USA WNT 3-0 Republic of Ireland WNT 

The Republic of Ireland Women lost 3-0 to the USA in Pasadena as the World Cup winners kicked off their five-game victory tour.

Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Carli Lloyd all found the net to claim victory for Jill Ellis' side in front of 37,040 at the Rose Bowl.

The friendly formed part of Ireland's preparations for their opening European Championship qualifier against Montenegro in September.

The US dominated possession throughout the match and were quick on the scoreboard, with Heath heading in a cross from Christen Press in the 16th minute.

Horan doubled the advantage 15 minutes later before Lloyd consolidated the lead just before half-time.

The US have won all 13 of their meetings with Ireland. 

Ireland interim manager Tom O'Connor explained that while he never likes to lose a game, he was delighted with the determination shown by his side. 

"It’s 3-0 and no one likes to lose, but I think you have to put it in context. We’re playing against the world champions in their home match, on their victory tour.

"Overall, I’m very, very pleased with the performance and the way the girls played tonight," said O’Connor.

With the USA looking clinical in the first 45, it was the way his team approached the second-half that really pleased O’Connor.

He said: "It was a tough first half, we didn’t see a lot of the ball.

"But the second half was a different story. After the first 45 minutes and with them three up already, we knew we had to get the shape right and overall I’m delighted with the second-half performance."

And with the opening game of the European Championships against Montenegro on 3 September just under one month away, the interim manager feels the future is bright for the young team.

He said: "To bring a 17-year-old, Eabha O’Mahony, on and for her to do so well was great. We had a few players making their debut or getting their first starts and they did very well, so that bodes well for the team for the future.

"Niamh Farrelly and Jess Gargan were excellent, they didn’t look out of sync at all. With all that in mind, we’ll look forward to the start of another campaign."

USA defender Becky Sauerbrunn said: "This is such a historic place and it has such memories for the US Women's National Team," said .

"We’re just so thankful to get to celebrate with everyone who supported us in France.

"This is a great night."

USA: Alyssa Naeher (Ashlyn Harris), Tobin Heath (Jessica McDonald), Carli Lloyd (Ali Krieger), Christen Press (Rose Lavelle), Lindsey Horan, Julie Ertz, Sam Mewis (Allie Long), Crystal Dunn, Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlekemper, Kelley O'Hara (Emily Sonnett).

Republic of Ireland: Marie Hourihan, Claire O'Riordan, Louise Quinn (Claire Walsh), Diane Caldwell, Jess Gargan, Harriet Scott, Niamh Fahey, Niamh Farrelly, Amber Barrett (Rianna Jarrett), Heather Payne (Eabha O'Mahony), Katie McCabe.

Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA).