Even without Jessica Kürten, Team Ireland produced its best performance of the Samsung Super League season for a challenging third place finish in yesterday's Aga Khan Cup.
A cause for celebration, yes, but paradoxically we are still last in the rankings.
The Netherlands, who had led right up to the last rider, gallantly but unintentionally moved aside to let the Germans through to claim the prestigious gold cup.
Second was enough to move them out of the danger zone at the bottom of the Super League standings. They overhauled Sweden, but left Ireland still out with the washing in eighth place and needing all their luck if they are to survive next month's final in Barcelona and escape relegation.
"I'm not disheartened," team manager Robert Splaine said. "I'm proud of my team. They did a great job and they did the country proud. I think it's encouraging, not disheartening. Consistency is what we've been lacking and we got it today."
Consistency was the right word to describe the performance from Aga Khan debutant Shane Breen, who conjured up a magical double clear - one of six in the competition - with World Cruise.
A single time fault apiece in the second round from captain Shane Carey and from Cian O'Connor, however, meant the difference between sharing the runner-up slot with the Dutch and sliding down to third.
As always, the stands were packed and polite applause greeted clears from the seven visiting teams, but even the possibility of an Irish clear sent an eruption of noise whistling round the arena.
First in for Ireland, Carey and Killossery were foot-perfect all the way to the final fence and the crowd was already celebrating a zero score when the Army pair rolled the front rail off the final fence. The cheers died in the throats and turned to groans.
When Shane Breen and World Cruise left all the fences standing, if there had been a roof on the RDS it would have been lifted sky-high. Ireland were back in the hunt and only the Dutch, the one team we needed to beat if we were to have a chance of escaping the loneliest spot at the bottom of the standings, were out in front.
Irish fortunes took a nosedive when O'Connor returned a 12 after the mare Echo Beach stopped in the middle of the double of ditches and then hit the following oxer, but Cameron Hanley, another on his first Aga Khan trip, put in a superb clear with SIEC Hippica Kerman to leave Ireland third at the break behind the Netherlands and Germany, who were tied at the top on a clean sheet.
The clock did the damage in the second round. Breen was clear again while Carey and O'Connor left all the fences intact but picked up one fault on the clock.
Even a second faultless round from Hanley would not have made a difference, and he retired Hippica Kerman after hitting the fence before the water to leave Ireland third on six faults overall.
Germany, second by a single time fault at the hands of Britain 12 months ago, have made amends by claiming the Aga Khan Cup for the first time in 25 years.
Their second place has moved the Netherlands up the Super League to third from last, but Ireland is still adrift by just over two points from seventh-placed Sweden. If Ireland can repeat their performance against Sweden in the Barcelona final in five weeks, they will be granted a reprieve for a second year in a row.