ireland.com - The Irish Times

Oddest of starts, even in Cavan
Gaelic Games : Betting on the first round of the championship has never been a sound investment for gamblers. Death and taxes may be holding their certainty but when it comes to the championship, as Longford reminded us all yesterday, anything can happen. p

Sheffield left seething as Tevez attains goal
Premiership/ Ups and downs : Sheffield United were relegated from the Premiership yesterday due to an inferior goal difference of one, but the controversial circumstances of their fall and West Ham United's Carlos Tevez-inspired survival mean the season is not finished yet. p

Soccer

Wigan keep their status
English FA Premiership/ Sheffield Utd 1 Wigan Athletic 2 : Wigan Athletic lost a 1-0 lead, lost their captain, Arjan de Zeeuw, through injury and lost their attacker, Lee McCulloch, to a red card but they would not allow their Premiership status to be stripped from them. p
Happy days, but questions remain
Manchester Utd 0 West Ham Utd 1 : The Premiership trophy is back in Manchester United's possession but the euphoria inside Old Trafford was perhaps at its greatest in the corner housing West Ham's boisterous fans. p
Mikel's injury a blow for Chelsea
Chelsea 1 Everton 1 : Chelsea extended their unbeaten home sequence to a record-equalling 63 games yesterday but it came at a cost. The loss of Mikel John Obi to an ankle injury means Chelsea approach Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley with "only 15 fit players" according to their manager, Jose Mourinho. p
Fifth fine for Jol, but Pearce must wait
Tottenham 2 Manchester City 1 : The fifth place that Tottenham secured yesterday was greeted with delight among the very same supporters who considered an identical final placing something of a disappointment a year ago, but in truth the league position is the only similarity between their two campaigns. p
Fowler's farewell untimely
Liverpool 2 Charlton Athletic 2 : God's timing was out at the last. Robbie Fowler reappeared on the touchline after the lap of honour here to offer those who have idolised him a farewell wave of appreciation, even if his salute was accompanied by a rueful smile. p
Allardyce sets mould for Newcastle's future
One of Sam Allardyce's first tasks as manager of Newcastle United will be to return to Bolton Wanderers to recruit key members of the backroom staff assembled there during his eight years as manager. Another of them is to sign Joey Barton from Manchester City, a move that will be deemed controversial. p
Scottish League
Dunfermline manager Stephen Kenny faced up to the pain of relegation on Saturday but claimed his improving side could have been a real force in the top-flight next season. p
Spanish La Liga
Barcelona completed a wretched week when they surrendered the leadership of the Primera Liga to Real Madrid after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Real Betis yesterday. p
European Round-up
SERIE A : Lazio and AC Milan secured places in the Champions League qualifying round after Empoli's defeat in Serie A yesterday. p
Sligo see off Cork
League of Ireland/ Sligo Rovers 4 Cork City 1 : Slick Sligo sent off-colour Cork City tumbling to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat in a pulsating Premier Division game at the Showgrounds on Saturday night. p
Also-rans struggle to come to the four
Andrew Fifield On the Premiership : The Premiership is often cited as a miracle of modern marketing and, in the sense that it represents the epitome of style over substance, the accolade is surely well deserved. p
Drogheda build up capital
Setanta Cup Final : The taunts of "small team from Dublin", directed by a few Linfield supporters at the Drogheda team bus as it pulled away from Windsor Park on Saturday evening suggested the Irish "football family" have a way to go in terms of cross-Border awareness. p
Sheridan has to settle for seat on bench
European Youth Championship Qualifiers : Rising Irish Celtic star Cillian Sheridan is likely to have to settle for a place on the bench this evening in Drogheda where at seven o'clock the Republic kick off the second phase of their campaign to reach this European Youth Championship finals with a game against Bulgaria. p
Lisbon Lyoness
Planet Football "I don't think there's any chance of her growing up to be a Rangers fan," said Sharlene Lyons last week about her newborn daughter, and given the lass was christened Emily Lisbon Lyons, we too are having trouble imagining the girl being an Ibrox season-ticket holder in the years to come. p

