HOCKEY/Ireland - 0 Spain - 0: Not for the first time at a major tournament a calculator is an essential tool for those who follow the fortunes of the Irish women's hockey team.
After last night's 0-0 draw with Spain at Belfield, in the hosts' second game of the European Championships, goal difference is likely to decide which of the two teams will advance to Friday's semi-finals.
True, hockey can be a funny old game, but it rarely produces results as strange as Ireland beating Holland, the defending European champions and the top-ranked team in the world, nor indeed France, ranked 19th in the world, beating Spain, European silver medallists two years ago.
And so, if it is safe to assume that Ireland will lose to Holland tonight and Spain will beat France, it will all come down to goal difference.
The good news? Ireland (+3) have a four-goal advantage over Spain (-1) and by the time they take to the pitch against the Dutch tonight (7pm) they will know precisely what they have to do - Spain play France at 5pm.
The worrying news? The last time Ireland played Holland - in Bremen last month - they lost 5-1, and that, generally, has been the margin of their losses in recent years to the team seeking their fourth successive victory in this tournament.
"A draw would do it, but it's going to be very, very hard," conceded Irish coach Riet Kuper after last night's game. And having won more than 50 caps for her native country she knows more than most about their strengths. She knows a bit, too, about the Dutch coach, Marc Lammers, a former protege of hers at Den Bosch and formerly a coach of Spain.
But the team can take considerable heart from their gutsy display against the Spanish, not least from the performance of their defence, in which Bridget McKeever and Ciara O'Brien were outstanding - Fiona Connery, the left-back, too.
While the Spanish would have been entitled to feel aggrieved if they had lost the game - having had the better of much of the first half and spells of the second - Ireland had several opportunities to win it, leaving Kuper bemoaning her team's lack of composure in front of goal.
Ireland opened brightly, but Spain soon took a grip of the game and were rewarded with a short corner in the 11th minute. However, Angela Platt dealt superbly with Nuria Camon's drag flick, palming the effort to safety.
As the half wore on Ireland began to find their feet, with Jenny Burke an increasingly influential figure in midfield. It was the Hermes player who earned her team's first corner, five minutes before the break, and it was her strike from the set-piece that forced goalkeeper Maria Jesus Rosa into action for the first time.
Spain failed to clear from Rosa's save and when the ball came back into the circle Lynsey McVicker, winning her 150th cap, found Jenny McDonough unmarked in front of goal - her Ulster team-mate, though, wasted the chance and Ireland's best opportunity of the game was lost.
With so much at stake for both teams there was a constant edginess to the game, played at a frenetic pace throughout, but from late in the second half Ireland became more of a force, carving out several goalscoring chances. The breakthrough, however, just wouldn't come.
"Someone said our 1-0 against France might come back to haunt us and that might be the case," admitted McKeever after the game, goal difference on her mind.
Perhaps, but for once maybe Ireland will have a bit of luck in that department.
IRELAND: A Platt, F Connery, C O'Brien, B McKeever, K Smyth, L Caulfield, J Orbinson, J Burke, J McDonough, E Cregan, L McVicker (capt). Subs: C Carey, C McKean, N Symmons.
SPAIN: M J Rosa, R Menendez, R Ybarra, B Malda, M Prat, S Munoz (capt), S Bonastre, R Huertas, P Sanchez, N Camon, E Termens. Subs: L Antoma, G Comerma.
