Fascinating Rock won his first three starts last season before disappointing on fast ground in the English and Irish Derbies
Fascinating Rock got his season off to the perfect start with a workmanlike victory in the Listed Heritage Stakes at Leopardstown.
Representing the red-hot duo of Dermot Weld and Pat Smullen, who can do little wrong at present, he was sent off the 9-10 favourite.
Winner of the Ballysax and Derrinstown Derby Trials last season, the Fastnet Rock colt was just short of the top three-year-olds but with a winter on his back he could be a major player this season.
Running over a mile, a trip short of his best, Smullen had to keep him up to his work but he eventually saw off the persistent challenge of Seanie before Alive Alive Oh stayed on to take second, beaten a length and three-quarters.
Aidan O'Brien's Cougar Mountain, who ran in three Group One sprints having won on his debut last year, stayed on nicely to claim third.
Weld said: "It was a pleasing performance from him. He's very adaptable in that ground.
"He'll probably come back here for the Amethyst Stakes (10 May). He got a little bit tired in the last half-furlong, which I expected.
"He's up a good few kilos on last year but equally he has matured from last year. Hopefully he'll have a long and successful season. We'll look at races between a mile and a mile and a quarter.
"He had a busy year last year and raced on very fast ground. He was a bit stiff and sore after the Irish Derby, so we said we'd leave him off until this year.
"He's always been a very good horse. I see him campaigning here in the immediate future before travelling as the year progresses."
Davy O'Halloran will line out for the Clare footballers
Former Clare hurler Davy O'Halloran has joined the county's football squad.
Clare football manager Colm Collins told the Irish Examiner: "We took a week off after the league and he's in with us this week. He's an excellent footballer."
Eire Óg's O'Halloran, along with Nicky O'Connell, left the Clare senior hurling panel a month ago after an alleged breach of discipline, claiming he was humiliated.
And while O'Connell rejoined the hurlers on Monday evening and apologised to the panel, O'Halloran has laid his allegiance to the footballers for the coming season.
Ireland are enjoying a period of great success on the pitch
IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne has warned the Government to be "very, very careful" to not disturb the funding balance of rugby in any consideration about whether the Six Nations should be designated free-to-air.
Minister for Communications Alex White is reportedly considering designating the games as sporting events which must be available to be broadcast live on terrestrial TV.
"Don't interfere in the marketplace. Let us be the judges of what is best for the sport."
Speaking at the announcement of Irish Sports Council funding for the IRFU, the FAI, and the GAA, as part of which the IRFU received €2.36m to boost grass-roots development of the game, Brown voiced the IRFU's concerns about the proposals.
"The reality is that free-to-air television has been good to the Six Nations up to now, and we're one party of six in the Six Nations," Browne told RTÉ Sport.
"So, we have a say, but we have a minor say – we have a 'sixth say' in what happens. The fundamental issue for us is that if the revenue streams are affected by decisions taken by Government in what is a market, an open marketplace, and a pan-European marketplace, then we have potentially difficulties, in that some of our income stream may be affected.
"The reality is: the €2.36m that the Government puts in is a drop in the ocean compared to the revenues that are generated by the Six Nations Championship for us."
Browne said he doubted the Six Nations would be removed from free-to-air in the near future, but warned the Government to stop interfering.
"What we're really saying is; don't interfere in the marketplace. Let us be the judges of what is best for the sport."
He accepted that fans wanted to see more of Ireland's success on a free-to-air basis, but said: "there won't be any success if we can't afford it. It's a chicken-and-egg scenario.
"And the reality is: you strip out funding, the first thing we have to decide: do we put the money into the professional game or do we put it into grass-roots?
"Now the reality is: if we take it away from grass roots, well then that affects our future. If we take it away from the professional game, that affects our ability to generate revenues ... What we're really saying to the Government is: be very, very careful what you do, that you don't disturb the economy of what is a finely balanced sport."
Browne said the funding the IRFU received from the Sports Council was "absolutely fundamental to what we do, in terms of building participation numbers around the country."
He continued: "Without that funding it would be very difficult for us to do what we do.
"We're reliant on volunteers, but at the end of the day delivery of sport does require investment, in terms of development officers, in terms of coaching courses, in terms of a whole variety of programmes, all of which are there to ensure the quality of what we do at a grass-roots level.
"I think that the investment that has been over the last couple of years, you're starting to see it come to fruition, in terms of the success we've seen with the women's international team, and obviously the men's international team as well.
"That doesn't come by chance; it comes by careful investment and by delivering quality programmes at all levels in the game."
Marty Morrissey has garnered the thoughts of the semi-finalists ahead of next Sunday's action at Nowlan Park where Cork face Dublin and Tipperary take on Waterford for the right to meet in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 final.
On 7 March, Cork recorded a thumping 0-34 to 1-20 victory over Dublin at Croke Park.
Summing up that game, Dublin's Ryan O'Dwyer said: "Every bounce of the ball went in Cork's favour and everything bounced out of our hands. You get those days now and again and hopefully it's out of our system now."
Despite their emphatic victory six weeks ago, Conor Lehane of Cork is "expecting a tough game" from a team who will be keen to erase the memory of a bad defeat.
Waterford were impressive in their quarter-final win over Galway but now face their biggest test of the spring against Eamon O'Shea's charges.
