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RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shamrock Rovers sail through following St Joseph's stalemate
It wasn't pretty but with a 4-0 lead from the first leg, Shamrock Rovers could afford to play a game that was more akin to a training match as they eased through to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League and a meeting with Kosovan side Ballkani next Thursday with the first leg away from home. It also means that the Rovers versus Derry City Premier Division game will now go ahead as planned in Tallaght at 7pm on Sunday evening. It was a game that never lifted itself out of the ordinary. The Gibraltar side, on a mission impossible, defended in numbers, content it seemed with the stalemate as they gained a measure of pride at keeping the second leg scoreless after last week's hammering, Hoops manager Stephen Bradley, as expected, made wholesale changes from the first leg, six in total, giving midfielder Cian Barrett, son of ex-Ireland international Graham Barrett, his full debut. In a forgettable first half, it was the visitors had the best early chance in the seventh minute as Manual Sanchez fed Jayce Olivero inside the area, but Olivero never steadied himself and ballooned his shot over the bar. Straight from the goal kick, Rory Gaffney saw his shot rebound off the knees of the St Joseph's keeper Bradley Banda and Danny Grant blazed the follow up over the bar when he should really have scored. The visitors were content to defend, sitting deep. But they almost scored just after the half hour as Hoops keeper Ed McGinty had to come quickly off his line to smother a shot by Javi Forjan, put through by an excellent ball down the channel by Geovanni Barba. Rovers began to up the pressure at the resumption and teenager Michael Noonan, who was celebrating his 17th birthday, created a chance for sub John McGovern, but his close-range header was well saved, one handed, by Banda. Late in a game Noonan was denied what looked like a penalty as he tumbled in the area, but the Rovers appeals from players and fans alike were waved away by the referee as the game then petered out to its inevitable conclusion. Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Gary O'Neill,Roberto Lopez © (Lee Grace 45), Cory O'Sullivan; Danny Grant, Jack Byrne (Sean Kavanagh 63) Aaron McEniff (Dylan Watts 63), Cian Barrett, Josh Holohan (Danny Mandroiu 63) ; Rory Gaffney (John McGovern 45), Michael Noonan St Joseph's FC: Bradley Banda; Leon Volz, Gabri Cardozo (Javi Paul 79), Geovanni Barba, Jace Olivero; Juan Pena (Pablo Rodriguez 60), Manuel Sanchez, Juanma ©; Mitch Gibson (Adrian Armental 45), Javi Forjan (Ethan Santos 65), Angel Martinez.
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘It had everything' admits Stephen Kenny as he hails St Pat's rain-soaked extra-time Conference League win v Nomme Kalju
STEPHEN KENNY praised St Pat's for checking out of the Four Seasons with a rain-soaked aggregate win over Nomme Kalju in the UEFA Conference League. Joe Redmond's 90th minute goal sent the second leg in Tallinn to extra time after the hosts had overturned the first leg deficit with goals either side of half-time. 2 St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny praised his side's win over Nomma Kalju Credit: Evaldas Semiotas/Sportsfile 2 Jake Mulraney and Joe Redmond scored as they came from 2-0 down Credit: Evaldas Semiotas/Sportsfile And with the rain cascading onto the pitch below, Jake Mulraney clinched the Kenny said: 'It had everything. 'It had four seasons in the game. It finished with monsoon rain and puddles. 'We showed great character to come back and win the game which was really important. Read More on Conference League 'They scored off their first chance, really. That was so disappointing and then when they scored again, we were up against it. 'They were sitting with a back five. We were very persistent. Their goalkeeper made some unbelievable saves in the game but thankfully we managed to get the equaliser and the winner. 'We are delighted to win it because we know how hard it is to get through away from home in Europe . 'To come from 2-0 down, to have setbacks such as Aidan Keena's, with a potential thigh muscle injury, was really testament to our character.' Most read in Football Reward for their smash-and-grab in Estonia is a date with Besiktas in the third qualifying round. The Turkish giants, coached by former striker and manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, will present a significant step-up after dropping down from the Bizarre moment Havertz fouls the WRONG Tottenham player after Arsenal star sent for a hotdog But while wary of the threat they will pose, Kenny insisted his focus is on Sunday's Premier Division fixture against Pat's look set to be without Aidan Keena and Jason McClelland after they both were taken off injured on Thursday. And Kenny said: 'I always respect my opponent. People think we should be beating Hegelmann and Kalju and should be losing to Besiktas. 'This is our tenth game in Europe in just a year. We have just one defeat. 'They have a lot of quality. I have not really watched them play yet because I was firmly focused on this game. 'We fly home tomorrow but before we do so, we are switched on to Waterford on Sunday, which is a big game for us. That is my real focus now. 'We have lost two players to injury tonight and we lost Zack from the last game. We have to get ready for Sunday. 'It is a great game to play one of the big Turkish clubs, an institution in the capital, but one we must prepare for and be ready and give ourselves every chance. 'It will be tough as we have Waterford and Sligo amid the two games.'
