‘Special' week for Sligo's Roisin Molloy as Athlone Town progress through First Qualifying Round of Women's Champions League
Sligo native Roisin Molloy reflected on an 'amazing week' as Athlone Town progressed through the First Qualifying Round of the Women's Champions League with wins over Cardiff City (4-0) and ZNK Agram of Croatia (3-0).
The Midlanders hosted both games at home, beating their Welsh opponents last Wednesday to reach the final where they were comprehensive winners over the Croatian champions on Saturday afternoon.
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Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Rijeka v Shelbourne: Joey O'Brien's men holding Croatians scoreless in Europa League
Live | League of Ireland champions Shelbourne face a stern test as they go up against Croatia's Rijeka in the Europa League third qualifying round. Ultan Corcoran brings you all the action with kick-off at 7.45pm. 53' Another superb bit of defending from Paddy Barrett who wins the duel with Ante Juric and gets the pressure-relieving free. Similar to the first-half start, it's been a cagey exchange after the break. 2. Half Second-half underway in Rijeka! A couple of alterations to start this second-half as Mipo Odubeko is replaced by Daniel Kelly. Meanwhile, Rijeka who are no strangers to big changes at the break, have made a double substitution. Ante Majstorovic and Mladen Devetak have made way for Anel Husic and Justas Lasickas. Half-time We have reached half-time in Rijeka! The Spanish arbiter's whistle signals the end of what has been an interesting first-half in Croatia. Nothing to separate the teams at the interval! All in all, Joey O'Brien and Shels will probably be happy with their work so far. They constricted Rijeka's attack until the 23rd-minute when Wessel Speel smothered Amir Gojak's effort. Two further long-range chances fell to Ante Butic and Niko Jankovic, but Shels' 23-year-old shot-stopper was more than equal to both. Shels yet to really trouble the host's goal. The loss of Sean Boyd to injury is the only negative. 45'+3 Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Niko Jankovic SAVE! Arguably Wessel Speel's best of the evening thus far - Niko Jankovic, the Rijeka midfielder who scored 8 goals last season, tries his luck from range. The shot bounces just before Speel who pushes it around the post expertly. 45'+1 A decent chance almost materialises for Shels as John Martin puts the Rijeka rearguard under pressure. He wins the ball back but Odubeko is caught offside. We will have 5 minutes of additional time to play before the break. Largely due to the stoppages for Majstorovic and Boyd. 43' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Simun Butic Butic pops up on the right flank for the first time since switching with his fellow winger Ndockyt. The 19-year-old tears past Ledwidge but blazes his shot high into the night sky. The travelling Shels fans enjoyed that one! 41' Free Kick Shelbourne Shooter Harry Wood Jamie Norris is pulled back by the jersey on the left sideline. Harry Wood crosses deep to JJ Lunney who keeps the attack alive. Wood picks up the ball again and whips it in the direction of Odubeko - Majstorovic shows his experience by clearing the danger. 38' Milan Mbeng wins an important free to relieve some pressure. Interestingly, Rijeka's right winger Merveil Ndockyt has switched wings with Simun Butic in the hope of getting more joy. Mbeng wins the first one-vs-one battle. 33' Behind the goal Shels are shooting into in this first-half, a tifo has been unveiled by the Rijeka fans. Artwork displaying the city's medieval walls are erected with Croatian flags aplenty. Incredible atmosphere. 30' Corner Rijeka Milan Mbeng concedes the first corner of the game and John Martin is back sticking to his defensive duties to clear Shels' lines. Rijeka back in possession around the middle third. 28' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Simun Butic Another fine save from Wessel! A cross from the right bounces through to the extreme left of the box. Simun Butic finds space to take a touch, cut in on his right foot and pull the trigger. It had venom - not enough to beat the Shels shot-stopper. 26' A real shame for Shels as John Martin, JJ Lunney and Kerr McInroy link up well around the middle of the park. Play goes wide to the advancing Kameron Ledwidge, but the 24-year-old's touch is loose and the move breaks down. 23' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Amir Gojak SAVE! Finally we have a shot on target. Ante Orec finds more joy on the right and cuts infield to set up Amir Gojak. The Bosnian midfielder swivels and drills a low shot towards the bottom-left corner. Wessel Speel does well to smother it and hold on. A warning sign! 21' Shels get a decent chance to launch a counterattack but Milan Mbeng puts too much on his pass for Mipo Odubeko. A lot of shadow boxing so far - no real chances to discuss yet! 19' Substitution Shelbourne Substituted out Sean Boyd Substituted in John Martin A real blow for Joey O'Brien as Sean Boyd goes to ground looking for treatment on his calf. He appeared to collide with Majstorovic and pull up just as the 27-year-old chased a loose ball. His night ends prematurely - John Martin takes his place up top. 15' Shels string a few nice passes together before Kameron Ledwidge takes a heavy touch and does just about enough to win the free after a foul from Ante Duric. Rijeka have pressed with intent thus far. Not an inch given. 11' A sloppy pass from Mladen Devetak coughs up possession rather cheaply with a misplaced pass to give Shels some respite from defending. A rather harsh foul is given against Sam Bone who seemed to have a bit of a coming together off the ball. 9' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Ante Orec Decent ball in from the right flank as full-back Ante Orec whips in a cross, but Paddy Barrett and Sam Bone did enough to shepherd it out of play for a goal-kick. Ante Juric couldn't muscle his way in to get his head on it. 7' Both sides just feeling each other out in these opening exchanges. Rijeka have enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but off the ball it is clear that Shels are playing with a two-man strike force of Odubeko alongside Boyd. 6' Dan McDonnell highlights the rather unusual audio that greeted viewers on SolidSport tonight: Live Blog Software