However, the Déise's Noel Connors is focussing on what his side have to offer.
"We are going to focus on ourselves and not focus too much on Tipperary," he said.
"We'll go out to be aggressive and be like dogs within the parameters and work extremely hard like we've been doing since the start of the season.
Tipperary's Michael Cahill spoke about the injection of youth that has helped the county's cause so far this year.
"We've had a good bunch of young lads coming through lthat have stepped up to the plate. The likes of Ronan Maher and Michael Breen have made their point. Competition is a good thing. Morale is also good within the camp."
Home Of The Brave is now unbeaten in two races at Newmarket
Leading Qipco 2000 Guineas contender Faydhan was ruled out of the race after delivering a dismal display behind 9-2 shot Home Of The Brave on his seasonal reappearance in the CSP European Free Handicap at Newmarket.
Slowly away under Paul Hanagan on his second career start, the 4-9 favourite was last in the early stages, while James Doyle bounced out on Hugo Palmer's Home Of The Brave.
As Hanagan brought his mount out to challenge the response was limited, as up front Palmer's representative bounded up the hill after coming out of the Dip.
Home Of The Brave had a length and three-quarters in hand of Richard Hannon's Tupi, with Faydhan making a little progress late on into third.
Palmer said: "We'll have to sit down and have a long think (about the Guineas) and watch what happens tomorrow and Saturday (Craven and Greenham). He might be the perfect type for the Jersey.
"He was a bit gassy, as he always is in a race, and we might have to get some skin-tight silks as noises are not his best friend - he is a very sensitive horse."
Gosden was quick to rule Faydhan out of the Newmarket Classic: "It was not unexpected as he has only won a maiden and is a slow learner.
"He ran on steadily at the finish, but I have ruled him out of the Guineas.
"I see him as more of a Royal Ascot type, with either the Jersey or St James's Palace as the race to go for."
Osaila held off the challenge of New Providence to land the Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes.
The highest-rated filly in the field and the winner of a Group Three at Ascot last season, as well as a big sales race, she was drawn widest of all and Frankie Dettori bided his time before joining the main group.
Travelling noticeably well two furlongs out, Godolphin's Beautiful Romance and New Providence were the only remaining dangers.
New Providence was looking to provide Hugo Palmer with a big treble on the day and refused to go down without a fight, but Osaila gave Richard Hannon a first winner on turf of the new season.
Ken Doherty has missed out on a 20th appearance at the World Championship
Mark Davis has derailed Ken Doherty's bid for a place at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible after recording a resounding 10-3 victory over the Dubliner in the third and final round of qualifying at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
Doherty struggled past women's world champion Reanne Evans 10-8 in his first-round qualifier, but upped his level to account for Lee Walker 10-6 in his second-round success.
The 45-year-old, who has reached the Crucible in 19 of his previous 24 campaigns as a professional, made a wretched start against the world number 18 and trailed 8-1 overnight.
The 1997 world champion won the first frame of Wednesday morning's session but the task he faced proved predictably insurmountable.
Late bloomer Davis has now reached the Crucible in each of the last four seasons, having qualified for the World Championship just six times in his first 20 seasons as a professional.
Joe Swail also fell at the final hurdle as two-time finalist Matthew Stevens advanced at the Belfast player's expense.
Stevens held a narrow 5-4 lead when play resumed but Swail, who may have been feeling the exertions from his titanic tussle against Dominic Dale in the second round, won just a single frame as the former world number four ran out a comfortable 10-5 winner.
Doherty's fellow Dubliner Fergal O'Brien took a 6-3 lead into the final session of his decider against Kurt Maflin at 5pm.
Meanwhile, Graeme Dott sealed a return to the game's biggest stage but took a swipe at World Snooker chief Barry Hearn.
The 2006 World Championship winner was furious when changes to the format meant he had to win three best-of-19-frame qualifiers just to reach the televised first-round stage in Sheffield.
The 19th-ranked Scot would have gone straight through to the final preliminary round under rules that were scrapped for this season, but had to overcome the little-known Mark Owens and Fraser Patrick before fending off China's Yu De Lu 10-7 in a tense tussle.
While the world's top players go into the main draw, Hearn has insisted it is only fair the rest begin on an equal footing, with 128 players thrust into the maelstrom of qualifying at Ponds Forge leisure centre, quarter of a mile from snooker's most famous venue.
"Is that me at the Crucible? So I don't need to do anything else? No beep tests, or assault course or anything? As long as I'm there I'm happy with that," Dott said.
The 37-year-old Scot was riled though by being thrust into the qualifying format when his ranking almost earned him direct entry.
The top 15 in the world are taking the automatic route to the Crucible, along with Ali Carter, who stood 13th in the world when he was diagnosed with lung cancer last May. He has fallen to 31st, but fellow professionals agreed his previous standing should be frozen for tournament entry purposes.
It meant Welshman Michael White, who stood 16th in the rankings, had to enter qualifying and suffered a frustrated exit in the second round.
Dott's grievance was with the overall system, and he said: "Of course it's not fair.
"You've got debates on TV with politicians, but if you had a debate between Barry Hearn and me, and the public actually heard what I'm trying to say, how could anybody think it's fair that Michael White finishes 16th and he's three rounds behind the guy at 15th."
