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Sunday World
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Sunday World
Stephen Looney: Shelbourne's narrow advantage could be wiped out quickly
The League of Ireland champions are to be respected but not feared, but the Blues will need to find goals from somewhere at Windsor Park on Wednesday Josh Archer, who is a prospect for Linfield, under pressure from Ali Coote of Shelbourne during Wednesday's first leg at Tolka Park. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile First blood to Shelbourne in the clash of Ireland's champions as all eyes now turn to Windsor Park on Wednesday night. Mipo Odubeko scrambled the ball past Chris Johns at Tolka Park last Wednesday to give the League of Ireland champions a slender lead ahead of their trip to Belfast. The Dubliners will hope to see the job through at the National Stadium but the Irish League champions will have other ideas. The Blues are perhaps fortunate to come away from Drumcondra trailing the Champions League tie by just a single goal, for Shels were the better team. However, it was not the mismatch that was Shamrock Rovers v Larne last year and that will give Linfield heart. What must be factored into the equation is the fact that Shelbourne are midway through their domestic campaign while Linfield are still in pre-season. When the draw was first made Linfield legend Glenn Ferguson opined to this correspondent that he felt there was very little between the teams and there was every chance of his former team going through. While in agreement with Spike, I voiced my concern about the match-fitness of David Healy's team, which has not played a competitive game since the end of last season, bar the Charity Shield defeat to Dungannon Swifts. And so it proved in the first leg, the key question is whether Linfield can improve enough in the space of a week to make up ground on Joey O'Brien's team. There was a lack of composure from the South Belfast behemoth, particularly in the first half. Josh Archer, a fine young prospect in the middle of the park, was booked for a rash, needless tackle after just 17 minutes. The Lisburn man is only 21 and the caution could be put down to the exuberance of youth, a misguided attempt to show his commitment to the cause. But two minutes later, Linfield skipper and playing legend Jamie Mulgrew was also booked for a rash challenge that was equally needless. Mulgrew is 39, has been playing for Linfield for 20 years and is the heartbeat of the team, a throwback to the glory days of Ferguson, Peter Thompson, Winkie Murphy, Noel Bailie et al. Archer's booking was forgivable and he will learn, but for his senior midfield partner to follow suit just two minutes later harks at nerves, or a lack of composure. Josh Archer, who is a prospect for Linfield, under pressure from Ali Coote of Shelbourne during Wednesday's first leg at Tolka Park. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile That said, these were Linfield's only bookings and the players regrouped admirably in the face of waspish forays forward from the hosts, orchestrated by the gifted Harry Wood. It was a rearguard action that proved successful, for Healy would have happily taken a 1-0 defeat back to Windsor before a ball was kicked in the tie. Chris Johns returned to goals after a period on the sidelines, having lost his place to David Walsh last season. How Matthew Orr is still at Linfield is a mystery as the 18-year-old – last year's Young Player of the Year – is an outstanding talent but Healy insists there has been no official interest. The teenager from Bangor slotted in nicely alongside Ben Hall and Euan East, and all three were called into action repeatedly throughout the tie at Tolka. That they largely held out against Shelbourne will have pleased Healy, but he will be concerned about his team's offensive capabilities. Fair enough, the players were feeding off scraps for most of the time but there seemed to be a disconnect most times the visitors tried to mount attacks. Joel Cooper is a huge loss, that is the obvious and perhaps easy point to make but it is still a fact. The attacking forward was pivotal to Linfield's title success, scored 20 goals and won the Player of the Year award hands down before he was lured to the Coleraine Showgrounds. Healy is on the lookout to bring another winger in this summer, but his hands are tied at present, he must progress in Europe to be given the green light to plunder the market. Linfield spent big in January of this year, signing Kieran Offord from St Mirren and Callumn Morrison from Falkirk at a combined cost of £200,000. Spanish midfielder Alex Gorrin also signed last season and Healy professed himself happy with the business done, confident that the new players would shine this season after bedding in last term. Morrison was the top scorer in Scottish League One last season and was a player Healy had coveted for a while. There is no doubting the 25-year-old's pedigree but he flitted in and out of the tie in Dublin, and he was not on his own. He was asked to play a wider role to accommodate Matthew Fitzpatrick (who looked strong on the night) and could be forgiven for being rusty. Offord was a roaring success in his loan spell with Crusaders last season before joining the Blues in January, via his parent club who called him back to sell him to Linfield. He has yet to fully establish himself and the same could be said of Chris McKee, who joined the club in July 2022. If Linfield want to progress they need goals, from somewhere. Overall, Linfield's lack of competitive action was evident and handed the initiative to Shelbourne. A 1-0 deficit is easily surmountable IF Linfield can get up to speed for the return leg on Wednesday night. Shelbourne are to be respected, but not feared. They seem to have lost a little something since winning the title in dramatic fashion last year under Damien Duff. There is everything to play for and, in this game of fine margins, it should prove to be a nailbiting evening for both teams.
