Republic of Ireland Under-21s 'gutted' but future bright for Jim Crawford's crew

Close but no major championship.

The Republic of Ireland saw the prospect of a first ever appearance at the Under-21 Euros slip through their fingers on Tuesday night, a highly creditable 1-1 draw in Italy not enough as Norway thumped Turkey 5-1 to leapfrog Jim Crawford's side into second place in Group A, on the head-to-head record.

Of course, if Norway had not secured a highly controversial point in Cork last week then Ireland would still have made a play-off, but, after full-time in Trieste, Crawford preferred to focus on his team's display in fighting back from 1-0 down at half-time, having conceded a goal against the run of play.

"The boys were magnificent," he told RTÉ Sport. "To come to Italy, a top team, and put on a performance like that was magnificent.

"We knew coming to Italy was going to be a real a challenge but we said 'You know what, we won't be sitting off them, we’ll get after them’. And that first 25 minutes or so we were excellent.

"They were always going to have a spell. Second half, I thought we were excellent, and you only have to see the way they set up, throwing five at the back and wasting a bit of time.

"I'm gutted for the players and the staff who have worked unbelievably hard since the start of the campaign.

"When the draw was made, you say 'That’s a really tough group’ but we knew we would be good. And one of the positives today is we’ve got six players in the squad that can go again for the next campaign.

"It’s a real learning for them: The [drawn] games against Latvia, holding out against Italy in Turners Cross, Norway in Turners Cross the other day, which was a poor decision by the referee. But it is what it is, we’re out."

It was an agonising way to miss out on what would have been a historic