Harlequins boss Mark Evans faced up to the stark reality of a relegation dogfight and admitted: "League tables don't lie."

Quins' desperate attempt to salvage something tangible from their dismal season ended with a shattering 32-27 Powergen Cup semi-final defeat against London Irish at The Stoop.

The Zurich Premiership basement boys miraculously wiped out a 26-0 deficit as tries from Alex Codling, Ace Tiatia and Tony Diprose put them within touching distance of a second successive Twickenham cup final appearance.

But Irish hero, fly-half Barry Everitt, booted two late penalties into a biting wind, and the jubilant Exiles were back at English rugby's HQ - where Northampton await them next month - after a 22-year wait.

At least Quins now will not be distracted from their perilous Premiership plight, one which sees them bottom of the pile with just six games - four away from home - remaining.

Fellow semi-final fall guys Newcastle are next on the agenda, heralding trips to Bristol, Irish and Wasps before rival relegation candidates Leeds arrive for a crunch May 3 Stoop showdown. By the time Quins visit Sale nine days later, it could be all over.

"There is no Kryptonite available - we've just got to work hard and keep focused," said Evans, who will probably be acclaimed as Superman if he keeps Quins up.

"League tables don't lie, but the players' mood in terms of spirit is pretty good. They are not a disillusioned bunch, and I know that there is not an awful lot wrong."

Many teams would have collapsed in a crumpled heap after Irish's early onslaught saw Everitt land four penalties, plus the conversions of tries by player/coach Brendan Venter and full-back Michael Horak.

But Quins did not and posted 27 unanswered points between the 35th and 68th minutes, despite losing three players - lock Steve White-Cooper, full-back David Slemen and flanker Pat Sanderson - through injury.

"At half-time Quins trailed 26-10, I believed we could win," Evans added.

"But we expended a lot of energy in taking the lead, then lost a bit of momentum during the last 10 minutes and didn't control field position.

"If you score 27 unanswered points then you feel that you have achieved something, but Sundays are still horrible when you've lost."

Evans felt referee Steve Leyshon did not play enough injury time at the end of both halves, and the Quins coach had a point - especially because the Slemen stoppage alone took longer than the total second-half added time allowed.

Slemen, hurt in an attempted tackle on Irish wing Paul Sackey, was down for five minutes before being carried off with his neck in a surgical collar. Evans quickly allayed serious injury fears, though, confirming Slemen ws to undergo a precautionary x-ray.

"Maybe there should be independent time-keeping for one-off games like a cup semi-final," said Evans.

"There is no conspirary theory here, but the amount of injury time played was wrong. I felt that we had anything from two to four minutes left in that second half - Sir Alex Ferguson would have been appalled."

While Quins reflected on what might have been, Irish fans celebrated long into the night. Victory over Parker Pen European Shield semi-final opponents Pontypridd next month will guarantee two high-profile final appearances in one season.

"I take my hat off to the team for fighting back in the way that they did," said Irish rugby director Conor O'Shea.

"I had a horrible vision that we were going to lose a classic cup tie, which would have been a pretty devastating experience. But we can now look forward to the final and a great, great day for this club."

Irish technical coach Gary Gold singled out Chris Sheasby's contribution against his former club, claiming: "I think that Chris is the best number eight in the Premiership at the moment.

"He carries the ball superbly and is just an awesome guy to have in the squad."