Another Sunday morning brought another seemingly unassailable American lead. But on this occasion, the final act contrasted sharply with the serenity of Tiger Woods' Pebble Beach procession, though it still delivered a 10-8 victory for the US, who retained the Curtis Cup on its 31st staging here yesterday.

As things turned out, the home side were left to rue the irreparable damage of Saturday when the Americans claimed a sweeping, 7-2 advantage. So, despite a spirited fightback, Britain and Ireland fell eventually to only their third home defeat since 1980.

It came as a crushing disappointment to their supporters, including a large Irish contingent, who, after a frustrating wait, were eventually given belated cause to cheer.

And the team's unity of purpose was reflected in the sight of Scotland's Lesley Nicholson, an absentee from the closing singles, draped in the Tricolour by way of saluting the contribution of Suzanne O'Brien.

This was indeed formidable. The 33-year-old Dubliner, who had a 100 per cent record in last year's Vagliano Trophy at North Berwick, was Britain and Ireland's only winner on Saturday. And she went on to be the team's top scorer with three-and-a-half wins out of four, after being promoted from fifth to second in the singles order.

"It is beyond my wildest dreams to have come here and done what I've done," she said, while being showered with congratulations by family, friends and fans.

"I played the best golf of my life, but the most important thing is the way the team fought back. That took real guts and I'm proud to have had such colleagues."

In defeating Robin Weiss, the 46-year-old reigning US Southern Amateur champion, by 4 and 2, O'Brien had four birdies, three of them for wins. Crucially, with her opponent one up, she got up and down for halves in par at the seventh and eighth, and then again for a winning birdie to square the match at the long ninth.

Then, with her best putting display of the weekend, she gradually took control on the homeward journey, securing the match by winning the 14th, 15th and 16th in birdie, birdie, par. Her win at the difficult, 408-yard 16th was particularly impressive in that she played a delightful, 30-yard pitch-and-run shot to within three feet of the target.

Claire Dowling, the home skipper, who described Saturday's outcome as "shocking, dreadful", hinted at having a special, motivating strategy in mind before sending her troops into battle once more.

Whatever it was, the effect was electrifying as Becky Brewerton and Rebecca Hudson swept to a five-hole lead after eight in the top match against Beth Bauer and Carol Semple Thompson. This, incidentally, was an historic match for Thompson, as it marked a record, 31st match for the 51-year-old, beating the previous mark set by Mary McKenna.

Then came a very impressive win for O'Brien and her English partner of Saturday, Emma Duggleby. As it happened, Duggleby putted beautifully, sinking winning birdie efforts of 12 feet at the third and 10 feet at the 11th, by which stage they were seven up.

Such a crushing margin couldn't have been achieved, however, without some splendid approach shots from the Milltown player who maintained an admirable level of consistency throughout. Her insistence that "Emma played fantastic: she really carried me", was more generous than accurate.

A clean sweep of the foursomes, however, was absolutely critical if the home side were to have serious hopes of turning things around. And at all-square with three holes to play in the third match, there was cause for optimism.

But the American pairing of Hilary Homeyer and Virginia Derby Grimes secured victory by finishing birdie, par, birdie against par, bogey, par. And they did it in style, when Derby Grimes hit a glorious, nine-wood tee-shot to four feet past the pin at the 169-yard 17th, and Homeyer holed the putt.

So, the gap had now become 84 to the Americans.

"Maybe Brookline could happen in reverse," voiced a hugely optimistic home supporter on the way back to the clubhouse. But somehow we sensed it was a hopeless cause when America's Bauer holed a four-foot birdie putt to win the opening hole against Hudson in the top singles in the afternoon.

As Dowling readily acknowledged, the battle was effectively lost on the 400-yard 18th hole on Saturday. Of the six matches which went the full distance, four were won by Americans who, incidentally, finished with three bogeys and a lone par. Had two of those gone the other way, a serious contest was guaranteed.

Instead, the home side's only reward was half a point achieved by O'Brien and Duggleby. The pattern was very similar to yesterday's, with O'Brien wonderfully solid from tee to green while Duggleby made the priceless contribution of a 10-foot eagle putt at the long 15th to level the match.

With the foursomes lost by 2 1/2 to a half, an immediate response was required in the singles, but only O'Brien and Nicholson offered productive resistance. In Nicholson's case, it took the form of a spirited fight-back from two down with eight to play to earn a halved match with Stanford through a conceded par on the 18th.

Meanwhile O'Brien, at fifth in the order, beat the experienced Leland Beckel, runner-up in last year's US Women's Mid-Amateur by 3 and 1. The Milltown player impressed from the outset, winning four of the first five holes in figures of one under par.

More importantly, she never looked like conceding the edge. Though Beckel closed the gap to two holes with a win in birdie at the long 13th, O'Brien regained control with a conceded win at the long 15th where, from the middle of the fairway, the American succumbed to the pressure of the occasion by eventually finding an unplayable lie in the rough.

It eventually came to a predictable end at the 17th, where O'Brien hit the most glorious four-iron tee-shot to the heart of the green, after her opponent had found a greenside bunker. "I don't think I've ever hit such a good four-iron," she said.

Match result: Britain and Ireland 8 US 10.

Foursomes (Britain and Ireland first): B Brewerton and R Hudson bt B Bauer and C Thompson 2 and 1; E Duggleby and S O'Brien bt S Keever and A Stanford 7 and 6; K Andrew and B Morgan lost to H Homeyer and V Derby Grimes 3 and 1. Singles: Hudson lost to Bauer 1 up; O'Brien bt Weiss 4 and 2; Duggleby bt Keever 4 and 2; Brewerton lost to Homeyer 3 and 2; Morgan bt Stanford 5 and 4; Andrew beat Derby Grimes 6 and 5.

Saturday's results - Foursomes (British and Irish names first): K Andrew and B Morgan lost to B Bauer and C Thompson 1 up; B Brewerton and R Hudson lost to S Keever and A Stanford 1 up; E Duggleby and S O'Brien halved with H Homeyer and V Derby Grimes. Singles - Andrew lost to Bauer 3 and 2; F Brown lost to R Weiss 1 hole; Hudson lost to Keever 4 and 2; L Nicholson halved with Stanford; O'Brien bt L Beckel 3 and 1; Duggleby lost to H Homeyer 1 up.