Dott lost to Kyren Wilson at the same qualifying stage last year, and now will fear nobody, saying: "I'd take Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round, why not? Nobody's going to want to draw me."
Ryan Day, Jamie Jones, Craig Steadman, Alan McManus and Anthony McGill were others to secure places in the first round.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 14 April 2015 | 23.06
By Rob Wright | Updated: Tuesday, 14 Apr 2015 12:31 | Comments
Seamus Coleman gifted Swansea a penalty
A moment of madness from Everton's Seamus Coleman cost his side victory against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium this weekend. Coleman's entirely unnecessary handball gifted the Swans a penalty to help them to a 1-1 draw.
Coleman was his usual attacking self throughout, charging up and down the wing and offering himself on the overlap as his crossing caused problems for the Swansea defence
However the former Sligo Rovers full-back looked shaky in defence and just after the hour mark he went down in his own penalty area under pressure from Marvin Emnes and, perhaps expecting the referee's whistle, scooped the ball back with his hand, conceding a blatant penalty which Jonjo Shelvey converted.
Manager Roberto Martinez defended his player, suggesting that the referee should have given a free-kick before Coleman handled the ball. "There is contact, he gets unbalanced," Martinez said.
"It's an action that's not a goal scoring threat, it needs common sense, is that handball? For me the whole action is too soft, I expect the referee to use common sense, there is not enough goal scoring threat to give a penalty.
"His [Coleman] feeling is that there is contact, he expects a free-kick, we felt the crowd were asking for it and unfortunately we were on the receiving end."
The result was harsh on Everton, who had looked the better team throughout, with James McCarthy in particular impressing in midfield.
McCarthy, who came in for some harsh criticism since his Ireland display against Poland, has impressed for the Toffees in recent weeks and again shone at the weekend.
Always a threat when on the ball, his accurate crossing troubled Swansea throughout and led to his side's goal as his ball from the left wing immediately took two defenders out of the equation and allowed Aaron Lennon to fire home.
Shane Long helped his Southampton side keep up their push for European football next season as they claimed a convincing 2-0 victory over a Hull City team featuring Paul McShane and Stephen Quinn, with David Meyler suspended and Robbie Brady on the bench.
Long was a constant problem for the Hull defenders, getting in their faces at every opportunity, chasing down lost causes and putting them under pressure whenever they had the ball. He also operated well as a target man, holding up the ball and bringing others into play.
His most telling contribution came on 56 minute when, with the game still scoreless, he beat one-time Ireland international Alex Bruce before the Hull defender took him down, leading to the penalty that put the Saints in front.
Bruce came in for criticism from his father, Hull manager Steve: "He (Alex) needs criticising like everybody else," said the manager.
"It's a silly challenge from a lad of his experience to try and make. We've been punished and it probably cost us the game."
Meanwhile neither McShane or Quinn impressed for the Tigers. McShane came off second best in his battle with Long and was often disappointing in possession. Even though he did his best to get forward and join in when his side were on the attack, his use of the ball and crossing were poor.
Quinn fared slightly better in midfield and had a fine chance to open the scoring in the first half but he scuffed his shot and it was an easy save for Kelvin Davis in the Southampton goal.
Damien Delaney has been in fine form for Crystal Palace in recent months, turning in impressive displays week after week. However at the weekend he had one of his quietest games for months against Sunderland - because he had so little to do. Crystal Palace romped to a 4-1 victory.
Delaney helped Crystal Palace to weather an early storm as Sunderland pressed in the opening 15 minutes but from then on out it was a stroll in the park for the Palace defence. The only blot on Palace's, and Delaney's, copybooks was the 90th minute consolation goal scored by Conor Wickham, but by that stage the points had been won.
If Delaney could afford to relax, Sunderland skipper John O'Shea endured a torrid afternoon. Alongside Santiago Vergini in the heart of the Sunderland defence both he and O'Shea looked well of the pace and struggled to cope with the mobility of hat-trick scorer Yannick Bollaise.
O'Shea's lack of pace and poor positional sense was exposed in particular for Palace's third and fourth goals as he was twice unable to beat players to a straight-forward through ball.
Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark was another Irish defender to suffer this weekend, as he limped off during his side's 1-0 win away to Aston Villa.
Clark suffered a knee injury and was withdrawn after just 17 minutes. It's an injury which looks likely to rule the Irish international out of his side's trip to Wembley for their FA Cup semi-final with Liverpool this weekend.
Jack Grealish however pushed his case for a starting place in that semi-final with an explosive display that came on the back of a fine performance in his side's midweek 3-3 draw with QPR.
Having forced his way into the first choice eleven, Grealish looks to be in no mood to give up his place and he trouble Tottenham defenders throughout. Given licence to drift in behind the front two, his movement helped to create space for both Agbonlahor and goalscorer Benteke and his willingness to run with the ball had the Spurs defence on the back foot.
Marc Wilson, Glenn Whelan, Jon Walters and Stephen Ireland all featured for Stoke City in their 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Ireland, introduced as a second-half substitute for Whelan made the biggest impact, gave his side an extra creative edge they had been lacking and it was no surprise that their equaliser came after his introduction. Indeed were it not for a harsh offside call, Ireland would have had an assist as Marko Arnautovic found the net after his clever pass only for the linesman's flag to be raised.
