Ireland suffer second four-goal defeat to USA in stifling Cincinnati heat

Irish Daily Mirror

7 hours ago

A second comprehensive beating in three days and plenty to stew over ahead of the Nations League play-off.
Belgium, October's opponents in the battle for top-tier football in next year's World Cup qualifiers, won't pack the same punch as the USA, long-term occupants of the number one spot in FIFA's world rankings.
But they are still five places above 25th-ranked Ireland and they picked up wins against England and Portugal in their recent Nations League campaign.
And they won't be intimidated by an Irish side that barely made it out of their half on Sunday in Cincinnati, against a rampant US outfit.
Carla Ward will struggle to pick too many positives out of this experience, other than the fact that wave after wave of American attack didn't lead to a more humbling defeat.
Fresh from the 4-0 reversal in Colorado, Ward made four changes to her starting-11, with Tyler Toland, Marissa Sheva, Saoirse Noonan and Abbie Larkin coming into the side.
However, the same goalkeeper and defenders that started the first game quickly found themselves under siege once again.
The hosts targeted the left side of the Irish defence and Chloe Mustaki struggled to deal with the pace and movement of Emma Hayes' world-class stars.
It wasn't just Mustaki who struggled. Even after half-time, when she was replaced by Megan Connolly, the majority of US attacks came down that flank.
Played in an intense 31-degree heat in front of just over 24,000 fans, not even a water break midway through each half could halt the USA's forward momentum.
Having opened the scoring in the 18th minute in Colorado, they were off the mark even earlier on Sunday. It took Lynn Biyendolo just 11 minutes to score her 25th senior international goal.
Emma Seers found herself in plenty of space down the right and she made no mistake in picking out the run of Biyendolo.
The finish was clinical; a smooth side-footed volley from eight yards high into the left-hand corner of Courtney Brosnan's net.
With the hosts camped inside Irish territory, the attacks continued at a frightening pace, with goalscorer Biyendolo coming close to connecting with a free-kick in the 16th minute.
Another attack down the Irish left saw Biyendolo's effort blocked by Jessie Stapleton, but only into the path of Croix Bethune, whose first-time effort curled just wide of the upright.
There was little the Irish defence could do to contain Biyendolo and she had the ball in the net again on 24 minutes, but the whistle had already gone for a foul on Stapleton in the build-up.
Moments later Kyra Carusa was back helping out her defence with an important block to deny Bethune, while Mustaki then put her body between a Bethune shot and the goal.
When Yazmeen Ryan was teed by by another Seers cross from the left, nine minutes before half-time, the chance was identical to the opener, but the finish was not, as the ball sailed high and wide of the target.
A second goal seemed inevitable and it came in the 42nd minute, much to the dismay of Brosnan, who had just pulled off a fine save to deny Seers.
However, as the ball broke loose in the Irish penalty area, Izzy Rodriguez reacted quickest to smash the ball into the unguarded net.
Once again, it was all too easy for the US as Bethune and Olivia Moultrie managed to work the ball into Seers deep inside the box.
Half-time came and went, with Ward making three changes, but with little effect on the direction of traffic.
Biyendolo came close twice in the minutes after the break, first with a volley that she couldn't steer on target and then with a ghosting run and angled drive that was beaten away by Brosnan.
Moultrie latched onto a loose pass inside by Caitlin Hayes and shot narrowly wide from 18 yards, with Ryan screaming for the ball inside her.
The third goal came in the 66th minute when the outstanding Seers kept the ball in place on the right end-line, laid it back to Moultrie and her low cross was swept home by Yazmeen Ryan.
With four minutes to go, the US made it a pair of 4-0 wins when substitute Alyssa Thompson raced between Stapleton and Hayes to finish past Brosnan.
USA: Mandy McGlynn; Emily Sams, Jordyn Bugg, Tara McKeown, Izzy Rodriguez; Sam Meza (Rose Lavelle 87), Olivia Moultrie (Catherine Hutton 80); Emma Sears, Croix Bethune (Allyson Sentnor 63), Yazmeen Ryan (Alyssa Thompson 80); Lynn Biyendolo (Sam Coffey 63).
Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Jessie Stapleton, Anna Patten (Ruesha Littlejohn 73), Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki (Megan Connolly 46); Tyler Toland (Izzy Atkinson 84), Marissa Sheva; Emily Murphy (Hayley Nolan 46), Kyra Carusa, Abbie Larkin (Lucy Quinn 46); Saoirse Noonan (Amber Barrett 58).