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USA ease past Girls in Green in scorching Cincinnati

Updated / Monday, 30 Jun 2025 12:50
It was a difficult afternoon for the Girls in Green
It was a difficult afternoon for the Girls in Green

USA 4-0 Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland fell to a second successive 4-0 friendly defeat against the USA in sweltering conditions at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.

Outclassed in high altitude against Emma Hayes' world No 1-ranked side in Denver last Friday morning, this was always going to be another very difficult task for an Irish shorn of their strongest players.

They got off to a rocky start when Lynn Biyendolo broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, but they did have some bright moments as the half wore on. Any hopes of an unlikely recovery melted however when Izzy Rodriguez made it 2-0 a few minutes before the break.

On the turnaround, the Americans punished tired Irish legs with Yazmeen Ryan and the electric Alyssa Thompson wrapping up a convincing victory.

Ireland will rest up now before October's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off against Belgium when the likes of Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan should return to offer a welcome injection of quality.

Temperatures tipped into the 30s for the 17th meeting of these countries.

Ireland had lost all 16 previous encounters so optimism was not high, particularly given the unforgiving humidity.

Boss Carla Ward made four changes, bringing in Abbie Larkin, Tyler Toland, Saoirse Noonan and Marissa Sheva. Meanwhile Emma Hayes went with a completely different USA XI, entrusting a youthful outfit eager to take their chance to impress. It didn't take them long to do damage.

Razor-sharp one and two-touch football carved the Irish open, with Emma Sears tearing down the right channel and clipping in a great ball that Biyendolo confidently volleyed high into the net.

With their tails up, the USA kept on coming. Croix Bethune slashed a left-footed effort a couple of yards wide from just inside the area; then Biyendolo's goal was ruled out because Ryan had fouled Jessie Stapleton in the build-up.

A 25-minute water break helped the Girls in Green. They came out of that huddle fresher, purposeful.

Emily Murphy and Abbie Larkin were the two brightest sparks, both showing neat touches and good pace to get their opponents backpedalling. One Murphy-triggered attack saw Noonan feed Kyra Carusa, only for the striker to slam her shot into the sidenetting.

Ireland were getting a foothold, however - as was the case in Denver - the USA nabbed a killer second just before half-time.

Sears was initially denied at point-blank range by a tremendous Brosnan save but the goalkeeper's parry dropped nicely for Rodriguez, who knocked home the rebound.

Ward introduced Lucy Quinn, Hayley Nolan and Megan Connolly for the second half, switching to a 3-5-2 formation to try and subdue the hosts' flying wide players. It did not have the desired effect.

Olivia Moultrie, just 19 years old, pulled the strings as the USA constantly pushed and probed.

Brosnan batted away a Biyendolo shot; Bethune had an attempt charged down inside the area; then Moultrie surged forward and drilled one past the post.

A third goal felt inevitable, and it came in the 66th minute.

Substitute Sam Coffey started the move, releasing Ryan through the centre. Sears did well to race onto Ryan's overcooked pass and pick out Moultrie, who teed up the marauding Ryan to slide home a nice finish.

Ireland enjoyed a few sporadic counters in the opening half but they could offer nothing in the game's later stages. Visibly shattered, they sat back and soaked up the pressure as best they could. When Anna Patten went off for Ruesha Littlejohn, the Aston Villa centre-half immediately headed into the dressing room to find an ice bath.

The sight of Thompson coming off the bench would have further demoralised the visitors. She terrorised Ireland in Denver, and duly got herself among the goals again with four minutes to go.

A smart Sears ball over the top caught Ireland flat - Thompson killed it with a good first touch and then smashed home an emphatic low finish.

Hometown hero Rose Lavelle came on to the delight of the natives for the closing stages, but this game had long been done and dusted by then.

Ireland will head for home happy to get a rest, and hope some harsh lessons have been learned before focus turns to those important autumn dates with the Belgians.

USA: Mandy McGlynn; Emily Sams, Tara McKeown, Jordyn Bugg, Izzy Rodriguez; Sam Meza (Rose Lavelle 87), Olivia Moultrie (Claire Hutton 80), Croix Bethune (Ally Sentnor 63); Emma Sears, Lynn Biyendolo (Capt, Sam Coffey 63), Yazmeen Ryan (Alyssa Thompson 80)

Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan (Capt); 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)

Referee: Janeishka Caban (Puerto Rico)

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