A goal in each half condemned Ireland to an opening day defeat in the Cyprus Cup, as they were beaten by Austria in Paralimni.
Julie-Ann Russell went close for Ireland in the opening stages when her shot from the edge of the box rebounded off crossbar.
It was Austria, however, who opened the scoring against the run of play after 20 minutes, when Verena Aschauer pounced on a mistake in the Irish defence and fired the loose ball past debutant goalkeeper Grace Moloney from close range.
MATCH SHOT: Louise Quinn goes close with a first-half header. #IRLWNT #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/FKHtaYHhnM
— FAI (@FAIreland) March 2, 2016
Austria doubled their lead in the second period when former Houston Dash player Nina Burger rounded the keeper rolled the ball into an empty net.
Nina Burger beats the offside trap to score Austria's second. Final Score: Republic of Ireland 0-2 Austria #COYGIGhttps://t.co/iFCw5vgV6u
— FAI (@FAIreland) March 2, 2016
Diane Caldwell was denied a consolation goal in injury time, her goal was disallowed for an offside ruling.
In addition to Moloney, 18-year-old defender Savannah McCarthy also made her senior debut during the game.
MATCH SHOT: Thank you to the fans that support us across the globe!#COYGIG #IRLWNT pic.twitter.com/xiGcoKHDwV
— FAI (@FAIreland) March 2, 2016