Sunday World
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Sunday World
Stephen Looney: If David Healy gets Linfield up to speed, they can easily overturn Shelbourne's narrow advantage
The League of Ireland champions are to be respected but not feared, but the Blues will need to find goals from somewhere at Windsor Park on Wednesday Josh Archer, who is a prospect for Linfield, under pressure from Ali Coote of Shelbourne during Wednesday's first leg at Tolka Park. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile First blood to Shelbourne in the clash of Ireland's champions as all eyes now turn to Windsor Park on Wednesday night. Mipo Odubeko scrambled the ball past Chris Johns at Tolka Park last Wednesday to give the League of Ireland champions a slender lead ahead of their trip to Belfast. The Dubliners will hope to see the job through at the National Stadium but the Irish League champions will have other ideas. The Blues are perhaps fortunate to come away from Drumcondra trailing the Champions League tie by just a single goal, for Shels were the better team. However, it was not the mismatch that was Shamrock Rovers v Larne last year and that will give Linfield heart. What must be factored into the equation is the fact that Shelbourne are midway through their domestic campaign while Linfield are still in pre-season. When the draw was first made Linfield legend Glenn Ferguson opined to this correspondent that he felt there was very little between the teams and there was every chance of his former team going through. While in agreement with Spike, I voiced my concern about the match-fitness of David Healy's team, which has not played a competitive game since the end of last season, bar the Charity Shield defeat to Dungannon Swifts. And so it proved in the first leg, the key question is whether Linfield can improve enough in the space of a week to make up ground on Joey O'Brien's team. There was a lack of composure from the South Belfast behemoth, particularly in the first half. Josh Archer, a fine young prospect in the middle of the park, was booked for a rash, needless tackle after just 17 minutes. The Lisburn man is only 21 and the caution could be put down to the exuberance of youth, a misguided attempt to show his commitment to the cause. But two minutes later, Linfield skipper and playing legend Jamie Mulgrew was also booked for a rash challenge that was equally needless. Mulgrew is 39, has been playing for Linfield for 20 years and is the heartbeat of the team, a throwback to the glory days of Ferguson, Peter Thompson, Winkie Murphy, Noel Bailie et al. Archer's booking was forgivable and he will learn, but for his senior midfield partner to follow suit just two minutes later harks at nerves, or a lack of composure. Josh Archer, who is a prospect for Linfield, under pressure from Ali Coote of Shelbourne during Wednesday's first leg at Tolka Park. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile That said, these were Linfield's only bookings and the players regrouped admirably in the face of waspish forays forward from the hosts, orchestrated by the gifted Harry Wood. It was a rearguard action that proved successful, for Healy would have happily taken a 1-0 defeat back to Windsor before a ball was kicked in the tie. Chris Johns returned to goals after a period on the sidelines, having lost his place to David Walsh last season. How Matthew Orr is still at Linfield is a mystery as the 18-year-old – last year's Young Player of the Year – is an outstanding talent but Healy insists there has been no official interest. The teenager from Bangor slotted in nicely alongside Ben Hall and Euan East, and all three were called into action repeatedly throughout the tie at Tolka. That they largely held out against Shelbourne will have pleased Healy, but he will be concerned about his team's offensive capabilities. Fair enough, the players were feeding off scraps for most of the time but there seemed to be a disconnect most times the visitors tried to mount attacks. Joel Cooper is a huge loss, that is the obvious and perhaps easy point to make but it is still a fact. The attacking forward was pivotal to Linfield's title success, scored 20 goals and won the Player of the Year award hands down before he was lured to the Coleraine Showgrounds. Healy is on the lookout to bring another winger in this summer, but his hands are tied at present, he must progress in Europe to be given the green light to plunder the market. Linfield spent big in January of this year, signing Kieran Offord from St Mirren and Callumn Morrison from Falkirk at a combined cost of £200,000. Spanish midfielder Alex Gorrin also signed last season and Healy professed himself happy with the business done, confident that the new players would shine this season after bedding in last