ireland.com - The Irish Times

Liverpool build to crescendo
Soccer/Liverpool 8 Besiktas 0 It was impossible for Liverpool to do anything more in Group A than hoist themselves into third place, but they have raised their confidence level to the very heavens with this record-breaking Champions League victory. It will be a while before they have to listen to reproaches over a mechanical style. p

Contepomi in Leinster squad
Rugby Little can be inferred from yesterday's 25-man squad announcements by Leinster, Munster and Ulster. What we do know is Felipe Contepomi, after a marvellous World Cup story and attending his brother's wedding in Argentina last week, is back training with his Leinster team-mates ahead of the potentially season-defining visit of the Leicester Tigers on Saturday. p

Ryan gets Wexford job while Jordan is Sligo boss
GAA All-Ireland football finalists Kerry and Cork are among the last few counties that have yet to confirm their management teams for the coming year. While Pat O'Shea's reappointment in Kerry is as good as a formality, there is still some doubt about Billy Morgan's position with Cork. p

Soccer

McGeady keeps Celtic in contention
Celtic 1 Benfica 0: Celtic's aspirations of emulating last season's run to the last 16 of the Champions League remain intact, a solitary goal sufficient to hand Gordon Strachan's team victory over Benfica on a typically rousing Parkhead night. p
Chelsea get away with slack defending
Schalke 0 Chelsea 0: After the rip-roaring has come the mind-numbing. Chelsea have been determined to scintillate in recent weeks, but their seven-game winning streak spluttered to an end in the Rhineland last night with a shivering stalemate in Gelsenkirchen. p
Ireland bow out after brave show
Uefa Under-19 Championship/Rep of Ireland 1 Portugal 2: The Republic of Ireland's interest in the Under-19 Championship came to an end after defeat to Portugal in Povoa do Varzim yesterday. p
Ferguson expecting smooth progress
Alex Ferguson marked his 21st anniversary at Manchester United yesterday by speculating whether he could outlast Matt Busby, who was manager for 24 years. "It is going to be interesting," said Ferguson, who is not even willing to contemplate a retirement date until he has achieved his ambition of returning the European Cup to Old Trafford. p
Arsenal wary of fatigue factor
Arsene Wenger takes charge of the 100th Champions League match of his management career tonight admitting that raising his players after their exertions in two huge domestic fixtures may prove difficult. p
Wenger on the attack over Ferguson stance
Relations between Manchester United and Arsenal continued to deteriorate yesterday when Arsene Wenger hit back at Alex Ferguson's call for a cap on foreign players and the Old Trafford manager's accusation that it would draw the biggest protest from the Londoners. p
Rangers return to historic venue
Rangers make their first return to the scene of one of the most bittersweet triumphs in their history tonight, with the match against Barcelona in Camp Nou conjuring memories of the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup final. The Ibrox side claimed their solitary European trophy in Catalonia 25 years ago with a 3-2 victory over Dynamo Moscow. p
Delaney upbeat on Fifa proposal
The Football Association of Ireland last night welcomed a preliminary recommendation by Fifa that all players born on the island of Ireland should have the right to decide which of its two international football teams they wished to play for. p
Givens recalls Steven Reid for trip to Cardiff
A week short of five years after he last performed the role, Don Givens named his second senior international squad yesterday. The passage of time rather than the performance in Athens, it seems safe to presume, is the reason only eight of the players he selected then make the panel for Cardiff this time around. p

Rugby

Kidney keen to lighten the mood
Although, by necessity, it should be the least of their concerns - and they certainly don't need the additional baggage - Irish rugby could do with a few pick-me-ups over the next two weekends from their proud provinces. In times of need, nothing has resuscitated the spirits quite like the Heineken European Cup. p
Best tackles some home truths
Ravenhill has long been synonymous with great nights in Ulster's proud history in the Heineken European Cup and the Irish province is keen to pen another chapter on Friday when Gloucester visit. In the past the Belfast venue has been a notoriously difficult environment for visiting teams but in the last couple of years, that once impregnable fortress has been stormed too often. p
Irish players unavailable for Barbarians
Barbarians v South Africa No Irish player will be released for the Barbarians squad to play South Africa in London on December 1st despite Eddie O'Sullivan being the coach. p

Gaelic Games

O'Neill opts to move on from GPA
Donal O'Neill has outlined his reasons for stepping down as commercial director of the Gaelic Players' Association (GPA), claiming his work was effectively done and it was time for a fresh challenge. p
Intercounty players deserve respect
On Gaelic Games Sometimes it's mad around here. After an historically quiet autumn - no International Rules, no National League fixtures like in the old days - Croke Park is hurtling through some very important terrain as the year draws to a close. p

Golf

Elite field chase Beijing cash
China Open Pardaig Harrington, number eight in the world, joins world number two Phil Mickelson and number four Ernie Els in a cosmopolitan field in the battle for Asia's richest prize at the third Champions tournament in Shanghai, which begins late tonight Irish time (Beijing is eight hours ahead). p

Racing

Efficient burst seals cup victory
Melbourne Cup Efficient made amends for a late withdrawal last year as he denied British raider Purple Moon a historic win in the Melbourne Cup. p
Sanders chasing Spencer
Seb Sanders cut Jamie Spencer's lead in the British jockeys' championship to two with victory on Desperate Dan at Lingfield yesterday. Sanders had to wait until his fifth ride of the day to strike after suffering some surprising reverses. p

Other

Pastime of paupers springs another trap
Against the odds "Lotto on legs" was how his late uncle Tommy used to describe greyhound racing. As another beaten docket fluttered away towards the Pigeon House, Vinny Fitzpatrick was thinking of a far less complimentary description. p
Schumacher to test for Ferrari
Formula One Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher (38), will come out of retirement to test Ferrari's title-winning 2007 Formula One car in Barcelona next week. p
Robertson delighted with win
Snooker Neil Robertson had plenty to smile about after making the last 16 stage of the Northern Ireland Trophy. p
Henin has to work for victory
Tennis World number one Justine Henin began the defence of her WTA Championships title with a 6-1 7-6 win over Russian Anna Chakvetadze yesterday. p
Tendulkar says no to captaincy
Cricket Sachin Tendulkar has said he does not want to take on the job of India's test captain again at present. p
Pickering may pick rich pickings
Boxing British super-bantamweight champion Esham Pickering is aiming to beat Bernard Dunne to the punch for a shot at Kiko Martinez's European title. p

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Liverpool build to crescendo

Contepomi in Leinster squad

Ryan gets Wexford job while Jordan is Sligo boss

McGeady keeps Celtic in contention

Chelsea get away with slack defending

Ireland bow out after brave show

Ferguson expecting smooth progress

Arsenal wary of fatigue factor

Wenger on the attack over Ferguson stance

Rangers return to historic venue

Delaney upbeat on Fifa proposal

Givens recalls Steven Reid for trip to Cardiff

Kidney keen to lighten the mood

Best tackles some home truths

Irish players unavailable for Barbarians

O'Neill opts to move on from GPA

Intercounty players deserve respect

Elite field chase Beijing cash

Efficient burst seals cup victory

Sanders chasing Spencer

Pastime of paupers springs another trap

Schumacher to test for Ferrari

Robertson delighted with win

Henin has to work for victory

Tendulkar says no to captaincy

Pickering may pick rich pickings

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