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Wrexham ‘offered Champions League stars' as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want Premier League football in TWO YEARS
WREX DO THIS Wrexham 'offered Champions League stars' as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want Premier League football in TWO YEARS WREXHAM have been offered the chance to sign a number of stars who played in the Champions League last season, according to reports. The Welsh club have enjoyed a stunning rise up the football pyramid to reach the Championship after three back-to-back promotions from the National League. 3 Wrexham have been offered the chance to sign Champions League players this summer Credit: Rex 3 It comes after their bid to land Christian Eriksen left the Dane impressed despite him rejecting them Credit: Getty Their ambitious owners - Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - are determined to write their own Hollywood story into English football and are targeting Premier League football within the next two years. That ambition has led to the Dragons often signing players who are top draw for the division they are in, such as Paul Mullin - the poster boy of their rise - who is now at Wigan on loan. It is something which has already been displayed this summer, with the Racecourse Ground club welcoming Wales international Kieffer Moore yesterday following the arrival of England international Conor Coady. Those two deals have been financed from a war chest said to be bursting with £20million in it. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL GREAL DEAL Everton open talks to sign Jack Grealish in season-long loan deal from Man City They even made a major statement of intent by trying to sign Christian Eriksen following the expiry of his contract at Manchester United. The Dane turned down the deal in hopes of landing a top-flight move but was said to have been left impressed by the offer presented to him by Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson. Despite being knocked back by the midfielder, news of the bid quickly got around and saw Wrexham offered players who would have previously only been considered a dream. According to the Daily Mail, some of the stars offered to them by agents even played in the Champions League last season. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Manager Phil Parkinson had kept in touch with a number of Dutch agents, while the club itself had eyed players as far as Argentina and Australia while also looking on the European continent. Background checks for players were described as being done "ten to the dozen", prompting a degree of frustration as a so-called "Wrexham Tax" has reared its head. Christian Eriksen in shock transfer talks to join Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham after Man Utd exit Such was the intensity of work as they tried to get deals over the line that Parkinson and Williamson both recall ending a number of their days during the club's pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand at 2 and 3am. At least nine new stars were targeted originally, with a vamped-up forward line top of the priority list. So far they have landed seven, with Lewis O'Brien, Liberato Cacace, Coady, Moore, George Thomason and Ryan Hardie all arriving for a combined £11.1m, while Josh Windass and Danny Ward have also been added on free transfers. Wrexham are now looking to add Ipswich winger Nathan Broadhead in a club record deal of £7.5m. There is also talk of signing highly-rated Ajax star Sivert Mannsverk to bolster the midfield in a deal which could cost around £4m. All of this has also come while the club's ground undergoes a makeover, which includes a £1.7m hybrid pitch with undersoil heating to future proof it for Fifa and Uefa requirements. A new Kop stand is also under construction and expected to be completed for the 2026/27 season which would take the stadium capacity up to 18,000, bigger than Bournemouth and Brentford. The ambition of the owners paired with significant backing has breathed life into a dream many did not consider possible in such a short time span. 3 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ireland star has Lions teammates in stitches after brutal putdown
The British and Lions tours are famous for behind the scenes access to players and coaches. Quite often, some of the most memorable moments of Lions tours comes from the documentary episodes as players from four different nations come together as one squad. The 2025 Lions tour, under the leadership of Irish boss Andy Farrell, featured 11 Irish players including Leinster's Josh van der Flier. The 2022 world player of the year failed to make a test appearance but he has absolutely nailed Welsh captain Jac Morgan in the final part of the Ultimate Test' docu-series. That YouTube series has taken fans behind the curtain on the 2025 tour. As part of the final episode, viewers were able to see what was happening on the team coach to the stadium ahead of the last game. Reading out suggestions for the 'Barry Crocker' (shocker) award, Van der Flier read out Morgan's message. The Wales captain and Lions teammate's text read: "Alright Josh, boy? You should do yourself for Barry Crocker for being the only Leinster player in the original squad not to get named in the Test team!" As Van der Flier mouthed "Ooo", the players laughed in response, with Jamie George and James Lowe lapping up the sledging. However, the Irish flanker had a very sharp and witty retort. "That's very rich from a man who's won more games for the Lions than he has for club and country this year!" he hit back. There was a massive roar from the players, with Ellis Genge's fist flying in the air, exchanging a smile with buddy Morgan, who was sat right next to Van der Flier. However, this wasn't the only bit of banter dished out by Morgan, who quipped via text: "Alright Josh, boy? Any ideas for the Barry Crocker? I was thinking we do Bundee Aki for being 37 years old and his highest academic achievement is the World Rugby Anti-Doping module." The Lions wrapped up the series against Australia after the second Test, winning with a game to spare for the first time since 1997 against South Africa. The docu-series has given fans a number of other highlights and insights. Ireland's Dan Sheehan revealed that he has struck up a surprising bromance with England's Ellis Genge, with the Leinster man admitting he was surprised to learn that the prop was 'not a d******d'.