term. Morrison was the top scorer in Scottish League One last season and was a player Healy had coveted for a while. There is no doubting the 25-year-old's pedigree but he flitted in and out of the tie in Dublin, and he was not on his own. He was asked to play a wider role to accommodate Matthew Fitzpatrick (who looked strong on the night) and could be forgiven for being rusty. Offord was a roaring success in his loan spell with Crusaders last season before joining the Blues in January, via his parent club who called him back to sell him to Linfield. He has yet to fully establish himself and the same could be said of Chris McKee, who joined the club in July 2022. If Linfield want to progress they need goals, from somewhere. Overall, Linfield's lack of competitive action was evident and handed the initiative to Shelbourne. A 1-0 deficit is easily surmountable IF Linfield can get up to speed for the return leg on Wednesday night. Shelbourne are to be respected, but not feared. They seem to have lost a little something since winning the title in dramatic fashion last year under Damien Duff. There is everything to play for and, in this game of fine margins, it should prove to be a nailbiting evening for both teams.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Watch: Linfield and Shelbourne still goalless in Champions League
Update: Date: 20:05 BST Title: YELLOW CARD Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Another yellow card for Linfield, this time it's skipper Jamie Mulgrew who's cautioned for his late tackle on Ali Coote. That's two of the Blues central midfielders both in the book in the opening 20 minutes. Concern for David Healy early on with his midfield duo. Update: Date: 20:02 BST Title: YELLOW CARD Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Linfield's Josh Archer is the first player in the referee's book as he is cautioned for his late challenge on Shelbourne captain Mark Coyle. Update: Date: 19:59 BST Title: Post Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Linfield have managed to weather the early Shelbourne storm, at least for the time being. Joey O'Brien will be the happier of the two managers so far, with his side firmly in the ascendancy. Update: Date: 19:54 BST Title: GREAT SAVE! Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Chris Johns comes to Linfield's rescue with a superb save to deny Evan Caffrey from opening the scoring. Caffrey beats the offside trap, latches on to a cross and heads at goal but is denied by a great Johns save. Two headed efforts in as many minutes from Caffrey, both being denied. Update: Date: 19:52 BST Title: HITS THE WOODWORK Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Evan Caffrey gets on the end of a corner and his header strikes the near upright! Early spell of dominance from the hosts. Update: Date: 19:50 BST Title: Post Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Drawing concern for David Healy, Euan East is down receiving treatment. It looks like the ball struck East on the head at some pace while he was on the ground. Update: Date: 19:48 BST Title: Post Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield Evan Caffrey spots Chris Johns off his line, attempting to catch the goalkeeper off guard with his long-range effort from just inside Linfield's half. His effort sails over the crossbar. Update: Date: 19:45 BST Title: KICK-OFF Content: Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield We're underway at Tolka Park for the first leg of Champions League first round qualifying action between Shelbourne and Linfield. Update: Date: 19:42 BST Title: Shels in 'new era' after Duff departure - Coyle Content: Shelbourne v Linfield (19:45 BST) Shelbourne skipper Mark Coyle says tonight's game is an opportunity to make "new memories" after last month's departure of manager Damien Duff. Duff, who won 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland, led Shelbourne to their first League of Ireland championship since 2006 last season, but their title defence proved a disappointment and the former Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers winger surprisingly quit last month with the side fifth in the table. New manager Joey O'Brien, Duff's former assistant and international team-mate, earned his first victory at the third attempt at home to Cork City on Friday night, giving the side momentum going into their tie against David Healy's squad. "It's been very good," said Coyle of the team's mood since Duff's shock departure. "We obviously have huge respect and love for the ex-manager but now we're excited for the new era. "The gaffer [O'Brien], it's been great. He's put his own stamp on things and you can see around the ground, there's obviously an excitement and it's just about creating new memories now." Read more. Update: Date: 19:41 BST