Previous Day
Sad, sore and running on empty
Rugby THE COACH with the Midas touch has swiftly
delivered a Triple Crown and, one suspects, there's more to
follow. p
Dublin's sharpness brings Cork up to speed
GAA/Cork 3-18 Dublin 2-16 THE CORK hurlers returned
from their league exile yesterday, and they huffed and they puffed,
and then they blew Dublin away. It wasn't quite as straightforward
as that but you can't beat a nursery rhyme intro. p
Ferguson facing charge after outburst
Soccer ALEX FERGUSON is almost certain to face a disciplinary charge from the Football Association after his criticisms of the referee, Martin Atkinson, in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Portsmouth, turned into a rant against Keith Hackett, the man in charge of the Professional Game Match Officials Board. p
Soccer
Arsenal fail to break surface tension
Wigan 0 Arsenal 0 ALL THE talk had been of the contrasts between San Siro and the JJB Stadium, between the distinction of the Champions League and the scuffling of a seeming Premier League mismatch, between cerebral football and a bit of a dust-up in England's northwest. pTorres provides the vital class
Liverpool 3 Newcastle 0 ONE HAS an owner so unpopular his relatives cannot enter a pub without compromising their safety, the other an owner so gregarious he buys the lagers for supporters and applies the same populist logic to managerial appointments. pJohnson enjoys slice of luck
Sunderland 0 Everton 1 A SLICE OF luck for Andrew Johnson was enough to hand Everton the points in yesterday's Premier League clash at Sunderland and keep alive their hopes of edging Liverpool out of the Champions League places. pCurbishley's long-toothed players lack any real bite
Tottenham 4 West Ham 0 Alan Curbishley's features have long been an incongruous combination of the boyish and the crumpled. He looks like a middle-aged actor playing an adolescent. These days, however, he is more worried about being typecast as a losing manager. pPortsmouth answer call to arms
Manchester Utd 0 Portsmouth 1 MANCHESTER UNITED do know how to lose with dignity. Or at least their fans do. pBarnsley's dreams come true
Barnsley 1 Chelsea 0 ONE OF the Barnsley players, with the suspicion firmly aimed at the resident practical joker Rob Kozluk, had pinned a note to Chelsea's dressingroom door prior to kick-off on Saturday. pRovers defence makes good on early returns
League of Ireland/Drogheda Utd 0 Shamrock Rovers 1 AFTERWARDS, THE two mangers expressed satisfaction with the way their respective sides had played, Pat Scully seeing Rovers' performance as evidence of the quality added during the close season while Paul Doolin contended that the league champions had done enough to merit at least a point from Saturday evening's game. pCardiff cruise into last four
Middlesbrough 0 Cardiff City 2 THE HUMILIATION of the Premier League continues and for once the word is not too strong. To suggest Middlesbrough were second best yesterday is to give Gareth Southgate's team too much credit because it suggests they competed. Cardiff will not have had an easier game in the Championship this season. pFA Cup gets a renewed sense of purpose
FA Cu p IS IT possible to turn a paler shade than white? I only ask because Avram Grant seemed to pull it off on Saturday night, sporting the kind of look pioneered by under-achieving Politburo ministers when they were informed that Comrade Stalin wanted a quiet word, preferably in private. pRobson signs new deal to assist FAI youth plan
THE FAI have confirmed that Bobby Robson will continue to work for them. The veteran English coach, who acted as an advisor to Steve Staunton, has been lined up for a varied role within the association. pPlanet Soccer
Real are trapped by Cage You might have read last week about red faces at Real Madrid after the club, on the night they were knocked out of the Champions League by Roma, entertained a man proclaiming himself to be American actor Nicolas Cage. p
Afraid to lose and too fearful to win
Ireland 12 Wales 16 DEVOID OF AMBITION or ideas, Ireland tried not to lose. Wales meanwhile tried not to win. pDecision to resort to 10-man rugby very difficult to fathom
Analysis WALES ARE a bloody good rugby team, but a team with weaknesses. They have a wonderful style but with weaknesses. pCoach not for turning in game of catch-up
