ireland.com - The Irish Times

Given's injury not a cause for concern
International Soccer: Shay Given and Stephen Ireland are both expected to be fit for the Republic's European Championship qualifier against Slovakia on Wednesday despite having both picked up injuries in Saturday's uninspiring 1-0 defeat of Wales at Croke Park. p

Ireland extends licence for denial
Ireland v Wales : Soccer and Croker. They said it couldn't be done. They said it wouldn't be done. They never said it would be this boring. p

Donegal's late surge sees off Kerry
NFL Division One A/ Donegal 1-15 Kerry 0-13: In the first League fixture played at O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny in 30 years Donegal maintained their impressive form by surging past holders and All-Ireland champions Kerry in the final quarter of yesterday's Allianz National Football League Division One A match. p

Dublin hurling revival continues
National Hurling League : The great Dublin hurling revival continued apace yesterday in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds where the visitors maintained their unbeaten record in this season's Allianz National Hurling League. p

Soccer

Game fails to match a great occasion
Republic of Ireland 1 Wales 0: Those GAA delegates who opposed "soccer" being allowed into Croke Park for fear that international games played on the country's greatest sporting stage would further boost the growth of the association's chief rival for young hearts and minds must have slept a little easier on Saturday night. p
Relief as truth serum hits home
Group D/ Ireland v Wales : For a little while on Saturday afternoon we nearly fell to getting out our astral charts and collectively studying the alignment of the planets with a view to coming up with a time and a date when Ireland might play well. p
Slovakia will provide a much tougher test
Brian Kerr Soccer Analyst : This result should be viewed in a positive light; three desperately vital points were gained. p
Ireland puts himself back in frame
Such was Craig Bellamy's despondency it suggested he'd rather be anywhere else than in the bowels of Croke Park at that very moment, maybe even swinging clubs in the Algarve, although so dazzling was the diamond stud in his left ear and so flamboyant the designer dude's handbag under his arm, or however you describe these things, you were almost so deafened by the opulence that you were in danger of missing his brief post-match thoughts. p
Czech heads left in a spin in Prague
Group D Round-up : Two Kevin Kuranyi headers gave Germany a deserved 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their Euro 2008 qualifier on Saturday to move three points clear at the top of Group D. p
Life's a drag under McClaren
Group E/ Israel 0 England 0 : There are periods when consistency is a manager's fear rather than his ambition. England are all too settled in a recognisable style and it provokes dread that they will not feature in the Euro 2008 finals. p
Beattie to the rescue
Round-up: Craig Beattie's late strike in Scotland's 2-1 win against Georgia at Hampden Park on Saturday kept his side on top of Group B. Beattie's dramatic winner gave Scotland a win which looked unlikely for much of the second half. p
Sanchez sets his sights high
Group F/ Liechtenstein 1 Northern Ireland 4 : Lawrie Sanchez insists he is still dreaming of qualification for Euro 2008 as he targets the victory over Sweden on Wednesday which would take Northern Ireland to the top of Group F. p
Ideas, even silly ones, welcomed
Andrew Fifield On the Premiership : Good ideas are memorable, but bad ones are unforgettable. Hitler had his eastern front, Blair had his Iraq and now Baron Brian Mawhinney has staked his own claim for a place in history. p
Young guns and Bebo
Planet Football : There are, as we know, plenty of young fellas in the Irish squad these days, and one of our spies at the team hotel in Portmarnock last week was reminded of just how young some of them are. p

