Linfield v Shelbourne: All square at half time in all-Ireland Champions League clash with Dubliners ahead on aggregate
League of Ireland champions Shelbourne have a lead to defend in the second leg of their Champions League first round tie against Irish League winners Linfield.
Kick-off in Belfast is 7.45pm and you can follow all the action as it happens in our liveblog below.
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The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Shels bounce back from European defeat at Sligo's expense
Sligo Rovers 0 Shelbourne 2 Jessica Farry reports from the Showgrounds SHELBOURNE BOUNCED back from their European defeat to Qarabag, to extend their unbeaten league run to four games after a 2-0 win over Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday. Ali Coote's strike from distance had Joey O'Brien's side ahead early in the second half, with Sean Boyd's third goal of the season ensuring the three points. Sligo finished the game with 10 men — goalkeeper Sam Sargeant was sent off for what the referee deemed to be handling the ball outside the box, although Sligo disagreed strongly. Unbeaten in their last five league games, John Russell's men could have moved level on points with Galway United in eighth if they were to pick up a win. But the departures of Jake Doyle-Hayes and Francely Lomboto certainly weakened the Bit O'Red's squad this week. New signing Ciaron Harkin was named on the bench, with Russell losing left-back Sean Stewart to injury in the warm-up. Advertisement Shelbourne, fresh from a gruelling trip to Azerbaijan for their Champions League meeting with Qarabag, needed a win to keep the pressure on the top four. Milan Mbeng made his first start for Joey O'Brien's side, who were keen to keep their unbeaten run going in the league. In what was a largely uneventful opening 45 in torrential rain, the half-time talking point was Cian Kavanagh's miss after 10 minutes when the hosts should have taken the lead. Will Fitzgerald's floated free-kick was knocked on for the former St Pat's striker, and just needed the slightest touch to divert it past Speel. But Kavanagh couldn't get to it, and Shels were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Two minutes into the second half, the visitors went ahead. Coote received the ball in the middle of the pitch, shook off a couple of Sligo players and looked up before driving into the top corner with Sam Sargeant beaten in the Bit O'Red goals. Paddy McClean couldn't direct Owen Elding's cross into the net early in the second half, as the home side tried to find a way past Speel. It was game over after 77 minutes when Boyd added a second for Shels. John Martin picked out the 27-year-old striker unmarked in front of goal after Sligo failed to get the ball out from their defence. And it was about to get worse for the home side, who lost Sargeant to a straight red card. Referee Rob Harvey sent the goalkeeper off when he judged him to have handled the ball outside the box, but replays suggest the contact may have been on the line. That result moves Shels to within three points of Drogheda in fourth, while Sligo remain second bottom and three points off Galway in eighth. Sligo Rovers: Sam Sargeant, Conor Reynolds (Wilson Waweru, 67), Paddy McClean, Ollie Denham, Kyle McDonagh (John Mahon, 67), James McManus, Seb Quirk, Jad Hakiki, Owen Elding, Cian Kavanagh (Conor Walsh, 85), Will Fitzgerald. Shelbourne: Wessel Speel, Milan Mbeng (Sean Gannon, 68), Lewis Temple, Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge, Kerr McInroy, JJ Lunney, James Norris (Sean Moore, 82), Ali Coote (John Martin, 68), Harry Wood (Ellis Chapman, 82), Mipo Odubeko (Sean Boyd, 59). Referee: Rob Harvey Attendance: 3,167
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'Too much ego and self-preservation' - New Rangers boss rips players after league opener
Russell Martin spoke scathingly about "egos" and "self-preservation" among his players after Rangers dropped two points at Motherwell on the opening day of the William Hill Premiership campaign. Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but the Ibrox side failed to kick on and eventually succumbed in the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in a deserved equaliser for a 1-1 draw. It is the third successive season that Rangers have failed to win their opening game, and on Sunday they could fall behind Old Firm rivals Celtic when the champions host St Mirren. In a spectacular post-match summation of his players, Martin, whose side progressed to the Champions League third qualifying round against Viktoria Plzen with a 3-1 aggregate win over Panathinaikos on Wednesday, said: "I'm very disappointed and a bit hurt and a bit angry at a lot of stuff I saw. "Motherwell were really good, credit to them. But I said to the players, the problems haven't been tactical, yet. They've been mentality, about energy, about courage, intensity, aggression, to play. "We haven't started games well enough in the first half in the two European games and then showed a bit more willingness to trust the detail in each other and work. "And then today, we go ahead and play some OK stuff. Every time we get in the final third, we turn the ball over and make crazy decisions. "They're either selfish decisions or they're based on anxiety, so we need to get to the bottom of that. "Because there was far too much stuff that we haven't worked on or haven't seen. "It's not me digging them out. I take full responsibility for it. But that hurts me more than anything. "The problem should be tactical, it shouldn't be mentality. So we have too many guys that slip into self-preservation mode. And I think it's been a fact of this club for the last few years for sure. "So when it's going well, you're all-in, you want to run, you want the ball. It's nice, but when it's not going well, you don't want to run so much, you pick and choose when you want to run. "You pick and choose when you want to compete and mark your player from a throw-in or a corner. "You pick and choose when to run back, and it's unacceptable for this sort of club. And for us as a coaching staff, this is not acceptable. "We're six weeks in, there will be issues. But the issue today is purely mentality. "So too much ego, too much self-preservation, and you're either all-in all the time or you're not. And if you're not, you just won't play very much." Motherwell's new boss Jens Berthel Askou, a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich who was taking charge of his first league game, was disappointed his side did not take all three points. "I said to players, I was very disappointed on their behalf that they didn't get the win at the end because we did everything we could to get the win," he said. "But again, that's down to quality also in these small situations and we'll keep working on that and sharpen that up. "I think they gave themselves the opportunity to win, and that's where it starts with the effort and with the desperation to go forward and to punish them on their transitions and to really work extremely hard throughout the entire game. "I was very happy with that and I know that if we are able to put our performances like this over time, that there will be many other opportunities to win games."
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kelsey Leonard lands second-round stoppage win in first professional fight
Kelsey Leonard landed a second-round stoppage victory in her first professional fight in Belfast on Saturday night. The Naas native faced English fighter Kira Carter at Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast with several Irish boxers on the card. The 26-year-old stepped back into the ring following defeat to Michaela Walsh at the National Elite Competition in June, but it didn't take long for her to snatch a first professional win. READ MORE:Ireland warm up for Rugby World Cup with comeback win in Cork READ MORE: Madie Gibson stars as impressive Athlone Town progress in Champions League It was an assured performance from the off as Leonard applied early pressure and was constantly on the front foot in the first of four planned rounds. She landed a couple of good body shots and was well in control before round two brought an early end to the fight as a strike knocked Carter to the ground, and after being checked by the referee, the white towel came in from Carter's team. The Kildare boxer spoke to TG4 after the win: 'Really happy. Excited the journey has finally started, it was a bit cagey in the first round, just trying to get a feel of everything. It was very different, so I'm happy with it.' She added: 'I'm happy with the outcome, Kira is a good opponent, so, I did have those nerves coming in, she has a lot of good wins in her career, she hadn't been stopped many times either, it was a tough opponent but, once I trusted in myself and put the pressure (it came off).' Asked what she wants next, Leonard said: 'I want to get used to the professional scene as much as I can, get as many fights as I can and work my way up this year and see where it goes.' 'That would be the ideal slot,' Leonard said when asked about fighting on Michael Conlan's undercard later this year. 'We've had that vision, so, hopefully after that performance, I'll be looking towards that.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