Ireland v Wales reaction THERE WAS never going to be a Damascene conversion on the part of either the Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan or the media assembled in the Four Seasons hotel yesterday for what is euphemistically termed the "coach's catch-up". pDepressing familiarity to 'one of those days'
IN THE film Groundhog Day Bill Murray eventually begins to alter his repetitive reality for the better. There was a singular theme from the punters streaming out of Croke Park on Saturday. Many wondered how long this might go on, as glimpses of what this Irish group can achieve are routinely followed by muted performances like that against Wales. pTrip works out well for foxy flanker Williams
IT'S TEMPTING to use the analogy that has old dogs and hard roads as a central theme in reference to a 63rd-minute incident in Saturday's Six Nations game at Croke Park. pFrench remain changeable as the weather
France 25 Italy 13 FRANCE DULY defeated Italy in Paris yesterday, as they have in all their eight previous Six Nations encounters, but Warren Gatland's Wales will not be quaking in their boots at the prospect of the French visit to the Millennium Stadium this coming weekend. pScots kick England back to square one
Scotland 15 England 9 ENGLAND'S SEASON, if not Brian Ashton's entire 15-month stewardship, resembles a game of snakes and ladders. A World Cup final appearance and a hard-earned victory over France are all well and good, but this morning Ashton finds himself back at square one. pCarr crashes through Clontarf
RUGBY CUP SEMI-FINAL Blackrock College 34 Clontarf 17 BLACKROCK COLLEGE fullback Fionn Carr gave the outstanding performance of the year when he single-handedly took Clontarf apart in the first half of this cup semi-final at Stradbrook yesterday. pPlanet Rugby
Edwards is the real winner Some billed the Ireland v Wales encounter as the Eddie v Warren show. This has now been dismissed as media hype but it was certainly a head-to-head between the two in terms of Lions candidacy. p
Sound of silence so sweet for Kilkenny
Kilkenny 0-23 Wexford 1-5 THE SILENCE said it all. Although the guts of 4,500 people passed through the turnstiles into Wexford Park for this league encounter, a surreal atmosphere - more akin to a museum, or that of an art exhibition - prevailed by the end, as those Wexford supporters in the crowd appeared dumbstruck by the ineptitude of their own team and awestruck by the display of the visitors. pAntrim no match as Waterford stroll back into contention
Waterford 3-29 Antrim 3-10 NATIONAL HURLING league champions Waterford got their campaign back on track at Fraher Field, Dungarvan, yesterday when they recorded a 19-point victory over Antrim, who were never really in the game with a chance of success. pMcCann key to UUJ's authority
Sigerson Cup semi-final/UUJ 2-12 DIT 0-10 ANTRIM PLAYER Thomas McCann was the hero for University of Ulster, Jordanstown, scoring both goals, as they overcame Dublin Institute of Technology in the Sigerson Cup semi-final at Carlow IT's grounds on Saturday. pClare's challenge is blown away
Limerick 2-15 Clare 0-12: AS A SNAPSHOT of where the two counties stand, yesterday's Allianz National Hurling League Division One B match in the Gaelic Grounds was a good likeness. pO'Connor's goal proves decisive
CAMOGIE ROUND-UP A 55TH-MINUTE goal from Marie O'Connor was the decisive score in an entertaining 2-11 to 1-11 victory for Kilkenny over Wexford in Division One of the National League yesterday in Kilkenny. pCool Kelly earns 14-man Tipperary a point
Galway 0-16 Tipperary 0-16: THERE WERE more encouraging signs for Liam Sheedy yesterday as he watched his young Tipperary team tough out a draw in the hail and high winds of Salthill. pFermanagh make vital late charge
NFL DIVISION THREE/Fermanagh ... 3-10 Leitrim ... 2-9 DESPITE A bright start which saw Leitrim lead Fermanagh for three quarters of this game, in the end they failed to hold their advantage in Carrick-on-Shannon yesterday. pTyrone dethrone champions
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL MAYO'S REIGN as League champions is over as they lost to Tyrone 1-10 to 1-6 at home in Kilfin yesterday. Aided by a gale-force wind Tyrone opened up an early three-point lead before Gemma Begley set up Ailish Gormley for a well-taken goal after 15 minutes. pAthlone rally to claim their first title