Gaelic Games

A reminder of what these teams stand for
Ulster SFC First Round/ Cavan 2-11 Down 3-8 : Hopefully the old sovereigns of the Ulster game set the tone for the rest of the senior football championship yesterday. p
Carr rues letting chances slip
Down's Ross Carr was renowned for coolness under pressure back when he played on one of the most sumptuous forward units of the modern game. And yesterday he stood on the field after his managerial debut discussing the match like a wine connoisseur analysing a so-so vintage. p
Longford dig deep to end hoodoo
Leinster SFC First Round/ Longford 2-13 Westmeath 1-13 : Anyone who had felt yesterday's midland derby at Pearse Park was a disappointingly low-key choice to open the 2007 Bank of Ireland Leinster football championship would presumably have been sighing their gloomy "told you so's" at half-time. p
Kelly's goal conclusive
Offaly overcame the handicap of playing most of the second half with 13 players when getting the better of Longford at Pearse Park on Saturday with Brian Kelly scoring a late goal. p
Armagh cruelly denied as Convery strikes late
Ulster SHC quarter-final/ Derry 1-14 Armagh 0-16 : Debutants Armagh were dealt rough justice in yesterday's Ulster SHC quarter-final at Casement Park when they lost by a single point, struck from a free seconds from the final whistle. p
Dempsey steadies the ship
Funny how the opening game of the 2007 football championship was celebrated in ways more associated with winning the thing outright. p
Limerick retain their top-flight status
NHL Division One/Two Play-off Limerick 3-15 Laois 1-13 : Limerick secured Division One hurling next year after dismissing a brave Laois effort in a lacklustre play-off clash at MacDonagh Park, Nenagh on Saturday evening. p
Kerry get it right
Munster MFC : Kerry produced the goods on Saturday to see off Limerick in this semi-final replay at the Austin Stack Park, Tralee. p
Wexford earn some revenge over Cork
Camogie All-Ireland Championship : Wexford took revenge for Sunday week's National League final defeat with a 4-12 to 0-14 victory over Cork in Ballincollig in the opening round of the Gala Senior All-Ireland Camogie Championship. p
Louth take upper hand
Leinster MFC First Round/ Louth 1-12 Wicklow 1-3: Louth were always in control and ran out nine-point winners in Arklow on Saturday. p
New York are generous hosts
Connacht SFC First Round/ Sligo 2-18 New York 1-3: Sligo swept to a runaway victory in a one-sided championship game at Gaelic Park, New York yesterday. p
Antrim lose focus in second half
Ulster SHC First Round/ Antrim 4-16 London 3-08 : They were soundly beaten in yesterday's Ulster semi-final at Casement Park but London asked a lot of questions from Antrim that need to be addressed. p
Down on target
Ulster MFC: Down 1-10 Cavan 2-5 : Down's greater accuracy was the key to victory over Cavan at Breffni Park yesterday. p
Furman's late effort gives Dublin lifeline
Leinster MFC First Round/ Dublin 1-13 Laois 0-16 : A late point from Ted Furman ensured Dublin a replay in Saturday's game at Parnell Park. p
Early gain puts Carlow on road to victory
Carlow proved themselves the dark horses of the Leinster championship after seeing off Westmeath at Dr Cullen Park on Saturday. p
Offaly fail to win reprieve
Central Council Meeting : Offaly will play in Division Two of next season's National Hurling League. This was confirmed at Saturday's meeting of Central Council when a motion from the county to extend Division One to nine teams failed. p
Day in the life of an embittered mentor
Locker Room : Senior intercounty championship action started yesterday, writes Tom Humphries . A wonderful time of year that fills us with talk and slender hope. p

Rugby

Brutal power keeps Tigers in hunt for treble
English Premiership final : Suddenly the question is not so much whether Leicester can win an unprecedented treble as whether anyone can give them a game. One-sided Premiership finals are hardly a novelty but this was like watching field mice fleeing a combine harvester. p
Kidney pays tribute as Cullen retires
Celtic League : Declan Kidney paid an emotional tribute to the "greatest fullback" of his lifetime after Munster brought the curtain down on a trophyless season with five-try haul against Glasgow Warriors at Musgrave Park on Saturday. p
Ospreys celebrate title win as Borders bow out
Ospreys chief Lyn Jones admitted to having mixed emotions after his side clinched the Magners Celtic League title with victory at Netherdale yesterday. Ospreys claimed a 24-16 victory but the game marked Borders' final game as they bowed out of existence. p
IRB ring changes
Planet Rugby : There was a flurry of activity coming from rugby's central offices in Dublin last week. p

