Colin Montgomerie and Justin Rose birdied the last three holes to keep holders Britain and Ireland in control at the Seve Trophy in Spain today.
Just when it looked as though Continental Europe would reduce their three-point overnight deficit to just one in the morning greensomes, Montgomerie and Rose - three down with three to play - grabbed a vital half with Thomas Bjorn and Jose Maria Olazabal.
With home captain Seve Ballesteros going down to yet another defeat, this time with Sergio Garcia against Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, Montgomerie's side went to lunch 8-6 in front.
The match was alive again though thanks to Swedes Fredrik Jacobson and Niclas Fasth and the German-French partnership of Alex Cejka and Raphael Jacquelin.
Jacobson, winner of the Volvo Masters last Sunday, and Fasth were a brilliant nine under par for the 14 holes it took them to crush Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie in the opening game.
Cejka and Jacquelin then had their third win of the week, beating the previously-unbeaten Paul Casey and Brian Davis three and two.
Greensomes is where both players drive and then choose the better one but the format did not seem to be suiting Montgomerie and Rose at all when they failed to win any of the first 15 holes.
Bjorn and Olazabal, both with two defeats against their names after the two sessions of fourballs, were denied by two fabulous shots from their opponents.
After winning the 16th Rose hit his tee shot to the 213-yard next to six feet.
Montgomerie, having missed from less that distance there yesterday to lose with Lawrie, made it and then, off a fine Rose drive down the 466-yard last, hit his approach to three feet.
Three games, three defeats. It has again been sad to watch Ballesteros so far this week.
After twice losing with Olazabal the 46-year-old, now a lowly 1,231st in the world, was widely expected to leave himself out of Saturday's play and save himself for his attempt to beat Montgomerie for the third-successive time in the clash of the captains at the top of the singles order.
But Ballesteros left out Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ignacio Garrido instead and put himself with his team's star man. It did not work.
Westwood, the most impressive player on show so far, and Poulter won the first three holes, eagled the fifth and were still four up with four to play.
The home pair did birdie the next two to cling to the hope of rescuing a half, but with two putts to win on the 17th Poulter rolled his birdie attempt in for a three and one success.
By then Ballesteros had put in his line-up for the afternoon foursomes - and this time he did bench himself.
Olazabal was rested too and it might be that the most successful Ryder Cup partnership in history will never compete together again. If that is true, what a pity their final game together was not the one they played against Harrington and Paul McGinley in the competition last year.
They were six under for the last eight holes at Druids Glen, with Ballesteros winning the match by holing a 60-foot bunker shot.
Montgomerie, having spoken earlier in the week of possibly resting to be fresher to face Ballesteros, elected not to do so.
Phillip Price and David Howell missed the morning's golf and Price, one of the heroes of the Ryder Cup win last year, was again omitted from the foursomes along with Davis.