Gaelic Games

Tyrone grind out important win
NFL Division One A/ Tyrone 1-8 Limerick 0-9: Oh mercy! Anyone who willingly sat through both games of yesterday's double-bill at the Gaelic Grounds - myself included - soon realised there is nothing more tormenting than a good game of hurling followed by a poor game of football. It's like a nice tonic followed by bad medicine. p
Dublin forwards stay focused on task
NFL Division One A/ Dublin 3-15 Fermanagh 0-7: The giddy hollering from those supporters camped at the back of the goal at the church end when referee Eugene Murtagh signalled an end to the carnage at Parnell Park on Saturday night didn't make its way into the Dublin dressingroom, where a more pragmatic assessment of the mismatch - and a fair degree of sympathy for Fermanagh's performance - was to be found. p
Strong Mayo finish pops Cork
NFL Division One A/ Mayo 1-12 Cork 2-8 : Mayo recovered from a two-goal deficit at half-time to claim the points and maintain their drive for a play-off place at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday night. p
Ford calls right shots for Galway
Division One B/ Galway 1-13 Westmeath 0-10 : Tyrone's former hero Peter Canavan is not alone as "Peter the Great" in the annals of Gaelic football following this fluctuating league tie at Cusack Park, Mullingar, yesterday. Tactician supreme Peter Ford, the Galway manager, could easily claim the honour after timely switches that proved match-winning. p
Kildare hang on
Division One B/ Kildare 0-14 Louth 2-7 : Kildare weathered a second-half comeback by visitors Louth to end the weekend at the top of Division One B. p
Gilligan makes mark
Division One B/ Derry 1-11 Laois 1-11 : An excellent long-range, injury-time point from Conleith Gilligan earned Derry a share of the spoils in an entertaining encounter at Celtic Park yesterday. p
McDonnell's masterclass
Division One B/ Armagh 1-9 Down 0-10: In-form Steven McDonnell helped Armagh ease their relegation worries as they fended off the challenge of near neighbours Down in a pulsating encounter at Crossmaglen yesterday. p
Heneghan excels as Roscommon move clear in to second spot
Division Two A/ Roscommon 0-15 Longford 0-12 : Roscommon moved into clear second place in Division Two A with a three-point win over Longford at Hyde Park yesterday. p
McNamee comes to Offaly's rescue again
Division Two A/ Offaly 0-16 Clare 1-10: Offaly pulled themselves back from the brink of disaster when five late points gave them a dramatic three-point victory over Clare in O'Connor Park, Tullamore, yesterday. p
Leitrim find rhythm and range after break
Division Two A/ Leitrim 3-15 Carlow 1-7: Leitrim turned on a sparkling second-half performance when crushing managerless and pointless Carlow in Cloone yesterday. p
Monaghan travel well
Division Two A/ Monaghan 0-16 London 1-5: Monaghan maintained their unbeaten record in this year's league with an eight-point victory over London at Ruislip yesterday. p
Bray scores decisive goal
Division Two B/ Meath 1-12 Wicklow 0-12 : Meath corner forward Stephen Bray scored a vital second-half goal that gave his team a three-point win over Wicklow at Aughrim yesterday. p
Wexford do just enough
Division Two B/ Wexford 2-10 Sligo 1-10 : A late Sligo surge came up just short at Wexford Park yesterday in a game full of errors and poor football. p
Cavan take goal chances
Division Two B/ Cavan 3-10 Antrim 0-15: Antrim's habit of leaking goals was again evident at Casement Park on Saturday night. p
Tipperary notch first win
Division Two B/ Tipperary 3-10 Waterford 0-12: Tipperary registered their first win in Division Two B in Ardfinnan yesterday to leave Waterford anchored to the bottom. p
Dublin in rare new times
NHL Division One B/ Dublin 0-22 Limerick 1-15 : Oh wow! It's hard to say what was more impressive about Dublin's latest victory in the Allianz National Hurling League - the way they wore down and conquered Limerick over the 70 minutes, or the way they walked off afterwards without the slightest hint of celebration. Times are changing in Dublin hurling, that's for sure. p
Galway produce 'quality' display
NHL Division One B/ Galway 0-26 Tipperary 3-13 : This was a promising return to form for Galway in what was a clean and attractive performance in an overwhelmingly "league" type of contest against Tipperary yesterday. p
Antrim left demoralised
NHL Division One B/ Kilkenny 2-21 Antrim 0-11 : Antrim's joint-manager Dominic McKinley pulled no punches as he described his side's crushing defeat by Kilkenny yesterday as "demoralising". p
Cork survive strong Wexford comeback
NHL Division One A/ Cork 1-17 Wesford 0-18 : Cork continued their push for a knock-out place with this hard-fought victory over a determined Wexford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday. p
Nugent pounces to draw Clare level
NHL Division One A/ Offaly 1-16 Clare 1-16: Offaly and Clare shared the points in an exciting encounter at St Brendan's Park, Birr, yesterday. p
Down laid out
NHL Division One A/ Waterford 4-27 Down 1-7 : Waterford had a facile win against Down at Fraher Field yesterday. The visitors trailed by six points at half-time and failed to score after the break. p
Fitzgerald puts Laois on their way
Division Two Round-up : Visitors Meath were outplayed by a Laois side who won by 4-17 to 2-5 at Portlaoise yesterday. p
Gaelic Games Round-up
ALL-IRELAND CLUB FC FINAL : Tony Kernan is almost certain to miss Crossmaglen's All-Ireland club football final replay against Dr Crokes next Sunday after suffering a knee injury in Armagh's 1-8 to 0-9 Ulster under-21 championship win over defending champions Tyrone at the weekend. p
It could be a good summer in Dublin
Locker Room : The movie critic Elvis Murphy once surveyed Oliver Stone's canon and described it as the history of great events in America and how come they all happened to Oliver Stone. p