Title: Linfield need 'ice in veins' - Healy Content: Shelbourne v Linfield (19:45 BST) Linfield boss David Healy has said it would be "wrong" to play on any derby element to tonight's tie. "It's certainly not talked about north v south, that would be wrong of me to do that," he told BBC Sport NI yesterday. "You have to play with a little bit of passion, a little bit of fire, but you also have to control that emotion. "Like any European game, anything reckless, anything silly, will be punished, so play with ice in your veins and make sure we stay fully focused for 90 minutes." Read more. Update: Date: 19:35 BST Title: Team news Content: Shelbourne v Linfield (19:45 BST) With Damian Duff having resigned a fortnight ago, Joey O'Brien remains in charge and names an unchanged side following Friday night's 3-1 victory over Cork City at Tolka Park. David Healy makes just one change to his starting XI that drew 0-0 with Dungannon last week. Dane McCullough comes in for Charlie Allen who drops to the bench. Shelbourne: Kearns, Ledwidge, Lunney, Wood, Coyle (capt), Odubeko, Coote, Norris, McInroy, Caffrey, Barrett. Subs: Healy, Topcu, Wilson, Chapman, Boyd, Martin, Bone, O'Sullivan, Kelly, Temple, Ring, Offor. Linfield: Johns, East, Millar, Hall, Archer, Mulgrew (capt), McGee, Fitzpatrick, McCullough, Morrison, Orr. Subs: Walsh, Roscoe, Whiteside, Offord, Allen, McKee, Brown, Annett, McKay. Shelbourne v Linfield Update: Date: 19:32 BST Title: The Champions League starts here! Content: Shelbourne v Linfield (19:45 BST) Summer football, eh? The Irish Premiership season may still be a month away but, for now, European qualifiers are going to be coming thick and fast. After Clifronville's draw in Gibraltar last night, tonight it's the turn of Linfield who get their Champions League campaign underway with a trip to north Dublin in the first qualifying round. The Blues' only competitive action so far this season was last week's penalty shootout defeat to Dungannon Swifts in the Charity Shield. Tonight's hosts Shelbourne, on the other hand, are 25 games into their League of Ireland Premier Division campaign, with the champions currently sitting fifth in the table. These two sides have only met three times before, with Linfield winning two previous encounters and the other being a goalless draw. Those meetings were almost 20 years ago in the now defunct Setanta Cup, of course. Who will gain the advantage tonight? Stay with us to find out, we've live coverage right here and on the iPlayer.
Forbes
06-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Arketa Raises $15 Million To Power The Next Trip To Your Yoga Class
Think this is nice? It's a version of the weekly Under 30 newsletter and would be even better in your inbox. courtesy of Arketa Years spent behind check-in desks at yoga studios across California taught Rachel Lea Fishman one thing: The industry was in need of a warm up. 'Part of working behind the desk is seeing all the softwares that you either love, or love to hate,' she said. Fishman found herself falling into the latter thanks to the archaic and fragmented tools to check clients in, charge them for classes, answer their FAQs, and market to new students. To make the process easier for studio owners and instructors alike, she cofounded Arketa, a software company that helps fitness studios better manage operations in 2020. This March, Arketa closed a $15 million Series A, led by Inspired Capital, bringing their total funding to nearly $23 million. But, like any fitness class, Arketa's journey had its fair share of tough positions. A month after she joined forces with her cofounder Josh Archer (both of whom made the 30 Under 30 list in 2024) to officially launch the software in February 2020, Covid hit. And in-person fitness studios—their primary user base—shut down. Instead of pausing operations, however, they pivoted to meet the changing demands of the industry. 'Covid took the chessboard that was the fitness industry and totally flipped it on its head,' she said. 'Instructors used to think, 'I have to work for a big box gym in order to teach,' and studio owners used to think 'I can only open up 10 studios in order to scale,' and 'If I switch from my dinosaur software, the whole world is going to go upside down.'' But in hindsight, Covid became a necessary push to change the way fitness instructors and studios operated, and Arketa began building technologies to support the new wave. They launched tools for digital teaching libraries, virtual classes, and more. From the beginning it was built as fully-white labeled software to accommodate for the variety of ways Covid-era studios connected with clients. And to this day, Arketa continues to support fitness studios and other wellness spaces—from cold plunges to cryotherapy treatment centers—regardless of what types of services they provide, or where. The fully-customizable features set them apart from competitors like MindBody (one of the biggest class booking platforms today), because studios can seamlessly integrate Arketa into their stack. 