Wilson, Whelan and Walters were all solid and all three put in the requisite effort but did little to stand out in a game crying out for some invention or creativity.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Richard Dunne made a long-awaited return from injury as he came off the QPR bench in injury-time of his side's narrow 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
In the Championship, Bournemouth took a big step towards promotion and maintained their place at the top of the table with a 1-0 victory over Brighton on Friday evening.
Harry Arter was again a major force for the Cherries, driving them on from midfield and helping to control the tempo of play. Away from home, he didn't has as much freedom to break forward as he often does but was impressive nonetheless and on hand to help cover in defence when called upon to do so.
In Friday's other Championship game, James McClean's Wigan came from behind to claim a 2-2 draw with Fulham but at this stage of the season it's wins they need and the Latics are seven points from safety with just four games to go.
McClean gamely battled for his side throughout and won the free-kick that led to their opening goal on 22 minutes. He linked up well with the Wigan front line but while the Irish winger was tireless up and down the wing all too often his crosses were easily dealt with by the Fulham defence.
Next up for Wigan are fellow strugglers Millwall; their situation is just as dire following their 2-0 defeat away to a Watford.
David Forde, Shaun Williams and Aiden O'Brien all lined out for the Lions but saw their saw well beaten but a Watford side whose automatic promotion hopes remain very much alive.
With Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill in attendance, Forde did his chances of reclaiming the Irish goalkeeper jersey from Shay Given no harm at all with a fine display, keeping his side in the game when on another day they would have been soundly beaten.
With just 42 seconds on the clock Forde was called into action to save brilliantly from Troy Deeney. He was beaten by a superb volley midway through the first half and again soon after the restart but there was little he could do about either goal.
Forde did help to keep the scoreline respectable, with further impressive says from Matej Vydra and Deeny and on this evidence even if Millwall do get relegated, the Irish goalkeeper is unlikely to be playing League One football next season.
Neither Williams or O'Brien will have done their international chances much good however, with O'Brien in particular failing to convert from two one-on-one chances with the Watford goalkeeper.
Watford's Tommie Hoban will have impressed O'Neill, after he recovered after a seventh minute mix-up between the defender and his goalkeeper gave Millwall a chance. Hoban defended well after that, rarely putting a foot wrong either positionally or with the ball and helped his side to a clean sheet.
Another of Forde's international rivals Darren Randolph was on the winning side as Birmingham put a big dent in Wolves' promotion hopes with a 2-1 victory.
Randolph produced a couple of decent saves and midfielder Stephen Gleeson also started but it was defender Rob Kiernan, on loan from struggling Wigan, who made the biggest impression as he scored his first goal for the Blues.
Four minutes after his side had gone behind, Kiernan equalised. He was on hand to poke the ball home from a Jonathan Ground header. The goal aside, Kiernan was impressive in the centre of the Birmingham defence, although he was forced off midway through the second with what appeared to be a hamstring strain.
Promotion rivals Derby County and Brentford played out a 1-1 draw at Pride Park. Derby manager Steve McLaren admitted the result flattered his side.
Richard Keogh and Jeff Hendrick started for Derby, with Keogh slotting in at right-back in place of Cyrus Christie, who paid the price for recent defensive lapses. Meanwhile Jonathan Douglas and Alan Judge lined out for the Bees.
It was a very mixed performance from Hendrick who gave the ball away leading to Brentford's breakaway goal, as Alan Judge's fine cross-field pass allowed Alex Pritchard to curl the ball home from the edge of the penalty area.
Hendrick went some way towards making up for that error as his miscued shot in injury time was turned home by Darren Bent, while Keogh, who was at times put under a lot of pressure, coped admirably at right-back.
For Brentford, Douglas was the leading light. He helped to create many of his side's chance and he was unlucky not to have got his named on the scoresheet as his second-half effort was just about cleared off the line.
Norwich's automatic promotion hopes are still very much alive after they claimed an injury time winner against Bolton. Wes Hoolahan, who was targeted by Bolton as the man to stop, struggled to impose himself on the game in the way he has in the past and was sacrificed with just over 30 minutes to go for a striker and a more direct approach.
Mick McCarthy's Ipswich are another team who remain in the play-off hunt and their 3-2 win over already relegated Blackpool keeps them in contention.
Luke Chambers, Daryl Murphy and Jay Tabb all started for the Tractor Boys with Murphy creating the winner. He crossed for Christophe Berra to head home with seven minutes to go. Murphy was also involved in his side's second goal, linking up well with Chambers to create the chance for Freddie Sears.
Murphy, with 23 goals to his name, has been named as the Ipswich supporters player of the year. "I was delighted to win the award and it was a real honour for me," Murphy told the club's official website.
"You look down the list of the players who have won it before and to be alongside them was a really nice feeling.
"It's nice to get that recognition from the fans and they've been brilliant all season.
For Blackpool it was yet another defeat – their 25th of the season. Defender Darren O'Dea also suffered a broken nose and could be out of action for several weeks.
At Huddersfield, Sean Scannell's return to form continues apace after he score the only goal in their 1-0 victory away to Nottingham Forest. Scannell's surging run from midfield was picked out by Jacob Butterfield and the former Irish Under-21 neatly lifted the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper and into the net.
