Aaron Connolly on lookout for another new club after Millwall release Ireland forward
Much-travelled Ireland striker Aaron Connolly is on the move again as Championship side Millwall have confirmed that they have released him.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Three bright sparks from a frustrating Irish night in Luxembourg
Heimir Hallgrimsson shuffled his pack for the season-ending friendly, giving three less frequent campaigners a chance to impress from the start. This is how they fared. Max O'Leary Bristol City goalkeeper, 28, has spent six years hovering around the squad, waiting patiently for his first appearance, and he did himself no harm whatsoever here with a clean sheet - albeit against goal-shy opponents. It took almost half an hour for O'Leary to be called into meaningful action and his diving stop to turn Danel Sinani's shot around his left-hand post was a solid one. A selection of other straightforward stops came in the second half as Ireland incrementally improved from a limp opening 45. Usurping Caoimhin Kelleher for the games that matter in the autumn is quite unlikely and neither Gavin Bazunu nor Mark Travers should be forgotten about but it is both a blessing and a curse that a squad so lacking in depth elsewhere has four good players to choose from between the posts. Read More Much changed Ireland slump to dour draw with Luxembourg Killian Phillips It would be unfair to say Ireland's improvement and increase in control after he was substituted ten minutes into the second half was solely down to the full debutant St Mirren midfielder. But if fans have griped about a lack of midfield control for several years now, then Phillips is unlikely to prove the long-term answer. Jack Taylor, who was sprung on in a double change at the same time Phillips was removed, offered far more. That is not to say Phillips played badly. With his socks rolled down low in the style of a maverick, his handful of moments on the ball were quite safe. The issue was he simply did not get on it enough during a match begging for someone to offer something different. There was one nice bit of skill to purchase some space in the centre circle about 25 minutes in but it is hard to envisage a scenario where he is chosen ahead of more familiar names in September. Kasey McAteer The right winger followed up his goal in Friday's maiden start against Senegal with a quiet opening half last night but he showed more promise soon after the break when moving inside. His one clear sight of goal, in the 48th minute, was scuffed wide but when he was in possession Ireland looked marginally more likely to produce a bit of creativity. Unafraid to get stuck in, he reacted angrily to a naughty tackle by Sinani, who was booked, and McAteer was not short of defensive work either - with energetic tracking back halting Aiman Dardari from storming into the box with a counterattack that flirted with being dangerous. Replaced by Matt Doherty with 15 minutes remaining, if he can continue doing well for Leicester upon their return to the Championship in August expect him to feature in some guise for the qualifiers - most probably as an impact sub.
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Republic of Ireland's toothless attack fires blanks as Heimir Hallgrimsson's side stumble to bore draw in Luxembourg
AND the winners from Ireland's last game before their summer holidays were the players already on their summer holidays. 2 Ireland players leave the field after a scoreless draw against minnows Luxembourg 2 Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson won't be happy with the end-of-season showing on his birthday A 0-0 draw against the Grand Duchy was as good as it got, as Ireland never looked like losing and rarely looked like winning. In truth, it was typical end of season friendly fare on the final day before everyone on the pitch goes on their summer holidays. But it meant the real winners were those that Hallgrísson had told to go on their holidays already. When picking his squad, he left out the majority of Championship players because their season finished five weeks ago telling them to rest up for the World Cup qualifiers. read more on football In fact, they told them to take a holiday this year because there would be none next year as Ireland prepared for the World Cup! If Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz et al were watching last night in a beach bar, they will have seen that they were missed and should be back in the side for the autumn qualifiers. This June window has seen the emergence of That said, it was a game that Ireland could still have won. Most read in Football But a win would have just painted over the cracks that Ireland's performance was well below par - especially in the first half. Heimir Hallgrimsson gives first call-up to four Ireland players in squad for friendlies vs Senegal and Luxembourg During that 45 minutes, an average team - nevermind a good one - would have punished the Boys in Green. Fortunately, Luxembourg are below average as their one win in the past 18 months proves with their team having more problems than simply getting results. That was evident even before kick-off from the banners around the ground aimed at the local FA - FLF - and the selection of Gerson Rodrigues. In March, he lost his appeal against a conviction for three assault and battery charges, including one on his former girlfriend. There were banners in the stands that made the feelings of many Luxembourgers clear. 