Previous Day
Keegan finally gets Owen's point
SOCCER/ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE/Birmingham 1 Newcastle Utd
1: FOR MUCH of his time on Tyneside, Michael Owen has been
more of a hindrance than a help to Newcastle's cause but last night
the England international provided a timely and crucial reminder of
his innate ability to turn matches. Watched by the England manager
Fabio Capello, Owen struck his seventh goal of an underwhelming
season to secure Newcastle the point that should restore a modicum
of stability to St James' Park until Saturday. p
Butler's hat-trick nets cup for Glenanne
HOCKEY/LEINSTER SENIOR CUP FINALS/Glenanne 4 Pembroke Wanderers 3: BETWEEN THEM Glenanne and Pembroke Wanderers had won nine of the last 10 Leinster Senior Cups, only Corinthians, in 2005, breaking the clubs' stranglehold on the competition over the last decade. Fittingly, then, the giants of the Mills Cup squared up at Grange Road yesterday, Glenanne emerging 4-3 winners in a compelling final. p
St Vincent's weather late Nemo storm
GAELIC GAMES/ALL-IRELAND CLUB FOOTBALL AND HURLING
FINALS/St Vincent's 1-11 Nemo Rangers 0-13: AT
THE END of a match that despite itself went down to the wire, the
Andy Merrigan Cup eventually ended up making one of its shortest
possible journeys, over to St Vincent's clubhouse in Marino. p
Soccer
RTÉ panel a major factor in shaping public opinion
Terry Venables's recent remarks about his failure to land the Ireland manager's job seem to be just the carping of a sore loser who should know better, writes Emmet Malone pUnited meet Roma officials
MANCHESTER UNITED will today take part in talks in Italy aimed at preventing a repeat of the crowd violence that has marred their previous matches against Roma in the Champions League. A delegation led by Ken Ramsden, United's club secretary, will meet Roma's officials to discuss ways of ensuring the safety of the travelling supporters when the clubs meet in the quarter-finals. pMurray back for Cork
SETANTA CUP PREVIEW: CORK CITY will have skipper Dan Murray available for this evening's visit by Setanta Cup holders Drogheda United to Turner's Cross. The central defender missed Friday's draw at Shamrock Rovers because of tonsillitis but manager Alan Mathews is confident he will be fit for selection tonight. p
Future looks rose-tinted for Gatland's heroes
SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 REVIEW: Innovation reaped rich rewards for Wales and they can get even better, writes Gerry ThornleyCastletroy keep their composure
MUNSTER SCHOOLS' SENIOR CUP FINAL/Castletroy College 21 CBC 15: CASTLETROY, a college founded as recently as 2002 and competing in the competition for only the third year, captured the Avonmore Milk Munster Schools' Senior Cup in magnificent fashion at Dooradoyle yesterday. pHouse left empty as Methody go mad
ULSTER SCHOOLS' CUP FINAL/Methodist College 36 Regent House 0: METHODIST COLLEGE made light work of increasing their record number of Ulster Schools Cup wins with a one-sided romp at Ravenhill yesterday. p
Peerless Portumna produce an exhibition
Portumna 3-19 Birr 3-9: THIS WAS no mismatch, no easy ride, no anti-climax. This was simply the best club hurling team in the country, slowly but surely killing the team that once held that acclaim. This was simply Portumna's day. pWhelan speaks freely of winning hunch
"IT WAS their best game of the year, it has to be. To win an All-Ireland final, no matter how it's achieved, needs a lot of character, because there's a lot of pressure. People have to perform, at the battlefront, at the cutting edge. And they did that, when it's required. pSt Patrick's complete a dramatic comeback
MACRORY CUP (ULSTER COLLEGES SFC) FINAL/St Patrick's 0-13 St Michael's 1-9: ST PATRICK'S of Dungannon won their fourth MacRory Cup title with a superb comeback victory over St Michael's of Enniskillen at Healy Park yesterday. pDonegal take advantage
ULSTER UNDER-21 FC/Donegal 0-15 Monaghan 1-6: DONEGAL STAGED an increasingly effective second-half performance to progress to the quarter-final of the Ulster under-21 championship at the expense of Monaghan in Ballybay yesterday. pCouncil gives green light to Rules
THE INTERNATIONAL Rules series is set to resume after Central Council yesterday gave the go-ahead for the GAA to continue discussions with the AFL with a view "to re-establishing the series". p
Royal County Star can land National gamble
TONY MARTIN endured a frustrating Cheltenham but punters appear to be putting their faith in the "handicap king" getting it right once more with Royal County Star in Easter Monday's Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse. pWins Now disappoints
IRISH REPORTS: WINS NOW failed to live up to expectations as he could finish only second in Wexford's Richard Browne and Sons Ltd Hurdle. p
McDowell sets sights on Masters
TOUR NEWS: SOME THINGS are worth the inconvenience, especially as far as Graeme McDowell is concerned as he resets his targets in light of his third European Tour title career win, in the Ballantines championship in Korea. pTime to reconsider the PGA Tour justice system
CADDIE'S ROLE: PART OF THE downside of success on the PGA Tour is that you are obliged to play in the pro-am that precedes the weekly events on tour. pThe short game
Today's other stories in brief p
Hermes profit as attack pile on relentless pressure
HOCKEY/Hermes 3 Trinity College 1: HERMES PROVED much too strong for Trinity College yesterday at Grange Road, where they retained the Jacqui Potter Leinster Senior Cup, winning the competition for the third time in four years with a 3-1 defeat of the students in the final. pEngland win Test but leave Basin full of reservations
CRICKET: COMPREHENSIVE IT may have been, but England's series-levelling win by 126 runs was as ugly and tentative as they come. Perhaps it has just been so long, abroad at any rate: 10 matches since Andrew Flintoff's side beat India two winters ago, in the concrete shocker that is the Wankhede Stadium, a world apart from the gentility of the Basin Reserve. pNo tea party as Ireland go teetotal for ODI series
CRICKET: WITH COACH Phil Simmons having imposed an alcohol ban on his players it is fitting that Ireland's three-match One Day International series against Bangladesh, which starts this morning in Dhaka, will be sponsored by the Ispahani tea company. pCarroll wins a first for Ireland
MOTOR SPORT: ADAM CARROLL, from Portadown, scored Belmayne A1 Team Ireland's maiden victory from fifth on the grid in an action-packed A1 Grand Prix feature race in Mexico City on Sunday. p
