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RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Sunday warning but Shamrock Rovers backed to slay Ballkani
Shamrock Rovers have work to do if they're to continue their Conference League journey this year, but Richie Towell and David McMillan both expect Stephen Bradley's men to turn things around against Ballkani on tonight. The Hoops fell to a 1-0 first-leg defeat in Kosovo last week, Sunday Adetunji's second-half effort proving the difference. Former Shamrock Rovers man Towell knows Adetunji well; he played for FC Shkupi against the Dublin outfit in 2022, when they met in the third round of the Europa League qualifiers. Rovers prevailed 5-2 on aggregate back then and Towell fully expects them to do the business at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday to set up a Conference League play-off against either Larne or Portuguese side Santa Clara. "I think they'll definitely get through," Towell said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "A European night up in Tallaght, it hits a little bit different. "I've obviously been lucky enough to be a part of a lot of them. I think the crucial thing for Shamrock Rovers going into the game against Ballkani is... I think they'll have the lion's share of possession, Ballkani will sit back a little bit and try and protect that lead, the thing is they have the boy Sunday Adetunji up front. "We played against him when he played for Shkupi, a really good player. You seen him in the first leg, he scored and probably should have had another one or two goals. His link-up play is very good. "He's very similar to Tammy Abraham (tormentor of St Pat's last Thursday). He's that big, tall, gangly, physical presence, he can run in behind, he has a good touch, so he'll be a real target man for Ballkani." McMillan didn't pay too much heed to Shamrock Rovers' goalless draw against Galway United on Sunday. Bradley's charges remain in control at the top of the league, with little evidence to suggest the chasing pack are capable of putting them under genuine pressure. "It was the sort of league performance you'd expect mid-European tie," said the ex-Dundalk striker. "You can probably rest a few players because you have such a good cushion, a 10-point cushion to Bohemians behind them. "They've put themselves in an excellent position to be able to target the European games in particular, go out with your strongest teams, rest players during the weekend games in the league." McMillan also expects the Hoops to get through, adding: "They never really laid a glove on Ballkani (in the first leg) but on the flip side... it felt like a 1-0 loss was not too bad a result. "I'm sure they would have been happy to come away with a nil-nil, I'm sure that was the realistic target of the game, but even as it got to the latter stages of that game you just felt they were the fitter side, they were the stronger side. You just had a feeling there was more to come from Rovers and I think that's what they'll expect to show this week in Tallaght. "Ballkani will be coming thinking, 'we have this lead, can we sit back, can we hold on to it?' but I'd expect Rovers to show another level in Tallaght and probably get through this tie. Their form in Tallaght has been excellent, you would still fancy them to get the job done."
RTÉ News
12-08-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Can Tolka Park cauldron help Shels to famous victory?
Shelbourne are potentially 90 minutes away from securing European league stage football. They welcome Croatian outfit Rijeka to Tolka Park tonight with a 2-1 lead to protect after they plundered a brilliant win on the road in last week's first leg. This is the third qualifying round of the Europa League, so victory will send Joey O'Brien's men into a two-legged play-off against either Greek side PAOK or Austrian outfit Wolfsberger while also guaranteeing them a place in the Conference League league stage at a minimum. It would be a remarkable achievement for the Reds, and a raucous home crowd will play their part, according to Richie Towell and David McMillan. "What an opportunity," said Towell, appearing on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. Referencing his experience of playing for Dundalk against Hadjuk Split, Towell went on: "(In Dundalk's match) the atmosphere was like nothing I've ever seen. It was incredible. "For Shelbourne to go over there and get a victory, honestly, that's one of the best victories I think a League of Ireland team has got in the European competitions. What a result that was to go over there and it sets them up perfectly now for the home leg." St Pat's had to decamp to Tallaght Stadium for their Conference League clash against Beskitas but Shels are staying on their own