In League One, Chesterfield duo Jimmy Ryan and Jay O'Shea combined to help their side earn a 1-1 draw away to Barnsley.
Barnsley's Cork-born midfielder Conor Hourihane slipped while in possession, allowing Ryan to steal the ball and play in O'Shea, who blasted the ball low and to the bottom left corner. Hourihane did his best to make up for the mistake and offered a real attacking threat but was substituted just before his side equalised.
Paddy Madden gave Scunthorpe's hopes of avoiding relegation as major boost as he scored the winning goal in his side's 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Crawley Town.
After forcing a couple of fine saves from goalkeeper Brian Jensen, former Bohemians player Madden fired home from close range to give his side a vital win that sees them move three points clear of the relegation zone.
Afterwards he said: "There was a lot of build-up leading into the game because both teams were on the same amount of points so it's huge for us.
"It was a six pointer really and now gives us that little bit of breathing space but we don't want to get too complacent because it's another important game on Tuesday. If we can get a win there, we might be looking a bit more comfortable but only when we're safe can we take our foot off the gas."
Madden's former team Yeovil Town had their relegation confirmed after a 1-1 draw with Notts County. James Berrett and Sam Foley both started for Yeovil but could do little to help their side claim a victory that would have at least postponed their relegation for another week.
In League Two, Seamus Conneely scored his second goal in two weeks for Accrington Stanley, finding the net deep inside injury time to give his side a point as they drew 2-2 away to Cambridge United.
Former Cork City midfielder Gearóid Morrissey had helped put Cambridge 2-1 up after coming in as a second-half substitute and pulling back the ball for Ryan Bird to slot home. However with the game in its dying moments, Conneely was on hand to pounce on a loose ball in the box and blast it home off the underside of the crossbar.
Jamie Devitt and Padraig Amond both sparkled in Morecambe's 3-1 victory over Portsmouth, a result which keeps the Shrimps' faint play-off hopes alive.
Devitt was one of his side's most creative players and his sweetly struck corner led to their opening goal which was headed home by Alex Kenyon. Devitt was again involved in his side's second as his cross saw Andy Parrish force a fine save from the goalkeeper only to see Kenyon knock home the rebound.
However it was Amond who stole the limelight, as his injury-time volley put the seal on the win. The former Shamrock Rovers man collected a bouncing clearance from defence and turned back inside before unleashing an unstoppable shot with his left foot.
Plymouth's Irish duo Carl McHugh and Anthony O'Connor both claimed a goal apiece as their side edged out Mansfield 2-1, a result which saw them move into the play-off positions.
A clever looping header from O'Connor gave his side the perfect start, putting them ahead after just two minutes. McHugh scored what proved to be the winning goal on 63 minutes as he nodded home from Bobby Reid's corner. O'Connor claimed he got a touch on McHugh's header just before it crossed the line but, while replays were inconclusive, neither player should be too concerned.
Former Republic of Ireland Under-21 James Collins was another among the goals in League Two, as his side Shrewsbury side claimed a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Exeter.
Collins forced the ball home from close range after a Liam Lawrence corner caused all kinds of problems in the Exeter defence. Lawrence again put in a real captain's performance for his side, driving them on from midfield and helping out at the box in a box-to-box display.
Southend's promotion push continues apace as Barry Corr's ninth goal in 11 games was enough for a 1-0 win at home to second from bottom side Tranmere.
Corr bagged the game's only goal seven minutes from half-time when he finished smartly from a Will Atkinson corner kick.
In Scotland, Adam Rooney seems determined to ensure that his Aberdeen side push league leaders Celtic all the way, He scored his 26th goal of the season in the Don's 2-1 win away to Kilmarnock.
Rooney's smartly taken first-half header means that the striker has now scored against each SPL team throughout the season but more importantly it helped to leave Aberdeen five points behind Celtic, who dropped two points against Inverness CT.
Willo Flood was selected in the heart of midfield for the Dons and duly impressed, following up a decent midweek display against Inverness with another calm and composed performance full of endeavour and effort.
In the MLS, Robbie Keane had to watch from the stands as LA Galaxy returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders. A groin strain kept Keane out of the game, but it is not expected to be a long term injury.
Sean St Ledger was another forced to watch from the sidelines as his Orlando City side claimed a 2-0 victory over Portland Timbers.
Meanwhile Puskas Award nominee Stephanie Roche got her US career underway, coming on as a 75th minute substitute in Houston Dash's 2-0 win against Washington Spirit.
In Australia, Andy Keogh's Perth Glory side went down 3-0 to an impressive Sydney FC side but Glory's biggest problems are off the pitch rather than on it.
Football Federation Australia announced that the Perth side would not be allowed to compete in the top six A-League finals because of breaches of the salary cap via undisclosed payments over the last three seasons. Glory are appealing the decision.
In Malaysia, Eamon Zayed continues to find the net, scoring his side's only goal as Sabah Rhinos drew 1-1 with PKNS. That goal means that Zayed is now the top goalscorer in the league.
Hungary's goalkeeper Luca Varga makes a saveThe teams line up for the anthemsIreland Women's U17s
Republic of Ireland Women's U17 0-0 Hungary Women's U17
The Republic of Ireland Women's U17 side missed out on automatic qualification for the UEFA finals after a scoreless draw with Hungary in Turner's Cross but remain in with a chance of qualifying as best runners-up.
