The miserable weather conditions did not help the U19 women’s team of the Republic of Ireland, as they lost 3-2 to Switzerland despite a courageous comeback in Markets Field.

After narrowly losing to England in their first UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship qualifier, it felt like Dave Connell owed some of the game, but the Swiss had other plans.

Switzerland, the top-seeded Group 5, took the lead on 10 minutes when Auréile Csillag blocked an Emma Bucci shot as she passed goalkeeper Savanna Duffy, who was making her competitive debut.

Just four minutes later, the team in red celebrated again when Alayah Pilgim scored a goal of their own after being instrumental in shaping their opener. 2-0 with only 15 minutes on the clock.

Ireland had little chance of getting their game going as they were pushed back and valiantly defended while Shauna Brennan saved a third goal with a pinpoint header from her own goal line.

But a third goal came shortly afterwards when Csillag added her name to the official goalscoring list in the 24th minute. That got Connell’s team to act, and that’s exactly what they did when Bucci ended a rebound from Della Doherty’s attempt on goal in the 26th minute.

During the break, Ireland’s Muireann Devaney and Kerryanne Brown were introduced to give them more support in midfield and push their way up in search of the goals they needed to get back into the game.

A great run for goal and a shot from Peamount United’s Rebecca Watkins were just about to land in the net. It was more like Ireland moving the ball forward quickly and creating scoring opportunities.

They scored another goal in the 77th minute as Ellen Molloy does what she does best by delivering an outstanding finish. It felt like the comeback was about to begin.

In the closing stages of the game it was all of Ireland as they retained incredible possession and limited the Swiss to few chances. But they couldn’t find the third goal to equalize.

Despite losing two games, Connell can be proud of both performances against two of the top-seeded teams at this level. They have another game against Northern Ireland on Tuesday at Markets Field at 1pm.

SWITZERLAND: Rutishauser, Touon, Muhlemann, Wyss (Sury 40), Csillag, Regazzoni, Pilgrim (Schefer 88), Bienz (Matsushita 64), Li Puma (Heeb 64), Schlup, Blochlinger.

IRISH REPUBLIC: Duffy, Kinnevey (O’Kane 90), Brennan, Doherty, Stapleton, Slevin (Brown 46), Watkins, Molloy, McLaughlin (Lynch 72), Bucci (Devaney 46), Reynolds.

REFEREE: Sabina Bolic (Croatia).