Previous Day
Careering coaches' collision course set
RARELY HAVE three rounds felt like such glorified warm-up acts.
Somehow Ireland's Six Nations campaign was always going to revolve
around Saturday week's rendezvous with Wales and a renewal of old,
eh, coaching acquaintances, and so it has come to pass. That it
does so with Wales seeking the Triple Crown, the two countries
perched atop the table and England's win in Paris having thrown the
title into a four-way race gives it added lustre. p
'Beautiful' cup of hope gives Ramos a positive outlook
SOCCER: JUANDE RAMOS savoured a "beautiful" victory
over Chelsea in the League Cup final at Wembley yesterday, which
arrived courtesy of Jonathan Woodgate's extra-time winner, and said
it represented a psychological breakthrough for his club. p
Soccer
Tottenham show their resolve and end the wait
Chelsea 1 Tottenham 2 After extra time. 1-1 after 90 mins: SOME VICTORIES are worth more than the trophy itself. Tottenham Hotspur went against the standard operating procedure of English football by coming from behind to beat the supposedly implacable Chelsea. The losers have much left to play for in the Champions League, FA Cup and, just conceivably, the Premier League but no one in their camp felt last night that the League Cup was a cheap trinket dangling meaninglessly from the fixture list. pKeane puts the blame on his players
Portsmouth 1 Sunderland 0: SELF-DOUBT was never one of Roy Keane's weaknesses as a player. As a manager, though, he could benefit from an occasional frank discussion with a hand-held mirror. After this awful match Keane chose to blame his players for not only failing to score but for never looking likely to spoil David James's day - the Portsmouth goalkeeper had received an award beforehand to mark his 500th Premier League appearance, at Old Trafford last month. pCarrick's living the dream
Newcastle 1 Man Utd 5: MICHAEL CARRICK did not board the bus that took his team-mates back across the Pennines with their collective confidence presumably soaring by the mile. Manchester United's key central midfielder here instead opted to stay close to his roots and remain in Newcastle overnight, catching up with those who once cheered him on at Wallsend Boys Club and are now loyally willing Alex Ferguson's side to regain the Premier League title at Arsenal's expense. pTorres continues to offer Liverpool hope
Liverpool 3 Middlesbrough 2: HE HAS the pin-up looks, the flecked blond hair and, in school playgrounds across the Merseyside area, he is fast becoming the Merlin sticker everybody wants. It is easy, too, to imagine Liverpool's maternity hospitals will soon be reporting a flurry of Fernandos. pEduardo promises to return
Birmingham 2 Arsenal 2: EDUARDO DA Silva has revealed he remembers little about the incident which saw him suffer a broken leg following a tackle by Martin Taylor during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Birmingham on Saturday. pBeing Gazza consumes a football genius
IT WAS hard to know which was more tragic: the news of Paul Gascoigne's decision to section himself last week, or the gloomy realisation that this was simply the next, inevitable stage of his descent into oblivion. pRangers retain lead
Scottish League: Rangers stayed four points clear of arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the of the table by beating bottom club Gretna 4-2 yesterday. pBrady to clarify role in Irish set-up
WHILE STILL hopeful of joining Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland backroom team, Liam Brady's involvement in the new set-up is not yet assured, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger seeking clarification on the exact nature of the role he will be asked to play by the Italian. To that end Brady will meet with Trapattoni later this week to discuss the issue. pBolton's travel travails
Blackburn 4 Bolton 1: THE OBJECTIVE for Bolton Wanderers is Premier League safety but recent travels have only established a persecution complex instead. Bloodied and bruised by Spanish police in Madrid on Thursday, the club's weary followers yesterday pinpointed the referee Mark Clattenburg for a derby defeat which in fact illustrated why their fight to avoid relegation is likely to drag on to the wire. Responsibility for a self-inflicted downfall cannot be ignored. pPlanet Soccer
The weird and wonderful of the week's football. p
Spark back as leading players find their niche
Ireland 34 Scotland 13: IRELAND DID unto Scotland what France had done to them, and indeed the Scots, beforehand. At times, this RBS Six Nations seems to be the year of losing dangerously, those teams that have the better of the possession, territory and attacking opportunities being stealthily picked to bits. In that sense, class told once again in this fixture. pKearney and Horan living childhood dreams
Ireland v Scotland reaction: ROBERT KEARNEY and Marcus Horan realised childhood ambitions on Saturday in scoring a try apiece during Ireland's victory. pDogged English stamp out French fireworks