patch for this one - a factor that could prove crucial. "(Rijeka) are most definitely not going to relish going to Tolka Park and trying to get a result off Shelbourne," Towell added. "I think the Qarabag game (in the Champions League qualifiers) for Joey O'Brien - not just Joey O'Brien but the players as well - they'll take great learning from that. "They had a little bit too much respect for (Qarabag) in the first half (of the first leg). Qarabag just ran all over them. I think they'll have a slightly different approach now. I don't think they'll be gung-ho by any means but I think they'll put a little bit more pressureon Rijeka and just make sure they're not sitting back too much and inviting them on. "Joey's done an incredible job, I'm not sitting here telling him what to do, but I think he'll have great learnings from the previous round to take into this one." McMillan famously scored two goals when Dundalk beat BATE Borisov 3-0 in Tallaght to progress to the Champions League play-off stage back in 2016. Legia Warsaw beat them, but the Lilywhites dropped into the Europa League group stages in what was a breakthrough achievement. "I think having the game at Tolka is also a huge help," he said. "If you look at that Pat's game (against Besiktas), moving it to Tallaght on a big open pitch against a team like Besiktas certainly didn't do them any favours. "You look at Shels, it's a big advantage to keep that game at Tolka Park. It means you can keep the game compact, it's a tighter pitch, it's not as good a surface even as Tallaght. All of that should help them out in terms of trying to keep Rijeka out and use your pace, the likes of Mipo (Odubeko), the likes of Dan Kelly if they're playing to try and break. "Having the away game first, Joey probably set the team up in a way that was to limit chances and hit them on the counter-attack. He can probably keep that approach this week.
RTÉ News
16-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Richie Towell urges another front-footed Shelbourne approach at Linfield in second leg
Another front foot performance from Shelbourne tonight should be enough to finish off the job against Linfield in their Champions League qualifying tie, according to Richie Towell. Joey O'Brien's side exerted pressure on Linfield in last week's first leg at Tolka Park in front of the RTÉ cameras but only Mipo Odubeko's second-half goal is all that separates the sides ahead of tonight's second leg in Belfast. While Shels have a 1-0 lead to protect at Windsor Park with a place in the second qualifying round at stake, ex-Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Towell told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast that their best bet is not to sit back given that - in his and former Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy's point of views - the reigning League of Ireland champions have more quality in their squad than Linfield possess. "I think they should just go up there and fight fire with fire. Just go in as if it's 0-0 and really go for them," Towell said. "I wasn't too impressed with Linfield physically. If I was Joey O'Brien I would be saying, 'Start the game exactly as we did in Tolka Park. Go for them'. "Let's be realistic. You see Shamrock Rovers, they went up to Windsor Park (last season), everybody thought it's going to be a big derby feel to it, a competitive game, and they went and trounced Larne. "It was simply because they didn't show them too much respect. They went up and stamped their own authority on the game and that's exactly what Shelbourne need to do. "If they go up there and sit off Linfield, Linfield will move the ball and they'll get bodies in the box, balls into the box and they'll create chances, I've no doubt about that. "So if I was Joey, I'd say exact same game-plan as the home one, 'let's go for them', because as Keith said, on paper, Shelbourne are the better team, they have better players man for man, so go up there and prove it." Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the first leg, Linfield manager David Healy said his side would look to be more attack-minded than at Tolka Park, and with that in mind, Treacy said Shelbourne should start striker Sean Boyd who proved to be a game-changer as a sub in last week's first leg. "Personally, I would start him just because I assume that as David Healy says, they're going to have a little more of a go, a little bit more of a tempo and when you've got a big target man like Sean Boyd, if there's any sort of pressure or it gets a little bit too tight, it's an easy clip up to him, up to his chest or a fighting header," Treacy said. "So I would start with Sean Boyd. I'd try and weather that early storm that you'd imagine is coming and then go and take the game by the scruff of the neck."
