
Hallgrimsson target recognised in latest ranking as ever-present run continues
Ireland Under-21 defender Anselmo Garcia MacNulty has followed up his chat with Heimir Hallgrímsson by making the latest ESPN Eredivisie Team of the Week.
The Seville-born youngster featured in PEC Zwolle's 3-1 win away to NAC Breda on Sunday, where his performance earned him a place at centre-back in the weekly-11.
It's not MacNulty's first time featuring in the Team of the Week, but this one comes fresh from a meeting with senior boss Hallgrímsson, who watched the 22-year-old play against Feyenoord late last month.
PEC lost that one 4-0, but MacNulty's performance in front of the Boys in Green boss had plenty of positives.
He is back in his more familiar centre-back role this season after spending last year as a left-back - an area that has been problematic for Ireland for some time now.
Hallgrímsson will later this month name a squad for the summer friendlies against Luxembourg and Senegal.
The Ireland manager has already stated that Championship players will be disadvantaged by their regular season ending last weekend.
The Dutch top-flight will continue into the middle of this month, with Zwolle facing Go Ahead Eagles, Willem II and FC Groningen in their remaining games.
So it represents an opportunity for MacNulty, whose mum Maeve hails from Kilmaley in Co Clare, to secure a first senior call-up.
He will also hope to finish the season with maximum minutes on the pitch. The former Real Betis and VfL Wolfsburg prospect is currently one of only two ever-present outfield players in the Eredivisie this season, having played every moment of PEC Zwolle's 31 league games to date.
Go Ahead Eagles defender Mats Deijl is the other player to have not yet missed any action.
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RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Stoke City midfielder Bosun Lawal called up to Republic of Ireland squad
Stoke City midfielder Bosun Lawal has been added to the Republic of Ireland to play Luxembourg on Tuesday. The now 24-player group will train this morning before heading to Luxembourg later today. Lawal, 22, has been troubled with injuries throughout the year and was restricted to just seven appearances in the Championship. The former Bohemians and Celtic youngster is highly-rated having played 12 times at U21 level for Ireland. Several changes are expected for the game in Luxembourg after the 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday night. Killian Phillips made his debut from the bench, while Kasey McAteer scored his first goal for the Boys in Green. Shamrock Rovers' defender Josh Honohan, Stade Reims midfielder John Joe Patrick Finn and goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Josh Keeley could make their first appearances in the green shirt in the final friendly on the window.


Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rival managers differ on referee changeover as Cork end Limerick's Munster reign
Limerick 2-27 Cork 1-30 AET - Cork win 3-2 on penalties. A 15th final for John Kiely as Limerick manager and a first defeat. Well, kind of. His side were leading at the end of normal time and extra time only for Cork to get the scores to force an extra 20 minutes and, ultimately, penalties, where they came unstuck. It was the first time a top tier hurling Championship game was decided in this fashion, which wouldn't be satisfactory to many and, indeed, the Munster Council wouldn't have been averse to a replay and surely another sellout at Páirc Uí Chaoimh after 43,580 paid in here. But, in the end, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Alan Connolly scored their penalties for Cork, rendering Darragh Fitzgibbon's miss irrelevant in the end as Barry Murphy, Tom Morrissey and Declan Hannon failed to find the target for Limerick after Diarmaid Byrnes and Aaron Gillane had dispatched their first two. 'I think everybody would agree that it's in normal play that a game should be finished,' said Kiely. 'But listen, these are the rules, these are the procedures and we have to go with that, you know. 'Fair play to Cork. They took the penalties when it came around. In fairness to Pat [Ryan], Pat has done a fantastic job with that Cork team and, you know, to come down here and to get a win, is a serious achievement in a Munster final and we have to acknowledge that.' Kiely and his Cork counterpart Ryan made eight substitutions each over the course of the evening but there was another required on top of that as linesman James Owens had to take the whistle from Thomas Walsh in the first half of extra time, the Waterford official going down seemingly with cramp. There was a feeling that Walsh had refereed the game too loosely, but implicit in Kiely's praise of his performance was criticism of how Owens assumed the role. That injury time at the end of extra time extended beyond three minutes, allowing Fitzgibbon to convert a 65 to bring the tie to penalties, was one bone of contention for Kiely. 