France 13 England 24: IF THE Cirque du Soleil had not put down its pegs in Bercy on the outskirts of Paris, we might have thought the France coach, Marc Lièvremont, had sent out the troupe at Stade de France as the main act replete with spangled pants, unicycles, balls tricks and sleight of hand. pHard work not magic does trick for Wales
Wales 47 Italy 8: WITH THREE down, two to go and the Triple Crown on offer at Croke Park in a fortnight, who knows what happens then? The whole of Wales believes its heroes are destined for a second grand slam in four years but the more realistic know that for aspiration to become reality the team's learning curve must continue to keep pace with its increasing lustre and mystique. pAshton defends 'good bloke' Regan
Match quotes: UGH. MON DIEU! What it is like to be in the bowels of Stade de France when the home team has lost to England. The bulldog savaging the French cock in front of the whole family is not the sort of spectacle that easily brings a smile to the face of coach Marc Lievremont. pBelvedere stand their ground Shannon win
Belvedere 12 Clongowes Wood 7: THIS COULD be what people mean when they talk about destiny. For the second time in this year's competition, Belvedere dug into a seemingly bottomless reservoir of willpower to end the Clongowes campaign. As usual it went down to the last throw of the dice. For the concluding scene, Clongowes were camped on the try line with black and white jerseys doing whatever was necessary to keep them out. pFaster and bigger hits needed in contact zone
IN THE 55th minute Paul O'Connell replaced Mick O'Driscoll and his immortal words floated through my head - "Did you put the fear of God in them?" The score stood 22-13 but Scotland dominated possession and position and I was hoping O'Connell would put the fear of God into the Irish team. In the end a very talented Irish team scored five tries to one and in doing so displayed sporadically a "ruthless pursuit of excellence". p'Building momentum in our own back yard'
IT TOOK 11 minutes and 32 seconds for the question to be posed, one that's likely to inspire a familiar theme in the run-up to Ireland's next fixture in the Six Nations Championship, against Wales at Croke Park on Saturday week. p'I find it easier to pick lines from 15'
EDDIE O'SULLIVAN was asked to name his first-choice fullback. Plenty has been made about the treatment of Geordan Murphy in recent times. Sure, he has been deservedly dropped but more often than not his exclusion from the 22 seemed almost personal, and definitely illogical during the World Cup. pPLANET RUGBY
On Saturday Ireland fielded a vastly different backline from last September's World Cup or even the opening Six Nations game against Italy, when Eddie O'Sullivan remained loyal to several players who had underperformed in France. p
Breathnach goals vital for Galway
Connacht League final/Galway 4-9 NUIG 2-10: IN-FORM Fiachra Breathnach blasted home two goals as Galway picked up their first silverware under Liam Sammon when they captured the Connacht FBD League crown at Pearse Stadium yesterday. Breathnach's opening goal saw Galway open up a 1-2 to 0-1 lead before NUIG hit back with Mark Ronaldson's goal helping them lead 1-6 to 1-3 at the interval. pBirr pile on pressure and points in second half
Birr 0-17 Dunloy 0-9 : HAILSTONES DURING the warm-up, a pitch with all the consistency of hot sticky toffee pudding and a cool brrrr in the air. By now, though, Birr have encountered all there is to experience in an ongoing love affair with the All-Ireland club hurling championship and, after an opening half that was perhaps a little too close for their comfort, the Offalymen booked a date with destiny next month with a comprehensive eight-point win over Dunloy Cuchullain at St Tiernach's Park, Clones yesterday. pDublin show class to reach final
Leinster Colleges/Dublin Colleges 2-15 Good Counsel 3-8: DUBLIN COLLEGES marched into the Leinster Colleges senior hurling A final after a four-point win over Good Counsel at Dr Cullen Park on Saturday. pSkilful defender and fine sportsman
Death of Jim English: THE FORMER Wexford hurling star Jim English died suddenly, aged 75, on Saturday at his Co Carlow home. He will be remembered particularly as captain of the team that denied Cork's Christy Ring a record ninth All-Ireland medal in the final of 1956. pPortumna have more cunning and Canning
All-Ireland club hurling championship semi-finals/Portumna 2-13 Loughmore 2-8: IN ONE way it took Portumna all of 10 minutes to crack Loughmore-Castleiney. That's the way it is when you have class and experience and Joe Canning on your side. pSt Vincent's in their element
St Vincent's 2-9 Crossmaglen 0-11: ST VINCENT'S manager Mickey Whelan had made no secret of the fact he would have been happy with just a few points in it going into the last 10 minutes of yesterday's AIB All-Ireland club football semi-final at Navan. He'd probably changed his mind by the time the teams went in at the break with the Dublin champions leading sensationally by 10 points. pNemo give Ballina a Masters class