RTÉ News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shamrock Rovers already have one hand on title
While the League of Ireland season is only just past halfway, Richie Towell reckons the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title race is already showing signs of being done and dusted. His former club Shamrock Rovers earned back-to-back wins over reigning champions Shelbourne and Drogheda United over the past few days and sit nine points clear of bitter rivals Bohemians, who albeit do have two games in hand. Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, ex-Dundalk and Hoops midfielder Towell said Rovers are showing real signs of building up a head of steam while most of their erstwhile rivals are struggling to find momentum. "I think at the moment they're in cruise control. They're absolutely cruising it," he said. "To be honest, I said it a couple of weeks ago that they were my favourites to win it. But I think they have one hand on it already. "And not just based on how good they are. I don't think any other team is good enough to catch them. "You have Bohemians who are the closest to them and they have a couple of games in hand. Maybe they can put up a small bit of a title challenge. "But for the rest of them, you see Shels, you see Pat's, I don't think any of them have the quality or the confidence to go on a proper run and try and challenge Shamrock Rovers. "You see the depth in the squad. I even know some lads can't get into the squad that would walk into probably any other team in the league which is absolutely crazy, so Shamrock Rovers are in absolute cruise control at the moment." The mood within Stephen Bradley's squad may be positive but that's a contrast to Drogheda United. Although that is in no way related to on-pitch matters, with Kevin Doherty's team putting up a good fight on Monday night on the way to losing 2-1 at Sullivan and Lambe Park and currently sit in the top half of the table. It's more related to the blow of being excluded from the UEFA Conference League due to multi-club ownership rules, with the verdict in their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport being announced hours before kick off on Monday. Both Towell and ex-Drogheda and Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy sympathised with Doherty and his players on the podcast, with Towell highlighting how dreams of a European dalliance were dashed for personnel who might not be guaranteed to get that opportunity again. "This is some boys' livelihoods. There's potential earnings there for lads in European games that they would never get the opportunity to earn playing in the League of Ireland. That's after being taken away from them," he said. "Subconsciously, (players) are going to be thinking when the draw is made today, when the games are on in July, 'we should be out there', and all of a sudden they've no (European) games. "They have two decisions to make now, Drogheda's players do. They either say 'it's going to hinder our performance and let it get our heads down', or else they can say, 'Let's use this to our advantage. We're going to be fresh, we're not going to have any games, let's rest, recuperate and be ready to attack the league.'"
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
ACU NUCLEAR SALT REACTOR: Tackling water & energy issues while advancing cancer treatment
ABILENE, Texas () – When most of us think of nuclear power, we often recall the negative aspects associated with this type of energy. However, Abilene Christian University is striving to change that perception with its molten salt research reactor. They are exploring research avenues such as water desalination, clean energy production, and cancer treatments, all in the hopes of advancing technology and medicine. Earlier this week, Abilene Christian University revealed a partnership with Texas Tech University and Natura Resources to deploy Natura's molten salt reactor (MSR). The goal of this collaboration is to combine MSR technology with water desalination and energy production systems, tackling the energy and water challenges faced by Texas. New project will use ACU salt reactor to 'address Texas' critical energy and water needs' ACU's plans for the Natura MSR-1, a liquid-fueled molten salt reactor, began several years ago. In 2022, they initiated the application process to gain approval for a molten salt research reactor. Currently, the reactor is still under construction at ACU's NEXT Lab and will be used for experiments aimed at advancing technology and medicine. Director of ACU's NEXT Lab, Dr. Rusty Towell, shared how this reactor can also produce clean water while producing electricity. 'If you have dirty water to clean it, just needs energy. You can, of course, boil it off,' Towell explained. 'We can actually use the waste heat from water reactors, the leftover heat that's normally just rejected to the air. We can use that to clean water. So while we produce electricity, we can also produce clean water.' ACU conducts AI research: Exploring benefits, challenges with support from Google grant While water purification is important, especially here in Texas with our water supplies, this lab also has another purpose: utilizing radioactive isotopes for medical research to fight cancer. Towell explained how radioisotopes produced by the reactor can be used to specifically target and rapidly eliminate cancer cells. 'Those radioisotopes are produced basically in the core of stars and the core of nuclear reactors, but they only last for a few hours or days, maybe,' Towell shared. 'So how do you get them from those locations where they're made in the doctor's hands? This technology will allow us to do that. We're working on producing the raw materials that doctors need for these new treatments.' The research reactor is one of only two reactors of its kind in the nation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