Irish Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cork City fallout as Malik Dijksteel completes fast-tracked move to St Mirren
Malik Dijksteel sealed his move to St Mirren today having left Premier Division strugglers Cork City under a cloud of controversy. But Rebels boss Ger Nash has wished the Dutchman well, despite going without the winger in last Friday's crucial bottom-of-the-table clash with Sligo Rovers. Dijksteel signed a pre-contract agreement with St Mirren just three days before that Bit O'Red game, and he was due to stay and play in the rest of City's season. Yet there was no sign of Dijksteel for the Turner's Cross shootout which Cork City led 2-0 in before suffering a catastrophic meltdown and losing 3-2 in the dying stages. It was a devastating blow for their top flight survival prospects and after the game, Nash said: 'Malik's agent made it clear that he was unavailable for personal reasons." Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . St Mirren had wanted to sign the 24-year-old in this transfer window, and a bid was rejected. But following a standoff over the last week, a permanent deal has now been reached ahead of the Scottish Premiership season starting this weekend. And it means Dijksteel will be available for St Mirren in their opening league game away to champions Celtic on Sunday. Today, City boss Nash said: 'I spoke to Malik in the office for an hour on Monday and in my time working with him, Malik was a really good professional. 'St Mirren have got a really good player and I hope the move works out really well for him and he's got a big game this weekend. He's been our best player. He's been a real attacking threat for us and we wanted to pick him.' Nash continued: 'The conversation happened with his agent. It's very difficult for players in a situation where they want to leave, they want to go to a bigger club. 'There's also real life reasons and in terms of Malik, he's a father and where his child lives, that move would make it a lot easier to see his family. 'So there's a lot of human reasons why I completely understand why he wanted to move. I was pretty sad that he's leaving, but it's a good move for him. 'His agent had a conversation which made it clear that Malik had a lot going on in his mind and his personal life. It was clear to us that Malik wasn't in the right frame of mind for such an important game (against Sligo Rovers). 'When you're dealing with those sorts of transfers, it's not easy and whether he was in the right frame of mind was questionable.' Dijksteel isn't the only Cork City player to jump ship from the bottom side this week as defender Milan Mbeng was snapped up by reigning champions Shelbourne. The Frenchman was on Shels radar long before Nash arrived at the club in mid-May and the Rebels boss said: 'It was ongoing.' Nash added: 'When you have a player who has made it clear he wants to leave the club, it's difficult to hang on to them.' Teams and players at the foot of the table tend to find it hard to catch a break and that's precisely the situation Cathal O'Sullivan finds himself in. The exciting Cork City prospect - linked with a host of Premier League clubs in England, and Celtic - suffered a second ruptured ACL of his career last weekend. City confirmed the injury this week and defender Darragh Crowley said of his team-mate yesterday: 'It's a really tough one for him. I had the same injury two years ago and this is his second time doing it. You just have to feel for him. 'At such a young age, everything he had in front of him in the future, it's nine months to a year down the line. But I've no doubt he'll get back to where he was.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
The Irish Sun
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
What TV channel is Shamrock Rovers vs St Joseph's on? Stream, time, tickets and odds for European clash
SHAMROCK Rovers are up against St Joseph's of Gibraltar in their second leg clash tonight. 2 The 40-year-old led the Hoops to league phase football in the competition last year 2 Shamrock Rovers are in flying form and sit top of the Premier Division table The Hoops ran out Second-half goals from Danny Mandroiu and super subs Jack Byrne put the seal on a comfortable evening at the Europa Point Stadium after Rory Gaffney had put them in front in the first. St Joseph's looked a shell of the side who knocked Cliftonville in the first round of qualifiers as they lacked the finishing touch in the final third. The winners of the tie will face the winners of FC Ballkani of Kosovo and Floriana FC of Malta - which finished 4-2 to Ballkani in the first leg in Pristina - in the third round of qualifiers and find themselves just two steps away from league phase football. Read more on League of Ireland Here is everything you need to know before watching the second leg: WHAT TIME IS KICK-OFF? Tonight's second leg kicks-off at 8pm