'I'd have to go and study it and watch it,' he said. 'You know, I thought Thomas did a great job, you and it was a pity that he got injured. But I thought he did a fantastic job. 'So, you know, we have to move on now. That's the end of the Munster Championship for us. I'm very, very happy with our performance levels right throughout the Munster Championship. 'We'll reset, we'll take a little breather now for the next few days, and I've no doubt the men in that dressing room will regroup, dust themselves down, and will really want to push forward now and, you know, be the very best that they can be in the remainder of this Championship.' The rival managerial camps had both made for Walsh at half-time of normal time amid a questionable call that had gone in Limerick's favour just before the whistle, and Ryan wasn't so perturbed about the subsequent transition from Walsh to Owens. 'I'll tell you now, that game was going so long now, I didn't notice, I couldn't tell you about referees or things,' said the Cork boss. 'What you're doing is you're just fighting tooth and nail for every ball.' For Ryan and Cork, while nobody seriously believed that they were 16 points worse than Limerick after losing to them by that margin three weeks earlier and a response from them was always likely, it was still a notable feat to return to the Gaelic Grounds and contain them when they had been so rampant. 'To be honest, we were just focused on coming up here and really going to battle with Limerick and represent the jersey, represent our people,' said Ryan. 'The last day, the people are spending money to come up here and we didn't give them any value for money the last day. I think both teams gave fierce value for money to their supporters today and to everyone.' In terms of entertainment, it was certainly a game that kept people engaged throughout, though the quality was lacking on both sides and Kiely acknowledged that afterwards. He added: 'I think both teams possibly didn't hit the markers that they might have been hoping to hit. I think both will look back on their performance and feel it could have been better. 'All you can do is do your best. And I thought that our boys gave absolutely everything they had in the tank and I can, you only be proud of that. I think we'll regroup, we'll refresh, we'll come again.' LIMERICK: Nickie QUAID 7; Seán FINN 7, Dan MORRISSEY 7, Mike CASEY 7; Diarmaid BYRNES (0-1f) 6, Kyle HAYES 7, Barry NASH 7; Adam ENGLISH (0-3) 7, William O'DONOGHUE 6; Gearóid HEGARTY (0-2) 7, Cian LYNCH 7, Tom MORRISSEY (0-2) 7; Aaron GILLANE (0-9, 0-7f) 8, Aidan O'CONNOR (1-1) 6, David REIDY (0-3) 7. Subs: Shane O'Brien (1-2) for O'Connor (42), Peter Casey (0-1) for Reidy (55), Cathal O'Neill (0-1) for Tom Morrissey (55), Darragh O'Donovan (0-1) for O'Donoghue (65), Declan Hannon (0-1) for Byrnes (70), Barry Murphy for M Casey (70), Tom Morrissey for Hegarty (79), Byrnes for Lynch (90+4). CORK: Patrick COLLINS 7; Damien CAHALANE (0-1) 6, Eoin DOWNEY (0-1) 6, Sean O'DONOGUE 6; Mark COLEMAN 7, Ciarán JOYCE 7, Cormac O'BRIEN 6; Tim O'MAHONY (0-1) 7, Darragh FITZGIBBON (0-4, 0-1f, 0-1 '65') 8; Diarmuid HEALY (0-3) 8, Shane BARRETT (1-3) 8, Séamus HARNEDY (0-2) 7; Patrick HORGAN (0-7, 0-4f) 7, Brian HAYES (0-1) 7, Alan CONNOLLY (0-1) 6. Subs: Robert Downey for O'Brien (54), Tommy O'Connell (0-1) for O'Mahony (59), Shane Kingston (0-3) for Connolly (65), Robbie O'Flynn for Harnedy (68), Conor Lehane (0-2) for Horgan (70+3), Niall O'Leary for O'Donoghue (72), Brian Roche for Healy (80), Connolly for Coleman (84). REFEREE: Thomas Walsh (Waterford), James Owens (Wexford). QUOTE ME ON THAT 'There's no dress rehearsal for this. There's no practising for this. It's just put your best foot forward and you know, you're taking a shot on behalf of the group. It's not on the lads.' Limerick manager John Kiely. STAR MAN - Aaron Gillane (Limerick) Not a game of outstanding individual performances and not one of Gillane's most prolific days, but so many scores came off him, including a deft set-up for Shane O'Brien's goal. AN OTHER - Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork) A fine performance from the Cork midfielder, who coolly slotted the 65 to ensure penalties, only to miss one in the shootout himself. Thankfully for him, his teammates bailed him out. UP NEXT LIMERICK: All-Ireland quarter-final, June 21. CORK: All-Ireland semi-final, July 5.