Dave Connell's side finished their Elite Phase unbeaten and with three clean sheets but the scoreless draw with the Hungarians allowed England progress following their 2-0 win over Netherlands.
Ireland looked a little nervy early on and were fortunate not to concede twice in the opening ten minutes.
After six minutes Petra Krascsenics fired wide from 10 yards out after a brilliant left wing raid by Zoé Magyarics.
Three minutes later Irish keeper Amanda McQuillan made a brave save to deny Krascsenics once again.
In the 13th minute Ireland were desperately unlucky not to score when Saoirse Noonan chipped keeper Luca Varga only to see the ball bounce down off the crossbar before being cleared to safety.
Less than a minute later a powerful free-kick from Courtney Higgins was well saved by the Hungarian keeper.
Soon after the break captain Jamie Finn got her head to a Courtney Higgins corner and it appeared to have crossed the goal-line but the referee ruled that keeper Varga had kept it out.
Then Varga saved at the feet of Noonan and from the resulting corner Finn once again her head to the corner and this time a defender cleared off the line.
Unfortunately on a warm afternoon in Cork the energy sapped from the Irish attack and they failed to really trouble the Hungarian keeper. Now they are left waiting on results from elsewhere to decide whether they will play in Iceland this summer.
Ken Doherty is currently 46th in the world rankings
Ken Doherty endured a disastrous first session in his World Snooker Championship third round qualifier against fellow veteran Mark Davis as the English cueman claimed an emphatic 8-1 overnight lead against the 1997 world champion at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
Davis had accrued a 4-1 advantaged by the mid-session interval and won another four frames on the trot to leave the Dubliner in dire straits ahead of the conclusion of their best-of-19 frames match on Wednesday.
Doherty, who laboured to a 10-8 victory over perennial women's world champion Reanne Evans in his first round qualifier, looked more assured in his 10-6 second round success over Lee Walker but faces a colossal challenge if he is to feature at the Crucible for the 20th time in his career.
Joe Swail, who produced a courageous comeback to edge out Dominic Dale in a final-frame decider on Monday, trails former world number four Matthew Stevens by a single frame after their first session.
The Belfast potter led Stevens 3-2 at the mid-session interval, but lost three of the following four frames to ensure that his Welsh opponent would lead 5-4 overnight.
Fergal O'Brien plays Steve Davis' conqueror. Kurt Maflin, tonight from 7pm.
Cork have played out two scoreless draws in their games in Dublin this season
Former Cork City star Dave Barry reckons the Leesiders are being unfairly branded by the "Dublin media".
Ex-Ireland manager Brian Kerr offered his insight into their performance against St Patrick's Athletic on Friday, in a game that ended 0-0, their second consecutive scoreless game away to Dublin opposition.
The former Faroe Islands boss said that that City can "outplay" most teams, and that they should be making more of the talents of former Celtic and Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller, instead of playing hopeful long balls to their attackers.
But Barry rejected this, saying that City are a different proposition at home and that they have been judged on their away performances.
The former Cork football player and All Star said that reporters might change their tune if they came to Turner's Cross to watch the side.
"The problem is a lot of people, especially the Dublin media, would only see Cork City playing away from home," he told RTÉ Sport.
"A lot of them don't go down to Cork City. They don't go to away games.
"If you went down and saw Cork playing against Derry, they won 3-0, it could have been six. Liam Miller was outstanding. With 5,000 people behind them [they play the ball more]."
"When you go away from home, definitely, you have a different mindset"
Cork are unbeaten after seven games, a run that includes three homes wins, and one win and three draws on the road.
Barry says that the Munster side, who finished second to Dundalk in last season's table, can't be judged just yet.
He said: "John Caulfield, it's his second season in charge and people are expecting them to be in front of Dundalk at the moment. Dundalk have had a fabulous start to the season but Cork City need to stay with them.
"They've had four away games – Sligo Rovers away, which was difficult, Shamrock Rovers away, [Bray away] and Pat's away. When you go away from home, definitely, you have a different mindset.
"In [Brian Kerr's] day, it was all attack and bomb forward, it was like [Arsenal manager] Arsene Wenger, but you have to sit in. There's no doubt about it.
"Liam Miller is probably the best man to get on the ball in the league at the moment and pass it, and he's shown that.
"You have to see him in seven or eight games and then make a judgement. It's very hard to see one game and say Cork are playing [a certain] way.
"Definitely at home, they are after scoring 10 goals in three games. John Caulfield is building a very good squad and it's entertaining."
Cork face Drogheda away on Friday before two homes games against Longford Town and Dundalk on 24 April, a game which is live on RTÉ2 television.
For more, watch Soccer Republic on RTÉ2 on Monday nights or on RTÉ Player.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg look set for another season of tit-for-tat jibes
Lewis Hamilton has suggested he is mentally tougher than Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg and questioned how hard the German really tried to beat him in last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
In comments that will do little to ease tensions between the pair ahead of Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, the double Formula One world champion also told reporters that he was more of a racer than his rival.
"I've always said he is really strong mentally," Hamilton was quoted on Tuesday as saying. "But I'd like to think I'm stronger this year."
