Galatasaray 2

Galatasaray 2-0 Leeds

IT WAS one of the most heart-rending scenes ever witnessed at a football ground, and proved beyond doubt this was a game which should never have been played. Such a comment is not made with hindsight given Leeds' defeat to Galatasaray in their UEFA Cup semi-final first-leg, because even if they had won the feeling would still have been the same.

No, it was the reaction of the several hundred Leeds fans - who had braved the Turkish intimidation prevalent inside and outside the Ali Sami Yen Stadium - to the deaths of two of their fellow supporters. There are times when sport should give way to events which often happen outside its sphere - and this was one of those occasions.

The violence which erupted in the heart of Istanbul last night and led to Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight being killed should have been enough to have persuaded football's authorities to postpone the game. But UEFA and the Football Association both stressed the match should take place after lengthy talks this morning, despite the depth of feeling and emotion which was clearly running high among both the United officials and those fans still in Turkey.

A sombre day passed, but for the Galatasaray supporters, the events of last night seemed to matter little as this was just another match to whip themselves into mass hysteria. While the Leeds players wore black armbands as a mark of respect to the deceased, those from Galatasaray did not, despite the club making a special announcement over the tannoy before kick-off.

To a chorus of whistles, the female announcer said: ''Galatasaray offer their sincere condolences for the tragic events that occurred last night and condemn all acts of violence that serve only to disgrace the name of football.'' The very least which could have been done was a minute's silence, but even that was not forthcoming, so the Leeds fans took it upon themselves to orchestrate their own. What followed was a clear signal to football's top brass that their decision to play the game was the wrong one as those fans stood in tribute, arms raised to the heavens, but perhaps most significantly they had all turned their backs away from the pitch. Such a show of loyal unity will surely never be forgotten by those who took part, and those who witnessed it.

It was then asking too much for the players to perform to the level to which those supporters have now become accustomed to all season. They had already received an armoured police escort to the ground, and when they and the supporters arrived, they were greeted by a high-level security presence believed to be numbering 8,000.

The riot police carried guns, wielded batons, and many were accompanied by alsatians, while water cannons were also dotted around the dilapidated stadium. One of the supporters' coaches, however, did not escape the fury of the hostile Galatasaray faithful as several windows were shattered due to an apparent bombardment of bricks and stones.

Once inside, the Leeds fans were then cordoned off by row after row of police, and situated well away from the booming cacophony of noise generated by their Turkish counterparts. The plan was to silence the passion of Galatasaray for the opening 20 minutes, but the worst case scenario hit Leeds as they went a goal down in the 13th minute.

Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn had already made a flying save from Arif Erdem when the most dangerous player on view provided the cross for the prolific Hakan Sukur to head home his ninth goal in European competition this season. Galatasaray, having dropped out of the Champions League this season, then opened up the cushion which leaves them 90 minutes away from a place in the final and the opportunity to become the first Turkish team to win a European trophy.

Leeds, lacking the pace and the passion which has made them a force to be feared both at home and abroad, failed to clear when Ergun Pembe whipped in a 44th-minute free-kick to the heart of the area where Brazilian defender Carlos De Oliveira was able to slide the ball home.

The noise inside the ground which has become known as 'Hell' and is to be torn down after their next home game, reached fever pitch and never subsided during the second half. Leeds, who had failed to test keeper Claudio Taffarel in the first half, should at least have given themselves a semblance of hope for the return leg at Elland Road in the second.

On the hour Michael Bridges found himself one on one with Taffarel following a long goal kick from Martyn, but his first shot was driven into the diving Brazilian's body, while his second bite of the cherry struck the sidenetting. Within minutes, Harry Kewell glanced a Stephen McPhail cross agonisingly wide of the left-hand post, while the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international then drove past the same upright in the 79th minute as United created their best move.

When an Ian Harte 20-yard free-kick ricocheted off the head of a Galatasaray player standing in the wall just five minutes from time, it was the last act of an emotionally-drained team. It proved to be United's fourth successive defeat, but at 2-0 the situation is not irredeemable, and there is still hope in the hearts of the supporters who have been to Hell and back in the last 24 hours.