Golf

Woods still focused on main event
USPGA Tour : The gulf in class between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia grew even wider during the WGC - CA Championship in Miami, where the world number one appeared certain to cruise to an incredible 13th individual World Golf Championship victory from just 24 starts at Doral's Blue Monster last night. p
Vancsik in maiden win
Madeira Islands Open : Four months after surviving the European Tour's qualifying school by the skin of his teeth, Argentina's Daniel Vancsik yesterday became the circuit's latest first-time winner. p

Rugby

Leinster need to improve for tough task ahead
Celtic League/ Leinster 30 Connacht 21 : To dwell on the victory rather than the performance would constitute gross negligence. Leinster escaped with a victory by dint of a decent second-half display but any repetition of this 80 minutes as a package next Saturday against Wasps in the Heineken European Cup quarter-final simply won't suffice to progress in that tournament. p
Conway Blackrock's hero
Leinster Schools' Junior Cup final/ Blackrock College 13 St Michael's College 10: This is how rugby should be played. In what must be remembered as a epic match between deep-rooted rivals, Blackrock yesterday denied St Michael's their first junior and senior cup double while in the process they annexed a 45th title. p
Injuries give Kidney reason to think
News : When Declan Kidney came into the Munster dressingroom after their successful outing at Ravenhill on Friday night one of the first things the players said to him was "you can't change a winning team coach". p
Portugal set for top table
Planet Rugby : What do Ireland and Portugal have in common? They will both be going to the 2007 Rugby World Cup after the latter enjoyed a thrilling two-leg victory over Uruguay at the weekend. p

Cricket World Cup

Ireland settle in as the adventure goes on
Richard Gillis reports on the mood in the Ireland camp. p
Police defend decision
News : Detectives investigating the murder of Bob Woolmer yesterday said they were decoding crucial CCTV footage which could reveal the identity of the Pakistan coach's killer. p

Racing

Murtagh enjoys memorable opening
Start of the Flat season : Johnny Murtagh had the perfect start to the 2007 Flat season in Ireland with an 879 to 1 treble at the Curragh yesterday that included an eight-length annihilation by Deauville Vision of what had looked a competitive Ladbrokes Irish Lincolnshire field. p

Other

Killester are Superleague champions
Basketball : The Superleague title will remain in north Dublin for another year after Killester overcame Ballina 95-90 at the University of Limerick yesterday to succeed neighbours St Vincent's as champions. p
Britton runs superb race
World Cross Country Championships : They said Kenya would host the toughest World Cross Country of all time and that sure proved true but no one said it would also be the most sensational. p
Pegasus earn reward for their patient approach
Hockey/ Women's Irish Senior Cup final : Pegasus supporters are often heard to sing, "if you like a lot of trophies in your cabinet, join our club". p
Hanley fails to make Las Vegas
Sports Digest/ SHOW JUMPING : Cameron Hanley's hopes of earning a place on the Las Vegas starting grid for next month's World Cup final were crushed yesterday when a first-round four faults left him down in 32nd in the western European league, a long way off the top-18 place he needed to make the cut, writes Grania Willis. p
Front men Dunphy, Giles and Brady steal the show
TV View : Oh boy. He said it again. "I wanted us not to get a result today," uttered Eamon 'take no prisoners' Dunphy, the quickest draw in punditry. p

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