Golf

Mickelson and O'Hair in a duel to the finish
The Players Championship : The duellists killed each other with smiles, and firm handshakes, on the first tee. Sean O'Hair, a young player with an old history, shook hands with Phil Mickelson, a player who has learned the art of winning the tournaments that matter, at the start of yesterday's final round of The Players and, with that, they launched into contest where neither was willing to back off. p
Harrington looks forward to Adare
Sometimes, most times, you don't always get what you want. So it was for Padraig Harrington in this Players Championship over the revamped TPC course at Sawgrass, a case of "ifs" and "buts" and unfulfilled possibilities which ultimately left him little more than a bit player in the great scheme of things. p
Saltman shows true grit in rollercoaster duel
Irish Amateur Open Championship : Two rounds, one day and for Lloyd Saltman the gamut of emotions culminated in delight as he claimed the AIB-sponsored, Irish Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship. The tournament was effectively pared down to a duel, Saltman and Banbridge's Richard Kirkpatrick the protagonists. p
Westwood claims his first title in nearly four years
Golf Digest/ EUROPEAN TOUR : Lee Westwood survived a faltering finish to take the Andalucia Open title yesterday, his 17th European Tour victory but his first in nearly four years. p

Racing

Astronomer Royal leads Irish clean sweep
French Guineas : Aidan O'Brien saddled his first Classic winner of the year as Astronomer Royal - the outsider of his quartet - came from out of the ruck to claim the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp yesterday. p
Archipenko wins but leaves bookmakers cold
Leopardstown report: Archipenko took his place among the ever-expanding Aidan O'Brien team of contenders for the Epsom Derby by winning under Michael Kinane at Leopardstown yesterday, but, impressive as he was, it was not the sort of display to stamp any ante-post authority on the betting for the blue riband race. p
Double will take half a million
News: A major new half-a-million dollar bonus for any horse that can win both the Irish St Leger and the Melbourne Cup in the same season was announced yesterday by Steve Bracks, premier of the state of Victoria. p

Other

Massa takes the win as Hamilton takes the lead
Motor Sport/ Spanish Grand Prix : The voice over the in-car radio of Felipe Massa's Ferrari branded the Brazilian "Top dog, top dog" after the Brazilian had claimed his second consecutive grand prix victory yesterday but it was the man following Massa home who properly deserves that accolade this morning. p
Kürten lands rich French reward
Show Jumping : Jessica Kürten wound up an impressive weekend for Ireland's show jumpers by winning one of the Europe's richest Grand Prix classes at the French fixture in La Baule yesterday. p
Final climb takes it out of him but Roche happy
Cycling/ Giro d'Italia : Young Irish rider Nicolas Roche has said he is content after two stages of the Giro d'Italia. p
Bopara stars with dazzling century
Cricket/ One-day match : Ireland lost to Essex by seven wickets at Clontarf in yesterday's Friends Provident Trophy match, going down to a dazzling century by Ravi Bopara, who won the game in a partnership of 180 with his captain, Ronnie Irani. The Essex pair saw their side home with 8.3 overs to spare. p
Regional borders of sport becoming blurred
Letter From Australia : Australia is known as a sporting paradise, which, it must be said, it is, but that doesn't mean all sports are played in all corners of the country. p
Nadal proves class apart on clay to land Rome Masters hat-trick
Sports Digest/ TENNIS : Rafael Nadal's third successive Rome Masters title yesterday has left him in a class apart from his claycourt rivals as he prepares to defend his French Open title at the end of this month. p
Summer's here, but where are the farmers of yesteryear?
TV View : Grey skies, a steady drizzle, a nip in the air - so, summer's approaching at last and it's time to while away our Sabbath afternoons in the company of RTÉ's Sunday Game Live panel, writes Mary Hannigan . p

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