Glentoran reach quarter-finals of All-Island Cup
Glentoran were the sole Women's Premiersip side to reach the quarter-finals of the All-Island Cup. Kascie Weir and Demi Vance were on target in a 2-2 draw away to Treaty United, and that was enough for the Glens to finish top in Group D.They will face Bohemians, who defeated Linfield 2-1 on Saturday, in the quarter-finals. If Kim Turner's side can defeat Bohs, then they will be rewarded with a semi-final against either Shelbourne of Treaty United.Linfield's defeat by Bohemians left the Blues fourth in Group A, while Cliftonville ended their campaign with a goalless draw at home to Peamount United.Lisburn Rangers put in a superb performance to defeat Shamrock Rovers 2-0 at Tallaght Stadium but they missed out on progression on goal difference.Quarter-final drawGlentoran v BohemiansShelbourne v Treaty UnitedGalway United v Shamrock RoversWexford v Peamount UnitedGames to be played on week ending 8 JulySemi-final drawGlentoran or Bohemians v Shelbourne or Treaty UnitedGalway United or Shamrock Rovers v Wexford or Peamount UnitedGames to be played on week ending 27 July
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Video games and Gaelic football: Can Belfast studio crack the code for a hit?
It was 20 years ago that video-gaming Irish sports fans had their prayers Pro Evolution Soccer, Madden NFL – back in 2005, these were the sports games dominating living rooms. Indeed, some still are today, helping to make the sports video game industry a £17bn-per-year while most sports, from snooker to bizarre basketball superstar kung-fu tie-ins, had a title to offer, fans of Ireland's national sports - Gaelic football and hurling - had never seen their heroes in pixelated is until Gaelic Games: Football dropped in November 2005. The highly anticipated release, which saw eager gamers queued outside one store in Belfast, became one of Sony's biggest selling games in as was the pre-peak online gaming style at the time, those who wanted to beat their mates had to invite them over and gather around a defiantly non-flat screen of those was Peadar McMahon, then a student in Belfast, who remembers "big sessions playing the game, having a laugh with friends".The game was not well-received."Seriously flawed" declared the Sunday Times in a dismayed 3/10 review. "Devastatingly awful" condemned Irish culture website in a 2018 lookback is a little more diplomatic – "not a great game" he recalled – but he has reason for diplomacy since, poor or not, Gaelic Games: Football gave him an idea: What more could a game like this do? The making of a Gaelic football video game "I took the game as impetus to go and do something about it because I'm doing computer science, loved games from no age - and maybe I could do something?"Two decades, one career in financial software and a £30k Kickstarter later, Belfast studio Buck Eejit Games, formed four years ago by Peadar, is set to be the first to dive back into the Gaelic games market since that ill-fated Eejit is one of about 40 firms active in Northern Ireland's burgeoning video games industry, a scene non-existent when Peadar graduated from Queen's the dozen-strong team - a tiny group compared to the huge numbers working at behemoths like EA – are in crunch time to get Gaelic Football '25 finished for a summer release: 16-hour days every day and not much time for anything else, including three kids in Peadar's case."It's a lot to undertake, you're putting a lot aside to get the game – the dream, the passion project – over the line," he scale of the challenge is not lost on him. While the likes of football, F1 or golf can tap into a huge video gaming fan base, Gaelic games are niche sports – huge in Ireland but with a relatively limited global other words, a "risk", said Peadar, given the amount of hours and expense required to make a also means nailing the concept for both die-hard GAA fans and non-fans, said Úna-Minh Kavanagh, a video games producer with the Irish studio Gambrinous who has written extensively about games and the industry. "For a global audience, it would be a 'new' sport for them to learn and jam with," she said."It could easily gain a following if key Irish influencers hop on board, and I think they may do because it's such an Irish thing – especially given the lacklustre response to the original game."For her, the biggest failing of the original – and its sequel – was it didn't capture the "tribalism, excitement and thrill of being at a GAA match or even playing in one". What went wrong for Gaelic Games: Football? Created by defunct Australian studio IR Gurus, who used their pre-existing Australian Rules football game as a template, its development was beset by issues according to an oral history by Irish news site - a small team, working on a shoestring, recreating a sport they had no familiarity game did sell, but copies soon became a common sight in second-hand Irish YouTuber PKMX, real name Matt Murphy, decided to review the game, he found copies so easy to find he now has what he believes is the world's biggest collection of the series - 18 copies, costing a grand total of €15 (£12.50)."Put GAA in a video game, people are going to pick it up," he said. "But after people realised it was terrible, they (game copies) were everywhere."PKMX's review of Gaelic Games: Football was not kind, but Matt has some sympathy for the "overworked and underfunded" studio behind