'You remember the makeup brand that was like, 'Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Mabelline?'' Fishman said. 'That's like Arketa. You don't know unless you know, because it is so white labeled.' To continue innovating, Arketa is now focused on implementing AI to make the processes even smoother. That's what much of their new funding is going to support. Fishman initially used AI to help the internal Arketa team be more productive across engineering and marketing. Now they're using AI for client-facing chatbots (that will answer FAQs like 'do you have showers' or 'what's the parking like' in 30 seconds or less), generating leads to their studios, and more. If a small business is 'not picking up on AI and capturing all these new technologies, they're just falling behind,' Fishman said. Her goal is to prevent that from happening. See you next week, Alex & Zoya Cody Pickens for Forbes Not unlike his The White Lotus character Saxon Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger loves his protein. Along with starring in the hit HBO show set in Thailand, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver is the cofounder of protein bar brand Mosh, which he launched with his mom. The bars are bringing in $20 million in annual revenue, he told Forbes. See what else he's up to here. -Payflow, a Madrid-based startup that allows employees to access their earned wages at any time during the month, announced Monday that it has raised nearly $11 million in a new equity funding round. Cofounded by Under 30 Europe alum Avinash Sukhwani, Payflow partners directly with employers that pay a fixed monthly fee to offer the service as a benefit. Prior to this round, the company had already secured some $16 million in equity funding and an additional $30 million in debt financing. -Robinhood, the widely used stock trading app, acquired cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp in an all-cash deal worth $200 million this week. The acquisition, spearheaded by CEO and Under 30 Hall of Famer Vlad Tenev, will give Robinhood access to Bitstamp's established base of institutional clients across Europe, Asia and the U.K. It also brings more than 50 global crypto licenses under Robinhood's umbrella. Founded in Luxembourg in 2011, Bitstamp is the world's longest-running cryptocurrency exchange. -Misfits Market, the online marketplace for organic and 'imperfect' produce founded by 2020 Under 30 alum Abhi Ramesh, announced last week that it acquired The Rounds, a startup specializing in the delivery of household essentials using reusable packaging. Misfits is known for rescuing fruits and vegetables that don't meet conventional grocery store standards, and now the merger will allow the startup to expand beyond groceries into categories like cleaning supplies and other home goods. While terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, The Rounds had previously raised some $66 million in venture funding. -The Trump Administration has paused new visa appointments while it plans to develop a social media vetting policy for applicants—impacting those across academics and businesses, including newly minted international doctors. About a quarter of doctors in the U.S. come from foreign medical schools, and to practice in the U.S., they need to complete a residency here. With residencies starting July 1, many risk missing critical start dates, leaving hospitals understaffed and medical careers in jeopardy. (Forbes) - … What if I told you she's a mastermind? Pop icon Taylor Swift is officially the owner of all her masters. Last week, Swift announced she bought back the rights to her first six albums, which were acquired by record executive Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings and then purchased by Shamrock Capital in 2020. It reportedly cost Swift some $360 million to gain the rights to her own music—but fear not, the Eras Tour made Swift a fortune and the catalog is likely already worth more than she paid. According to Forbes' real time net worth tracker, Swift is currently worth $1.6 billion. (Forbes) -If you haven't heard of Labubu, congratulations … your screen time is probably in a healthy range. Labubu is a quirky, monster-like plush toy made by China's Pop Mart, and it's become the accessory of the summer thanks to a viral boost from social media. When K-pop star Lisa shared her Labubu keychain with her 105 million Instagram followers, the toy quickly gained global popularity. But in Asia, Labubu was already a cultural phenomenon. In 2024, Pop Mart pulled in $1.8 billion in revenue. (AP)
