Ireland’s solitary hope of claiming a European trophy disappeared in a dour, goalless draw in Dublin last night as St Patricks failed to secure the three goal victory they required to knock Hertha Berlin out of the UEFA Cup.

Following a 2-0 defeat at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin a fortnight ago, the Irish were left facing the daunting task of extracting a 3 goal victory over Hertha Berlin in the second leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie.

The Irish were unlucky not to score during a brave performance that sent the Hertha Berlin defence scrambling on several occasions. The Saints final unsuccessful assault on goal came in the 75th minute when Gary Dempsey sent a shot thundering into the Hertha Berlin post.

The German side’s fitness came through in the last 15 minutes of the match as the Irish were prevented from launching further forays into the Hertha Berlin goal area.

In the night’s other UEFA Cup match, CSKA Moskva advanced to the second round of the 2008/2009 UEFA Cup courtesy of a 3-1 aggregate win over NK Slaven Koprivnica.