu. .

This accounted for an extra six minutes injury-time being played in the first half and it was only then that the Turks began to turn the screw on the visiting defence.

Hakan Sukur suffered more than most in his side's failure to open the supply lines from midfield, but approaching half-time he got clear for the best chance of the game to that point.

Tayfur Havutcu curled a 35-yard free kick in behind the Irish defence for Hakan Sukur to make clean contact with his head. But from a situation in which he could almost see the whites of Kiely's eyes, the Turkish striker headed against the crossbar.

It proved the prelude for a spell of intense Turkish pressure and in the fifth minute of injury-time it required a superb block by Kiely to deny Hakan Sukur making amends for his earlier miss.

Kenna, steady to that point, failed to cut out the cross from the left, leaving Turkey's record goalscorer with ample time and room to tuck the ball away. But Ireland's goalkeeper was equal to the challenge, bounding off his line to save with his feet.

Later Kiely would replicate that moment of high inspiration but in the end, the decisive battle was waged at the opposite end of the pitch. And the harsh truth is that the Irish were never quite sharp enough to win it there.