Nemo Rangers 0-14 Ballina 1-4: WELL, SO much for having to wait for years before we saw a Cork team in an All-Ireland final. This return to tradition by Nemo wasn't exactly a one-man show but there were shades of Colin Corkery's heroics in the exemplary form of James Masters at full forward. He may even have been wearing the Big Guy's actual jersey, because it certainly flapped around in the breeze. p'Let's be brave here and stick to our game'
IN THE chilly sunlight of Páirc Tailteann there was the unexpected sight of St Vincent's manager Mickey Whelan throwing back his head and cackling uninhibitedly at the great good of it all. pTralee book place in final with St Brendan's
Munster Colleges SFC: TRALEE CBS, the holders, beat a brave Pobal Scoil Chorcha Dhuibhne side by 0-15 to 1-7 in Saturday's semi-final at Fitzgerald Stadium. Tralee led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the interval and they upped their game in the second half to lead by 0-12 to 0-5 by the third quarter. pChampions prove too strong for game Louth
Leinster under-21 FC first round/Laois 2-13 Louth 0-7: FOR THE second year in a row Laois overcame Louth at O'Moore Park to maintain their three-year unbeaten record in the province. The champions got off to a perfect start with two early points before Stephen O'Leary finished a great passing movement to the net. pMolloy makes amends as Carlow progress
Carlow 1-7 Longford 0-9: CARLOW JUST about held out for a one-point win in this tie at Dr Cullen Park yesterday. p
Thyne Again earns his festival ticket in style
Report from Naas: LIAM BURKE'S faith in his star novice Thyne Again was vindicated in some style at Naas yesterday when the flashy chestnut earned a Cheltenham ticket with a hugely impressive 21-length victory. p
Woods cruises to victory
WGC Matchplay Championship: Tiger Woods reached another career milestone in Arizona last night that simply served to add an extra layer to the impenetrable aura of invincibility he has built up over the course of a 12-year career. pRecord 14 shots winning margin for Oosthuizen
DIGEST: SUNSHINE TOUR: Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen gave a new meaning to the term runaway winner when he captured the Telkom PGA at Country Club Johannesburg yesterday by 14 shots with a fabulous 28-under-par 260 aggregate. p
Ireland must plan without Rankin
CRICKET: IRELAND WILL have to plan without Boyd Rankin for their upcoming tour to the UAE and Bangladesh after the opening bowler failed in his bid to get back to full fitness after suffering a stress fracture in his foot. pHookie yearns for old days - when men were men and flankers knew their place
Sports on TV and Round-up: IT'S UNLIKELY that George Hook would ever be snatched from a crowded street by a talent spotter for Armani or Gucci or any famous fashion house. This irreverent TV pundit, who once claimed that Marcus Horan's arse simply wasn't big enough to perform on the international rugby stage, but never suggested transplanting his own, was nevertheless at his spirited best with his tongue on Saturday. pPembroke book final spot
HOCKEY: IT WAS a weekend of high scoring all round with 37 goals netted over five games in the Leinster Senior League and that included a couple of teams being brutally put to the sword. Both Pembroke and Fingal made it into double figures with 14 -goal and 12-goal wins respectively against Bray and the students of UCD. pHermes battling on two fronts
WOMEN'S HOCKEY: IT PROVED to be as profitable a weekend for Hermes as it was dispiriting for Loreto, with Hermes registering a crucial 2-1 victory over Railway Union in the league on Saturday before beating Loreto 1-0 in the semi-final of the Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup yesterday with a Linda Caulfield goal. pMcSweeney fails to make world indoor mark
ATHLETICS: THERE WAS no last-minute joy for Ailis McSweeney in her efforts to qualify for the World Indoor Championships when she failed to get the time for the 60 metres at the Grand Prix meeting in Gent yesterday. pDuddy's world title shot on hold after bruising bout
BOXING: UNBEATEN IRISH middleweight John Duddy's hopes of a world title shot this summer have been dashed after he sustained bad cuts around his eyes against Walid Smichet. Duddy (28) survived a scare on his return to the Madison Square Garden ring in New York following a three-fight campaign on home soil during the last six months of 2007. pIre standards in Cork a perennial worry
LOCKER ROOM: I HOPE I won't sound like a bleeding-heart do-gooder when I say I worry about Cork. I know that in our own little way we all worry about Cork. We fret vaguely like we used to do about The Bomb or we do now about global warming and Stephen Ireland. It's not like that for me. p
