SOUTHAMPTON AC’s men returned to the top flight of British club athletics for the first time since the 1980s with a challenging first fixture at Sheffield.

As with football, there is a gulf between the resources of the Premiership elite and the lower divisions, meaning the boys in red and white stripes will have to perform up to and above expectations to retain their place at the British Athletics League’s top table.

They finished seventh out of eight at Sheffield but, with the most difficult and far-flung trip now out of the way and reinforcements to come, they can go into the second fixture of the four-match series at Lee Valley on June 3 in good heart.

Southampton roared into action like lions with metric milers Jonny Roberts and Mahamed Mahamed pulling off an unexpected 1500 metres A/B double.

New recruit Ben Claridge was edged into second in the A 400m, clocking an excellent 47.50 seconds in windy conditions.

Making a welcome return to BAL competition after a string of injury setbacks, Harry Fisher fought for runners-up spot in the A 800m with 1.52.10. Wing-man Abdi Mahamed, running his first two-lap race at this level, destroyed his personal best with 1.56.92 for B-string sixth.

Matt Hewitt, back from warm-weather training, clocked a season’s best 15.57 for the 110m hurdles, running into a strong headwind, while 3000m steeplechase B-stringer Jamie Knapp ran strongly for 9.57.70. Both finished second.

Club stalwart Sean Adams (53.64) was fifth in the A 400m hurdles despite hitting the tenth barrier, while under-20 James Jackson took B-string fourth, (56.16), defying an overnight bout of food poisoning.

After 12 of the 19 events Southampton sat fourth, but it was in the field disciplines that they discovered that Premiership athletics is on a different level.

Newcomers Tim Williams (56.20 metres) and Patrick Swan (40.75, pb) threw the best part of 20 metres further than the best efforts of 2016’s throwers, yet still found themselves in seventh and sixth respectively.

Swan, making the long journey from his home in Cornwall, excelled in his first year as an under 23, propelling the B discus out to 43.16m, close to his best in unfavourable winds, and also placed third in the B shot (13.66).

His discus partner, former international Chris Scott, launched his first effort out to a near club record 53.16m to secure A-string third before retiring with a side strain.

Javelin throwers James Bougourd (55.38m) and Dominic Allen (55.30m) were slightly down on their best, hampered by poor organisation by host officials who started the event some 40 minutes late.

Another Southampton debutant, triple jumper Chuko Cribb, bounded out to 14.92 for second place, just shy of his pb, into a very strong headwind. Junior Adam Jones ably supported him, covering all three jumps events.

Pole vaulter Sam Bass-Cooper, adjusting to life in the upper echelons, came fourth with 4.60, defeating some international vaulters in the process.

Moving into the final couple of events, Southampton were sixth, four points clear of Thames Valley Harriers, last year’s dominant Division One force.

In a desperately close final track event, the 4x400m relay, Southampton’s quartet of Tyson Oladokun, Claridge, Fisher and Adams were edged into fifth with just over half a second covering second to fifth spots. Such was the standard that the team broke the club record by almost two seconds, recording 3.15.83.

With one event still to score Southampton were still clinging onto sixth, but Thames Valley’s heavyweights overwhelmed Archie Leeming (14.03) and Swan in the shot put to push them down to seventh.

Match result: Birchfield Harries 311, Newham & Essex Beagles 303, Sheffield & Dearne 296, Woodford Green & Essex Ladies 271, Shaftesbury Barnet 261, Thames Valley 261, Southampton 254, City of Liverpool 215.