Ireland must face the wooden spoon match against Russia at the women's World Cup in Australia tomorrow after losing 4-3 to Ukraine.
This was Ireland's eighth straight defeat - they have lost every game in the tournament - but the fact that it was the fifth time there had been only one goal difference should give them something to build on.
They got the ideal start when top scorer Arlene Boyles scored from a 14th-minute penalty corner but this was cancelled out four minutes later by Ukraine captain Tetyana Kobzenko's own set-piece.
Another corner strike from Boyles - her fifth of the competition - put Ireland ahead again and Jenny Burke made it 3-1.
However, crucially Zhanna Savenko pulled one back five minutes before half-time and two goals in as many minutes soon after the interval from Svitlana Kolomiyets and Natalya Vasyukova put the World Cup debutants into the 13th place play-off against South Africa.