The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Des Cahill makes feelings clear on Munster hurling final going to penalties as he claims ‘imagine hype of a replay'
DES CAHILL hit out at the Munster hurling final going to a penalty shoot-out - saying "imagine the hype of a replay". Cork 2 Cork beat Limerick in the Munster final after an enthralling penalty shoot-out Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile 2 Des Cahill insisted it should have gone to a replay Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription An enthralling contest between the two heavyweights ended level at 1-30 to 2-27 after Darragh Fitzgibbon's late 65' at the end of extra-time. This meant penalties, with the Rebels emerging victorious after Treaty veteran Declan Hannon put the critical placed ball wide. While enthralled by the game, He tweeted: "Does a tremendous final like this really have to be decided by penalties? Read More on GAA "Imagine the anticipation, the craic, and the buzz if we were looking forward to a replay! "This is the price of the condensed season. Congrats to #Cork & #Limerick on providing a superb #MunsterFinal" It made for an emotional and poignant occasion at the TUS Gaelic Grounds for Not only was it a first provincial title in seven years, but it achieved a league and Championship double, while his side are favourites to bag the All-Ireland. Most read in GAA Hurling And not only that, but it came just four months on from the death of his brother, Ray. The 43-year-old tragically passed away back in February, having been part of Sarsfields teams that won county titles in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. RTE GAA pundits argue over who started halftime row as Cork eventually topple Limerick in Munster epic final After the Rebels' momentous victory at the TUS Gaelic Grounds, RTE broadcaster Jacqui Hurley made sure to She said: "Ray, I hope you are smiling down on these scenes." Pat Ryan is an immensely popular figure among the Leesiders, who have now done a league and provincial championship double. This was on display when Robert Downey Skipper Downey said: 'I don't think he realises how much we love him. 'But on days like these, I'm going to tell him. Pat, we love you to bits.' VALUE FOR MONEY Three weeks after they suffered a 16-point hammering at the hands of the same opposition, Cork scuppered Limerick's seven-in-a-row quest following an engrossing affair at the Gaelic Grounds. Ryan said: 'We were just focused on coming up here and really going to battle with jersey , representing our people. 'The people are spending money to come up here and we didn't give them any value for money the last day. 'I think both teams gave fierce value for money to their supporters today and to everyone. 'We have no doubt in the character of our fellas. We have no doubt in the ability that they have. 'I think everybody has said that. You have to go and prove it every time. 'I'm here three years. We thought that performance three weeks ago was gone out of this team. As I said, I genuinely take a bit of blame for that.' Ryan's own frustration with ref Thomas Walsh — who went off injured in extra-time — But the Cork chief said: 'We're all fighting tooth and nail for the calls. 'The game is so fast. Thomas is a fantastic referee. We're fighting for calls. John Kiely is fighting for calls. That's just the nature of it.' Asked why he approached Walsh, Ryan responded: 'Just to say he was doing a great job.'