'Red card for violence against women' and'Shame on you, FLF' were hung while red cards were brandished by a small section of fans. Rodrigues was also booed, but the majority of that came from the Ireland fans who had little to cheer from their own team. There were five changes to the team as Max O'Leary came in for his debut and Hallgrímsson spoke about how his side have got the 'basics' right but there were few signs of that in Luxembourg as they struggled to gain any foothold. The warning signs were there early on as Collins hit a long diagonal that Robbie Brady could not keep in play and Dara O'Shea was cajoling his teammates to up the tempo. By ten minutes, boss Hallgrímsson was standing on the edge of his technical area, and moved Will Smallbone more centrally after 25 minutes, as his head hardly got a kick. The summer holidays start today but Luxembourg were often able to glide through the Ireland midfield as if they were already in flip flops. Had Luxembourg posed a real threat, they could have punished Ireland but the positive - if we are clutching at straws - was the Boys in Green's backline did hold firm. Debut goalkeeper O'Leary had little to do but did it well coming and making a few catches cleanly though his distribution was erratic. In fairness to him, neither Troy Parrott nor Evan Ferguson were getting any favours from Austrian referee Stefan Ebner despite some robust Luxembourg challenges. But the ball was not sticking to either of them and meant that the Irish backline was continually under pressure. O'Leary had to make a decent save to turn away a Danel Sinani shot from distance after Ferguson gave the ball away and allowed the Luxembourg front man to race forward. Early in the second half, O'Leary again did well when he denied Laurent Jans' effort from a tight angle with his legs after Parrott had lost possession in his own half. Later, he saw a cross from Vincent Thill come back off the butt of his post. And the second half did see Luxembourg pepper O'Leary's goal more often though, in truth, they were largely from distance where you never expected Ireland to concede. That said, Ireland did create chances too and could have won without playing well. Collins came close to an opening goal just before half time when he headed against the post after O'Shea had headed a deep Smallbone free kick back across goal. Early in the second half, Friday's goal scorer McAteer showed his attacking flare with a run from inside his own half and shot that fizzed just wide. And the winger was involved in Ireland's next decent chance when he arrived at the far post to drill Ryan Manning's left cross from the left into the six-yard box. Unfortunately for Ireland, Parrott could not adjust his feet quick enough to turn the ball in as he was then adjusted to have handled the ball as it bounced up awkwardly. Parrott did have the ball in the net on 67 minutes but it was rightly ruled out for offside as he made his run onto McAteer's pass too early. And McAteer - who was moved to the left flank in the second half before going off - also flashed a shot wide as he stretched to reach a ball over the top from Jake O'Brien. Taylor also saw a 20-yard drive cannon off the crossbar four minutes from time that could have earned the Boys in Green a win. But Ireland are going to have to play a lot better in the autumn World Cup qualifiers. Luxembourg 0 Ireland 0
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA president Jarlath Burns says All-Ireland finals could shift again in 2027
The All-Ireland finals may shift into August by 2027, GAA president Jarlath Burns has said. Burns has been an advocate of spreading the Championship season over a broader timeframe and has even floated the possibility of finals returning to their traditional September setting last year. Earlier this year, GAA director general Tom Ryan said that he would welcome the finals moving into August and while Burns later said that this would not happen on his watch, with his presidency ending in February 2027, he stated that it could happen later that year when speaking at the launch of the All-Ireland hurling series at Offaly GAA's Faithful Fields today. The All-Ireland finals have been played in July since 2022 as the split season model was introduced and Burns explained how moving them into August 2026 was off the table as Croke Park is a 'commercial organisation' which 'does its business a year in advance', effectively meaning that concerts are already slated for the back end of next summer. 'That puts August 2027 into the mix,' he said. 'I'm around the country all the time, in clubs and counties every single day of the week, and the thing that I get most debate on are the timings of the All-Ireland finals. 'And there is a school of thought that is saying that first and third weeks in August. 'Leave everything as it is and just have a bigger space between the semi-finals and the finals, three weeks instead of two weeks. That means then that there's only the two teams that are being affected. 'The disadvantage of that is that you're into the bank holiday weekend, and that can create difficulty as well. 'You might have heard me saying that this isn't going to happen during my presidency. The decision might be made during my presidency, but it might not actually occur during my presidency. 'But I am certainly open to the first and third weeks in August from 2027 on.' On the prospect of provincial final replays in the wake of last weekend's Munster hurling final being decided on penalties, Burns said that it is something among a range of issues that will be revisited after this year's Championship. 'I definitely think that any review should consider the possibility of replays, particularly in provincial finals. I just think that was such a game of drama, it was just a pity the way it ended. 'The Armagh-Donegal game could have gone the same way for the third year in a row, so I'm totally in favour of replays." The preliminary quarter-finals in hurling are a stumbling block as there are no free weekends before the quarter-final stage but Burns acknowledged: 'The counties themselves who would be in that position have always come back and said, 'No, this preliminary quarter-final means an awful lot to our team and our county, and we want to keep it'.' Meanwhile, Burns said that a potential return for the International Rules later this year will be discussed on Friday night, though the president is wary of encroaching on the closed season. He added: 'It's something that we have to do a little bit deeper thinking on, to be honest, before we make an actual decision on it. 'Personally, I would love to see the International Rules back, the players would love to see it back, but we have to be very careful about the consequences of bringing it back.'
