The Ireland WNT suffered defeat to the US in St Louis as they closed out their two-game stint stateside with a valiant performance against the reigning world champions. 

Fullback Alana Cook got the only goal of the game with a long ball back into the mix that was meant to find the centre of the box from about 40 yards out but sailed over Courtney Brosnan who had stolen a yard to claim the ball. 

Ireland return home with two more friendly fixtures to play as Vera Pauw makes final tweaks to the side she would like to see line out in Australia in just a couple months time. 

The US looked to take advantage early on and it came within inches as home hero Sauerbrunn headed towards goal from a corner set piece straight from the training ground but Bronan managed to keep it out with the aid of the crossbar. 

The opening ten minutes were very open as McCabe and O’Hara traded dangerous efforts towards goal. A great opening period for the neutral watching this game but from an Irish perspective to see them bring the ball down and want to, and successfully play around this US team was impressive early on. 

As time went on Ireland only grew more and more confident as they retained the ball for decent spells with Denise O’Sullivan and Katie McCabe beginning to run the show as the clock ticked towards the half hour mark. 

US captain Sauerbrunn who was celebrated pre-kickoff for making her 200th International cap recently was withdrawn just before the half-hour mark in what seemed to be a pre-arranged sub for the home side on the night. 

The change seemed to stall the momentum that Ireland had as sloppiness started to creep in and the US high press was starting to force mistakes out of the Irish back line,

The killer blow came just a minute before half time as Alana Cook floated a ball back into the box after a corner was cleared and the ball carried in the air which seemed to catch Brosnan off guard. Despite her best efforts it found the back of the net to give the hosts a lead and end a rather dominant half for the away side on a sour note. 

The second half saw the US make four changes as they looked to see what they have in their reserves ahead of the World Cup with this their final fixture before their official squad selection for the tournament. 

Despite the American side going into the hour mark with six new faces to the team that started the game they were comfortable and dominant on the ball as they looked for a second with Ireland beginning to show signs of tiredness as a relatively unchanged side played their second intense fixture in four days. 

The one chance Ireland were hoping for came with seven to go as once again Denise O’Sullivan did well to bring the play from midfield to attack and slid in Kyra Carusa who could not find the target with her low effort that just went to the right of the post. 

Ireland remained in the game as the game headed into six additional minutes which is a real credit to the performance of a side that showed that they can go toe to toe with the best teams in the world. A promising trip to the states despite the results.