THE best thing that can be said about Team Solent's ill-fated trip to Cardiff in the British Men's League Division 2 is that they didn't finish last.

Despite the club's thriving membership, their squad was left unbelievably threadbare by a combination of injuries, unavailabilites and athletes who opted to compete in the Southern League instead.

With pole vault number one Ashley Swain ruled out by back trouble, the onus was on Bitterne Park lad Paul Thomas to replicate the form that saw him equal his personal best of 4.60 in the AAA Under-23 Championships a week earlier.

But sadly Thomas no-heighted and Solent's afternoon went from bad to worse when Stefan Rose ended up in hospital with a head wound.

Filling in for the absent Danny Gilbert in the high jump, Rose slipped and hit the upright, ruling him out of his normal sprinting, long and high jump events.

The one ray of sunshine to filter through the dark Solent clouds was the magnificent form of the throwers.

Simon Fricker, Niklas Iliffe and Simon Bennett were all B string victors while powerhouse Steve Sammut performed above and beyond the call of duty by adding the triple jump to his usual hammer duties.

The result pushes Solent down to fifth in the league standings with one match remaining at Windsor on August 18.

Match result: Trafford 333, Harrow 324, Windsor 307, Thames Valley 293, Cardiff 273, Enfield 247, Team Solent 238, Sheffield 213.

Overall league points: Trafford 23, Harrow 21, Thames Valley 18, Windsor 12, Team Solent 11, Cardiff 10, Enfield 9, Sheffield 4.

Team Solent individuals

100m: A 7 Andy Bargh 11.20, B 6 Ian Cawley 10.60

200m: B 6 Ian Cawley 23.51, B 3 Pete Brend 21.94

400m: A 1 Pete Brend 47.34, B 4 James Parker 50.92

800m: A 5 James Parker 1.55.67, B 8 Pete Davis 2.17.70

1500m: A 7 Simon Plummer 4.04.83

5000m: A 6 Mike Twomey 15.48.14, B 5 Colin Palmer 16.35.44

110m hurdles: A 3 Ian Cawley 14.86

400m hurdles: A 1 Andy Bargh 53.31

3000m steeplechase: A 7 Colin Palmer 9.40.07, B 6 Pete Davis 10.28.90

4x100m relay: 6 Team Solent 44.17

4x400m relay: 8 Team Solent 4.03.70

High jump: A 7 David Sketchley 1.80

Long jump: A 6 Stefan Rose 6.50, B 7 Simon Fricker 5.09

Triple jump: A 7 Simon Bennett 11.70, B 7 Steve Sammut 9.54

Discus: A 4 Simon Fricker 46.70, B 1 Niklas Iliffe 44.08

Hammer: A 2 Steve Sammut 59.58, B 2 Maurice Hicks 51.02

Javelin: A 2 David Sketchley 61.58, B 1 Simon Bennett 57.51

Pole vault: A 6 Ian Cawley 2.10, B Paul Thomas no heighted

Shot: A 2 Gary Sollitt 15.82, B 1 Simon Fricker 15.34