it."They had their hands full. They'd never seen a match, had a tiny budget. It was never going to work out." As for the new effort, he can see some similarities between IR Gurus and Buck Eejit in terms of team size – but what the Belfast studio lacks in resources it can make up with passion and feel for the sport."They grew up with the GAA, they understand the thrill of the game."The pressure is on for players not to experience déjà vu – people don't want to be disappointed again."That "cultural nuance" could be key, agrees Úna-Minh."There's something special knowing the team understands what GAA is all about. Whether it works out or not is another question, but it's a solid foundation."So what does this solid foundation mean for Gaelic Football '25? What features will Gaelic Football '25 include? For one thing, Peadar said, with a laugh, of the team of 12 there's probably only a couple, including him, who grew up with the Gaelic games. But they're keeping the focus on playability above all means some minor modifications to Gaelic football's basic rules – for instance players are allowed six steps when carrying the ball rather than the mandated four as it simply played better, said sweeping new rules introduced in the sport won't be in the final game as they came in the middle of its development cycle.A lack of resources also meant some tough will be no online mode and, despite about 18 months of conversations with the Gaelic Games Association (GAA), no official licences meaning no real player names. Inspired by Pro Evolution Soccer's approach in decades past, the game will instead feature extensive editing capabilities so players can change names and counties as much as they want. These decisions can be revisited via updates or, if things go well, sequels - in the meantime, said Peadar, the focus is on finishing the game for a summer he feeling any pressure?There's a lot riding on the team, he acknowledged, but if he's fazed by the prospect the game "gets panned and nobody buys it", it doesn't show. Instead he seems like a man content that the best effort had gone towards making the best game the team could at a playtest for punters at GamerFest Dublin in May garnered a positive response. And the finish line is in sight."We've been at this coming up to three years so it's about time we got this off our table and into people's hands."And when they do, said Matt, people will definitely buy it - and maybe more."If it gets buzz on social media that it's actually the sky's the limit."
BBC News
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Sporting Witness Goalie v Gull
Dutch goalkeeper Eddy Treijtel played for Rotterdam giants, Feyenoord, more than 300 times. But one of his most talked about moments happened during a game against city rivals Sparta Rotterdam, in 1970. His goal kick, meant to pick out a striker, instead hit and killed a seagull. The dead bird was later stuffed and now resides in the club's museum. Eddy tells Johnny I'Anson about the moment that would go down in football folklore. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You'll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded. Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women's World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football's biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who've had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created. (Photo: Seagull. Credit: Thomas Winz)
BBC News
7 hours ago
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Simpson survives two knockdowns to stop Zucco
Super-middleweight Callum Simpson picked himself up off the canvas twice before securing a stunning stoppage victory over Ivan Zucco in his home town of 28, made history as he maintained his unbeaten record (18-0) to become the town's first European champion when he stopped Italy's Zucco in the 10th round at Barnsley FC's Oakwell Stadium. The Englishman dedicated the win to his sister, Lily-Rae Simpson, who died aged 19 in a car accident in Greece last year."Not once did I give up, in those last few rounds I'll be honest I started thinking about my little sister Lily," Simpson said."I'll be honest, I just thought I had to push for her and for everybody. This time last year, Lily was sat up here cheering me on and she was there with me tonight when it got tough, when it got hard."From round eight, I thought, 'I've got to dig deep, I've got to keep pushing, I've got to do it for her'. She was with me tonight."With the win, Simpson puts himself in prime contention for a step up to world level by the end of the the raucous Oakwell crowd feared the worse with only eight seconds on the clock in in the opening round when Zucco downed Simpson with a hard left shook off the early knockdown and buzzed Zucco with some fine punching of his own, but the home favourite was caught too square in the third round, dropped for the second time by a left on by 23,000 inside the football ground, Simpson was not to be deterred and he continued to advance - taking a number of risks along the sensed an opening in the 10th round as he stalked Zucco before launching a stunning left uppercut on the chin of his opponent - who then sank to his knees before beating the was subjected to another punishing uppercut and slumped to his knees but he bravely rose on the count of eight, until a third knockdown meant the Italian's corner pulled their man out of the fight.
