Ireland crashed to a 3-0 defeat against England in their final pool match at hockey's European Nations Cup in Barcelona this morning.
Riet Kuper's Irish side were always going to make life difficult for their opponents and so it proved as England led by just a single goal at half-time, Jane Smith netting in the seventh minute.
Nine minutes after half-time, however, forward Anna Bennett doubled England's advantage and seconds before the final hooter Helen Grant made it 3-0.
Ireland, however, achieved their primary objective of the championships yesterday after a 1-1 draw with Ukraine secured their third place in the pool and a play-off place for positions between five and eight.
Elsewhere in the group, Wales slipped to their fifth straight defeat as they went down 5-2 to Ukraine.