The Briton has won eight of the last 10 races, beaten Rosberg in nine of them, and started all three grands prix this season from pole position.
"They said maybe he was just comfortable with second and I said 'well, that's the difference between us. I want to win always'." - Lewis Hamilton
The tension between the two, evident last year as they battled for the title, flared up again in Shanghai when Rosberg accused Hamilton of compromising his race by driving selfishly slow and leaving him exposed to the Ferraris behind.
In the end they finished one-two for the second time in three races.
Although the drivers cleared the air afterwards at a briefing that Rosberg described as 'constructive', newspapers on Tuesday quoted Hamilton as saying the German should simply have been more competitive.
"Nico didn't try," he said, repeating the words for effect.
"They said maybe he was just comfortable with second and I said 'well, that's the difference between us. I want to win always'.
"And I would have done everything to get past. Or at least pushed for three laps. He wasn't quick enough.
"I want the guy to be up my a**e if he's got the pace, up my a**e and putting pressure on me. And if I can't defend it, you lose it."
Rosberg had explained that he risked wrecking his tyres by attacking but Hamilton, who ultimately set the fastest lap of the day, found support from his Mercedes bosses for his management of the race.
However he came in for more criticism after the celebrations when pictures showed him spraying the champagne in the face of a hostess on the podium.
"We think Lewis Hamilton should apologise for his actions and think carefully about how he behaves in the future," Roz Hardie, chief executive of anti-sexism campaigners Object, told the Daily Mail newspaper.
"It is unfortunate that a great victory has been marred by what appears to be selfish and inconsiderate behaviour."
Faugheen clearing the last en route to victory at Cheltenham last month
Faugheen and Hurricane Fly are two of five entries for Willie Mullins in the Queally Group Celebrating 35 Years In Naas Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
Faugheen eclipsed his illustrious stable companion with a scintillating display in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last month and looks set to be the champion trainer's chief hope for the Grade One event on 1 May.
Mullins has also entered Annie Power, Champion Hurdle runner-up and Aintree faller Arctic Fire and Aintree-winning novice Nichols Canyon.
Hurricane Fly, a four-time winner of this race, Annie Power and Arctic Fire also have the option of the three-mile Ladbrokes World Series Hurdle.
Just three horses could take on the Mullins battalion in the Champion Hurdle, including last year's winner Jezki.
Jessica Harrington's charge was only fourth when defending his crown at Cheltenham, but regained winning ways in last week's Aintree Hurdle.
Harrington said: "Jezki gave us a great day at Liverpool and he has come out of the race well. We are certainly looking at going to Punchestown again although a decision probably won't be made until later in the week."
Gordon Elliott's Tiger Roll and David Pipe's potential British raider Dell' Arca complete the entries.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 13 April 2015 | 23.06
Updated: Monday, 13 Apr 2015 13:57 | Comments
John Treacy at the World Cross-County Championship in Limerick in 1979
Former Olympic silver medallist John Treacy believes Ireland's future can be bright in track and field events but wants expectations to be kept to a realistic level
Treacy was the guest for this week's episode of Different Class to look back one on of the greatest careers in the history of Irish athletics.
The Waterford runner claimed World Cross-County Championship titles in successive years and competed in four Olympic Games.
"Being realistic, if we have one or two in a decade, we are doing okay."
Speaking about Ireland's prospects now, the chief executive of the Irish Sports Council said: "I think 213 countries compete in track and field. It is hugely competitive. If you look at the history of track and field, since the turn of the last century, we have had one or two [top-level athletes] in various decades.
"Being realistic, if we have one or two in a decade, we are doing okay. We were strong in distance running in our time. The Kenyans, Ethiopians and other African countries have taken it over.
"To a large degree I think a lot of the European nations have kind of left it aside and said they can't compete against them. I think that is a wrong analysis.
"The Americans have started to compete against them. The British have. I think we will emerge as well, sometime in the future, to compete at that level. We have Mark English doing very well at the moment.
Speaking about English, Treacy praised his tactical ability and his talent, but warned that the competition is fierce.
"We will be looking to him but we wouldn't want to be putting too much pressure on him because he is in a hugely competitive 800 metres. It's a phenomenal race really and truly.
"There is so much drama in 800 metres. He is a fantastic talent and needs to be nurtured.
"Rob Heffernan has had world success as well. So if we have one or two competing as the highest level, I think we are doing exceptionally well in track and field."
In an extended interview with RTÉ's Dave Kelly for the podcast episode, Treacy described his emotions in the aftermath of winning an Olympic medal in 1984 as "firstly huge relief and then pure joy".
But he feels he was at his best in the build-up to the games in 1988 in Seoul despite winning the medal in the previous Games in Los Angeles.
He said: "Some of the best running I ever did was in 1988. I ran 1:01 for a half-marathon. I ran 42 flat for a 15k. I was really, really running well on the roads in the States and I was absolutely flying. I probably peaked too early 1988 and I didn't have anything in the final.
"I was third in the Boston Marathon in 2:09:15, which is still an Irish record to this day as well, so my form going in was good. But I peaked too early and by the time the Games came around I had missed 'it' and that was it.
