Tommy Conlon: The world's sporting marketplace has come truffle-hunting in the previously virgin territory of the Gael
Last Sunday we were lamenting that fewer and fewer Irish lads are being offered the King's shilling in the Premier League, which nowadays equates to a king's ransom for pretty much anyone who makes it as far as that particular Klondike.
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Irish Examiner
6 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Nmecha penalty secures Leeds victory after Tarkowski handball
Premier League: Leeds 1 Everton 0 It was all set up for Jack Grealish to ride to the rescue, to inject some much-needed life into proceedings but in fairness to Everton's high-profile new arrival, a moribund contest looked to have long-since gone past the point of 'do not resuscitate'. That was until, with a little over five minutes remaining, James Tarkowski rather unwisely - given his position deep in his own area - attempted to block a shot from Anton Stach with a diving block that saw the ball strike the Everton defender's arm. Elland Road erupted, VAR confirmed referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to award a penalty and amidst the chaos substitute Lukas Nmecha, with virtually his first touch, beat Jordan Pickford with a confident spot-kick low to the keeper's left. Grealish was given a little over 20 minutes to conjure up something memorable, but was understandably rusty given the way he has drifted out of the picture at Manchester City over the past 18 months, and was duly unable to salvage something from a game Everton didn't really deserve anything from in any case given their ultra-cautious approach. For 70 minutes Everton were seemingly just waiting, allowing Daniel Farke's ever-willing side, rope-a-dope style, to slowly but surely empty the fuel tank in the vain effort to break the deadlock as they kept banging their heads against a wall of blue. All the time, Grealish sat and watched from the visitors' bench, occasionally donning an orange bib to stretch his legs and run the gauntlet of abuse from home fans along the main stand touchline as he waited for his chance to sprinkle a bit of stardust on what in every other aspect was very much a workmanlike contest. Everton had lost their three most recent season curtain-raisers and after making a woeful start to last season, David Moyes' men travelled across the Pennines not to lose rather than aiming to win. They came close to achieving that rather unambitious aim but ultimately fell short. It wasn't pretty but it was perhaps a back-handed compliment to their opponents who scurried and hurried and hassled and snapped but seemed to lose all sense of purpose and lack any semblance of quality when they made their way into the Everton box - until the late favour from the hapless Tarkowski. Leeds made progressively more productive forays towards goal, Willy Gnonto by some distance their main source of threat. The Italian gradually found his range with a stinging first-half effort narrowly over from 20 yards, a rare effort on target, albeit one easily saved, shortly after the break, before he had Pickford scrambling to cover his near post by firing into the side-netting. Even given the late surge in form following the return of the Scot to Goodison Park at the start of the year, Everton scored just 25 goals from open play in the entirety of the season, a paltry figure all but two of the three relegated teams in the top flight failed to better. That quarter of a century might be an ambitious target on the evidence of this safety-first approach, one that will surely be met by short shrift by 50,000 Evertonians every other week at their pristine new home on the banks of the Mersey. Everton were forced to weather an early storm as Leeds' players attempted to channel on the pitch the predictably febrile passion from the stands as Elland Road staged its first Premier League fixture for well in excess of two years. It was a high-octane opening from the hosts more reminiscent of the end of their Championship title-winning season when they would overwhelm opponents from the first whistle. The main difference on this occasion was that against wilting second-tier sides they were often two goals to the good inside 20 minutes but to their credit Everton are made of far sterner stuff. A steadfast wall of blue if not happily then relatively comfortably soaked up the waves of pressure to ensure Pickford remained largely unemployed, in fact both goalkeepers had the most comfortable of introductions to the new season with much of the action concentrated between halfway and the Everton penalty area. The decibel level from home supporters proved to be inversely proportional to the growing realisation that the hosts would struggle to unlock their opening game visitors, let alone repeat the steamrolling of most of the hapless visitors to Elland Road last season. For all their territorial dominance the hosts had singularly failed to carve-out a presentable opening and half-time was just a couple of minutes away when Pickford was concerned momentarily, only for from an Ethan Ampadu long throw, Gnonto's well-struck 20-yard effort to rise harmlessly over the bar. That such a tame effort even merits mention underlines the lack of any discernible goalmouth action at either end. The cursory four seconds of first-half stoppage-time added by Kavanagh perhaps hinted at the general sense of futility of the men in white's efforts to crack what was proving to be a largely immovable object. The pattern continued into the second-half and Leeds at least made a modicum of progress with a shot on target from the ever-willing, albeit one that was straight at Pickford and comfortably gathered. The England goalkeeper looked almost happy to have something to occupy himself with. The upward curve of the ball's proximity to Everton's goal continued when shortly before the hour Gonto turned and shot in an instant to have the Everton keeper scrambling towards his near post as the ball crashed into the side-netting. It was accompanied by a brief but erroneous goal celebration from thousands of supporters desperate for their side who had lost just one of their previous 28 matches to stretch that impressive record. Given his growing influence, Gonto was rather surprisingly withdrawn in favour of Brenden Aaronson for the final 25 minutes, shortly before Grealish entered the fray but by that point the game was beyond saving as a spectacle. Ao Tanaka fired narrowly over from the edge of the area before Tarkowski unwittingly provided the evening's defining moment to literally hand the hosts a perfect start to the campaign. LEEDS (4-2-3-1): Perri 7; Bogle 7, Rodon 7, Struijk 7, Gudmundsson 7; Stach 6, Ampadu 8 (Gruev 78, 6); James 6 (Harrison 78, 6), Tanaka 6, Gnonto 7 (Aaronson 66, 6); Piroe 6 (Nmecha 78, 7). Booked: Tanaka. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 7; O'Brien 7, Tarkowski 5, Keane 7, Garner; Iroegbunam 6 (Grealish 71, ), Gueye 6; Alcaraz 7 (Barry 86, 6), Dewsbury-Hall 7, N-Diaye 6; Beto 6. Booked: Alcaraz, Iroegbunam. Referee: Chris Kavanagh
RTÉ News
6 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Lukas Nmecha scores as Leeds beat Everton to make winning Premier League return
Lukas Nmecha converted a controversial late penalty on his debut as Leeds made a winning return to the Premier League by beating Everton 1-0 at Elland Road. Second-half substitute Nmecha held his nerve to fire home an 84th-minute winner from the spot and seal Leeds a deserved win after Everton captain James Tarkowski was adjudged to have handled. Leeds debutant Anton Stach's thumping shot struck Tarkowski on the arm and although referee Chris Kavanagh's penalty decision appeared harsh, it was upheld by VAR. After a minute's silence in tribute to former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, Leeds, back in the top flight after a two-year absence, made their customary feverish start. They forced five corners inside the opening 14 minutes and Jordan Pickford denied them an early breakthrough after Joel Piroe had pounced on Tarkowski's mistake. Piroe's shot was blocked as Everton tried to ride out the storm, but the visitors doggedly held their shape and after 33 minutes, Pickford's save from Piroe's early shot was Leeds' only effort on target. Pascal Struijk's header from another of Stach's excellent corners was brilliantly cleared at the back post by Everton defender Jake O'Brien and Willy Gnonto fired over the crossbar. Leeds dominated the first period, having 12 shots in total to Everton's none, and visiting boss David Moyes will have been glad of the half-time whistle. Gnonto threatened again when shooting straight at Pickford soon after the restart and after Idrissa Gueye had lashed Everton's first shot over, the Italy forward drilled into the side-netting. Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam was booked for a late challenge on Ethan Ampadu, which left the Leeds skipper in a crumpled heap before the visitors began to eke out more possession. After Gnonto had made way for substitute Brenden Aaronson, England midfielder Jack Grealish stepped off the bench for his first Everton appearance as a replacement for Iroegbunam. Everton's first effort on target, from Charly Alcaraz, was saved by Leeds debutant Lucas Perri at his near post before Ao Tanaka volleyed over as the home side looked to regain momentum. And fortune favoured Daniel Farke's side when they were on the right side of Kavanagh's penalty decision. Tarkowski leant into Stach's fierce drive and after Kavanagh pointed to the spot, his decision was backed up by VAR and Nmecha, a free summer signing from Wolfsburg, buried his spot-kick, six minutes after replacing Piroe. Everton, who lost only three of their last 18 league games last season following the return of Moyes for his second spell in charge in January, rarely threatened and slipped to their first defeat at Elland Road in six league matches, stretching back to 2001.
The Irish Sun
6 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Rhasidat Adeleke stuns fans with gut-wrenching World Championships decision after persistent injury battle
Irish sprint queen breaks silence with emotional update as her season ends in heartbreak OH NO Rhasidat Adeleke stuns fans with gut-wrenching World Championships decision after persistent injury battle IRISH sprint star Rhasidat Adeleke has confirmed she will not compete at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The Tallaght star's season is now prematurely over following persistent injury setbacks. 2 Rhasidat Adeleke's season is over after a year hampered by injuries 2 The Ireland star has pulled out of the World Championships in Tokyo The 22-year-old had qualified for both the 200m and 400m, but after struggling to find her best form this summer, she has decided to end her campaign early. Dubliner Adeleke only opened her season back in June as she clocked 50.42 seconds in the stacked Diamond League meet in Norway. Adeleke narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the fiercely competitive sprint as Isabella Whittaker stormed to victory in 49.58 second. But a further withdrawal in Monaco hampered any momentum as she was forced to think about her injury problems. And Adeleke also pulled out of the Irish Nationals earlier this month due to injury. In a heartfelt statement posted on social media, the Irish sprint star explained her decision. An Instagram post read: "This season has tested me in more ways than I ever anticipated. "Lingering injuries and continuous setbacks made it increasingly difficult to train and perform at the level I expect from myself. "Following yet another recent roadblock, I'm saddened to share that I'm unable to finish out this season. "I'll take this time to heal, recover and do what's necessary so I can show up next season as my best self, mind and body. Inside Sharlene Mawdsley's 'delicious' yet atypical Tenerife holiday with GAA star boyfriend Mikey Breen "I'm so grateful to everyone that shows me unwavering support. It means the world. Much love - R."