in Tallaght stadium. WHERE CAN I STREAM THE MATCH? The match is available to stream live WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Shamrock Rovers are out and out favourites after a dominant first leg performance away from home and bookmakers have set them at 1/6 to win the second leg also. Most read in Football A St. Joseph's win in South Dublin is set at 12/1 while a draw is 5/1. The odds for the Gibraltareños to progress is 100/1 while many bookmakers have stopped taking bets for the Hoops to reach the third round. Amorim refuses to guarantee Hojlund Man Utd future amid Sesko transfer push ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE? Yes, tickets are still available WHAT HAS BEEN SAID IN THE BUILD-UP? The Shamrock Rovers boss has Bradley said: 'The days of part-time teams in the First Division having a voice on how the Premier Division operates should be long gone. "It's ridiculous. We either want to be serious about taking the league forward or we don't. Having such a long off-season is silly. It's not going to be great, the weather, either end, that's fine. 'Everyone in the Premier Division this year is full-time. I understand that might change with Cork if they go down. But the mentality in the league has to be wanting to get better. 'I understand the financial implication but what do we want to do? Do we want to just stand still or do we want to go forward? 'The conversation has to be had about extending the season. I don't understand why it's not happening. There's scope there to go early February or late November, to move it at both ends. 'One of our problems last year was playing in European games deep and no competitive games in between. But it's not just because of us last year. I've been saying it for years.'
The South African
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
Currie Cup weekend fixtures, kick-off times, results and scores
The Cheetahs, who suffered a narrow defeat in a thrilling Currie Cup Premier Division opening round fixture in Wellington last week, face another stern test on Friday evening when they host the Pumas in Bloemfontein, where the clash will kick off at 19:00. The encounter in the Free State capital will start another exciting round of fixtures. On Saturday, the impressive Lions welcome Western Province to Johannesburg for the early afternoon match at 15:00, followed by the meeting in Pretoria, where the Bulls host the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV at 17:10. The weekend's action wraps up on Sunday in Kimberley, where Griquas host the Boland Kavaliers at 15:00. Frans Steyn's Cheetahs will be ruing their missed opportunity against the Kavaliers, who snatched victory after the final hooter last week in Wellington. On Friday evening, they face the Pumas, who are in third place on the log after the opening round. The Pumas' convincing win over Griquas last weekend has placed them among the early pacesetters on the log, albeit after just one round. Looking ahead to Friday's match in Bloemfontein, the Free Staters will be hoping to maintain their strong record in this fixture, having won three of the last four encounters against their Mpumalanga rivals – including the 2023 Premier Division final in Bloemfontein. However, the Pumas will draw confidence from their recent SA Cup form against the Cheetahs, which includes two victories, one of them a 12-point win in March. In Saturday's first match at Ellis Park, the Lions will be brimming with confidence as they take on WP. The Joburg side made a strong statement in the opening round, dismantling the Sharks by 41 points, while Province fell short against the Bulls in Cape Town. The Joburgers have won the last two meetings between these sides, both home and away, while WP's last victory over their Joburg rivals came in March 2023. The Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks XV have produced some memorable clashes in this prestigious competition, including last year's epic semi-final, which ended 40-40 after regular time. Based on last week's dominant performance in Cape Town, the Pretoria outfit will be favourites, while the Durbanites will need a marked improvement to be competitive on Saturday afternoon at Loftus after they lost by a big score against the Lions last week. Sunday's fixture in Kimberley sees Griquas take on the Boland Kavaliers, a side they men from the Northern Cape have traditionally held the upper hand over, with the last two SA Cup meetings between these teams ending in Griquas victories. However, Boland coach Hawies Fourie will point to his side's recent improvement and their gritty home win over the Cheetahs last week as signs of their growing competitiveness. All Currie Cup Premier Division matches will be broadcast live on the SuperSport Rugby channel. Cheetahs vs Pumas Date: Friday, 1 AugustVenue: Toyota Stadium, BloemfonteinKick-off: 19:00 Referee: Hanru van Rooyen
