IRELAND are on their way back into the second flight of European Cup competition after surrendering their first division status by just half a paint. on a weekend of recurring disappointment at Santry Stadium.
That was all which divided them from Portugal in sixth place on a day when Finland, demoted from the Super league last season, won the men's competition from Sweden and when Slovenia prevailed in a tense struggle with Finland, to take the women's honours.
For the first time in recent years, Ireland failed to record an individual success. And while that was unquestionably. due in part, to the enforced loss of Niall Bruton and Mark Carroll, it doesn't altogether explain away a vastly disappointing result.
After leading going into the last throw, Nick Sweeney was upstaged by Jo Vandaele of Finland in the discus event in which the Finn got out to 62.26 metres on his last visit to the circle That was, to some extent, typical of Ireland's luck on the day and it was again in evidence when team captain, Terry McHugh receded to third place in the javelin, won with a big throw of 84.12 metres by the Finn, Jab Laukkanen.
On an occasion when BLF won international recognition for the smooth manner in which they presented the event, the track competitions proved equally unproductive for the home team.
And the point was well made in the 800 metres in which David Matthews of UCD, ran some way below his best form when finishing third behind Andre Bucher of Switzerland and Belgium's Natham Kahan in a disappointing time of 1 min 50.40 secs.
Once the cavalier Bucher had slipped the field with 700 metres to go, there was no way he was going to be caught. But Matthews still surrendered valuable points on the finishing straight when, with second place apparently secured, he was passed by Kahan.
Thus the UCD man's search for the form which has deserted him so mysteriously in the last 18 months is ongoing and now it's going to take a huge improvement to keep him in the frame for a place in the squad going to the world championships at the end of the season.
Likewise, Cormac Finnerty, a man who might have been expected to produce a big run, could finish only fourth in the 3,000 metres on Saturday and while his replacement in the 5,000. Noel Cullen, ran with some enterprise for much of the race, he was eventually strapped for speed when it condensed into a big kicking finish.
On the credit side, however, there was much to admire in the brave performances of Tom McGuirk who, after competing with distinction in two races, the 400 metres flat and hurdles on Saturday, returned to the track yesterday to run a brilliant anchor leg in the 4 x 400 metres relay.
A poor opening run by Peter Lyons left the home team with much to do but after Derek O'Connor and Gary Ryan, one of the more impressive Irish performers at the meeting, had reduced the deficit, McGuirk produced a storming run which at one point promised to get Ireland into the top two finishers. Sadly, he couldn't go through with the effort and, tiring over the last 20 metres, he eventually receded to fourth place.
On Saturday, McGuirk appeared to have the 400 metres hurdles race at his mercy when he led over the third last obstacle. He clipped the top of the barrier, however, and the loss of momentum was sufficient to enable the Belgian, Marc Dollendorl, to rein him in over the last 15 metres.
For Dollendorl it was sweet revenge for his defeat on his last European appearance in Dublin four years ago, when with victory almost assured, he was overtaken by Stephen Newman close to the finish line.
There was a measure of bad luck too, for the Irish high jump champion, Mark Mandy, who tied for first place in clearing 2.2 metres but unfortunately, lost it on the count back.
In a sense that was prophetic but while the Irish could claim that luck ran out on them at vital junctures of the programme. it didn't quite sap the sting from what was our most shoddy display for some time.