LEINSTER COLLEGES SF A FINAL Athlone CC 0-10 Gormanston 0-9 THE GORMANSTON players will relive the last quarter of this final for a long time. Perhaps wondering how it passed them by. With a comfortable, three-point lead and a stiff breeze at their backs, they seemed poised to bridge a 34-year gap to the school's last provincial title. pLaois put one over on neighbours
Laois 1-17 Offaly 2-13: NINETEEN POINTS divided these neighbours when they met at Tullamore in last year's championship, but yesterday in Portlaoise the home side gave a much better account of themselves. pHiggins' late salvo stuns Westmeath
WESTMEATH WERE left stunned at McHale Park, Castlebar, yesterday where Mayo's Keith Higgins struck with two late goals to leave the visitors on thewrong side of a 2-14 to 2-13 scoreline in their Division Two A tie. pWicklow beat champions
Wicklow 1-11 Laois 0-03: LAOIS SURRENDERED their Leinster under-21 football crown without as much as a whimper at Portlaoise yesterday when they were outplayed by Wicklow. With Mick O'Dwyer returning from an illness that confined him indoors, Wicklow were quick to cheer him up, taking the lead after two minutes. pRoche seals Wexford's win
Wexford 1-10 Westmeath 1-09: WEXFORD BOOKED their place in the Leinster under-21 football semi-finals with a one-point victory over Westmeath in Cusack Park yesterday. pDublin hurlers give Kilkenny a lesson
LEINSTER COLLEGES SH A FINAL/Dublin Colleges 2-16 Kilkenny CBS 1-6: INTERESTING TIMES for Dublin hurling. The city's combined colleges' side brushed away the challenge of a brave Kilkenny CBS outfit in Carlow on Saturday underlining an excellence in underage activity which is beginning to rival that of Kilkenny. pDe La Salle retain crown
MUNSTER COLLEGES SH A Final/De La Salle, Waterford 1-11 Thurles CBS 0-7 THE MASTERMIND of De La Salle's second successive Dr Harty Cup success has revealed the secrets behind his team's remarkable team spirit. pJarlath's take it in their stride
CONNACHT SF FINAL St Jarlath's 1-7 St Colman's 0-7: ST JARLATH'S proud tradition in college football continued at Ballinrobe yesterday when they saw off a dogged St Cullman's side in the provincial final. pRevolution needs some accent on Northside
Locker room: A FEW YEARS ago myself and a friend were sitting in our usual premium-level splendour in Parnell Park, enjoying the excellent hot dogs (where, oh where, is the Michelin Star?) exchanging bon mots and watching a club championship game featuring Kilmacud Crokes. p
Atwal wins in play-off as Clarke slips over final stretch
MALAYSIAN OPEN: ARJUN ATWAL was delighted to taste victory for the first time in five years after his play-off triumph over defending champion Peter Hedblom at the Maybank Malaysian Open yesterday. pLate run gives O'Hair crown
US TOUR: American Sean O'Hair overhauled a stumbling Stewart Cink to clinch his second PGA Tour title by two shots at the Tampa Bay Championship in Palm Harbour last night. p
Twin Charlotte digs that extra bit deeper
Athletics/Irish Schools' Cross Country Championships WE KNOW athletic talent is at least partly genetic, and that partly explains some of the more impressive winners at the Irish Schools Cross Country championships. Not that genetics explains the will to win so easily. pPegasus make final all-Ulster
HOCKEY FOR ONLY the second time in 16 years, the ESB Irish Senior Cup final (Belfield, March 30th) will be an all-Ulster affair after Pegasus and Ballymoney set up a repeat of the 2001 decider by seeing off the challenges of Loreto and Railway Union in Saturday's semi-finals. pDown to Rovers and Wanderers
HOCKEY THE END of season fixture between Pembroke Wanderers and Three Rock Rovers has long had a "title decider" look about it, but it's now all but assured the game will indeed determine who succeeds Glenanne as Leinster first division champions. pMourning after proves Hook was absolutely right before
TV VIEW NEXT TIME, it mightn't be a bad idea if the four lads wore mourning suits to an Ireland rugby match, because Messrs McGurk, Hook, Pope and O'Shea were akin to funeral directors as they dissected the death of Irish rugby under Eddie O'Sullivan after the loss to Wales at Croke Park on Saturday. p