"In Barcelona, I pulled a muscle. I had won the LA marathon in 1992. I actually pulled a muscle training in Albuquerque about six weeks beforehand. I pulled my hamstring. At one stage I wasn't going to go and then I said I would go.
"It was torture. The slowest marathon I ever ran was in Barcelona and it was pure punishment. I was beyond my prime at that stage anyway. I had three opportunities, 80, 84, and 88. In 88 I probably ran some of the best races of my career but I just did it all too early."
English referee Wayne Barnes will take charge of Leinster's Champions Cup semi-final with champions Toulon on Sunday.
It will be the English official's third semi-final.
Barnes was the man in the middle last season when Leinster were well beaten by Toulon in the quarter-final.
The experienced official also took charge of Ireland's Six Nations loss to Wales in Cardiff, and refereed Ireland's Grand Slam-winning tie against the Welsh in the Millennium Stadium in 2009.
Ireland's George Clancy will take charge of the other semi-final, Clermont v Saracens, which takes place on Saturday.
Nigel Owens and Greg Garner will run the lines, while Graham Huhges is the television match official.
Leinster's tie at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille kicks off at 3.15pm
Follow a live blog on Toulon v Leinster the RTÉ website and News Now App from 3pm, with commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.
Support for club hurling in Kerry is strong but county manager Eamonn Kelly hopes that their promotion to Allianz League Division 1B will bring the fans out in force.
More used to success with the large ball, it is the hurlers of the Kingdom that are celebrating this week after a shock play-off win over Antrim on Saturday.
Next season they will take on more established hurling counties such as Clare, Wexford and Limerick in the second tier.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after their one-point win, Kelly said: "We are now up against the big teams, which might bring along the support.
"There's massive support for the club scene in Kerry. We don't always get huge support. Hopefully this will give it a lift, that we'll get a lot more support following the county team.
"We got the breaks. Credit to Antrim – they have some cracking hurlers there, they played very well. We got the goal, we thought we might push on but they came back, they went three points ahead again. We're delighted to get the rub of the green in the finish."
Despite the achievement, attention will now turn to the summer campaign and a meeting with Down in the Christy Ring Cup on 2 May in Austin Stack Park.
Kerry forward Colm Harty added: "We only had a six-day turnaround [from the Division 2A final win over Westmeath]. I suppose we were up against it but thank God we pulled through and got the win.
"Next year is going to be another step in the right direction, moving up another division. We can't drop our foot off the pedal because we've Christy Ring coming up in summer and we've to keep a good focus on that."
"Whatever it is – passion, desire – a lot of them had it, a lot of them hadn't"
For the Saffrons there was only the bitter taste of defeat, their seventh in seven league games, and the sobering thoughts of third-tier hurling next spring.
Manager Kevin Ryan could not hide his disappointment.
"At the end of the day we just weren't good enough to hold on to it, whatever it is – passion, desire – a lot of them had it, a lot of them hadn't," he said.
"It's just hard to take, that's all. It's seriously damaging, particularly the young lads we had a lot of faith in, having them play Fitzgibbon Cup, driving them on [but] to drop out a level, it's obviously damaging.
"It's up to the players to decide whether they want us driving it on for them or whether they want someone else, which they probably don't at this stage.
"But they've got to decide that, the board have got to decide that and once they do we'll carry on with our own ethos and what we believe in."
Dundalk and Cork made up the top two teams in last year's table
The SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Cork City and Dundalk on Friday, April 24, at Turner's Cross will be shown live in HD on RTÉ2.
The match will kick-off at 7.35pm with the programme commencing at 7.30pm. It will also be broadcast worldwide on RTÉ Player.
The programme will be presented by Peter Collins, who will be joined by Stuart Byrne, with George Hamilton and Damien Richardson on commentary and Tony O'Donoghue reporting on the sideline.
Dundalk have made a tremendous start to their title defence, winning six of their seven games in an unbeaten run so far.
City are just four points behind and have also yet to taste defeat.
Jordan Spieth has stormed up the world rankings from ninth to second since the start of the year
It is a measure of how far Jordan Spieth has come in such a short space of time that he was thinking about where his former college team-mates were playing as he began his final round of the Masters.
Spieth dropped out of the University of Texas after his first year, turning professional in December 2012 without having playing rights on any major tour.
Less than two and a half years later, the 21-year-old was slipping on the green jacket at the Alister MacKenzie-designed Augusta National while his former colleagues were competing at another MacKenzie course in Pasatiempo, California.
"Michael (Greller, his caddie) and I were joking on the first tee," Spieth recalled. "He said, 'Aren't you glad you are not at Pasatiempo right now? Face it, aren't you glad you're here instead of there?'
"That kind of sums it up. To have left school and took a chance, and everything that happened in 2013, to have the opportunity to win the Masters last year, which then allowed me to win this year. It's all run together. It all happened quickly. Sometimes it feels like a long time ago and sometimes it feels like yesterday."
Spieth, who is the only player apart from Tiger Woods to have won the US junior amateur title more than once, enjoyed instant success after turning professional, finishing seventh, fourth and second in his first three events on the second-tier Web.com Tour.
He then finished seventh in the Tampa Bay Championship before winning the John Deere Classic two weeks before his 20th birthday, thereby becoming the first teenage winner on the PGA Tour since 1931.
His first appearance in the Masters saw him threaten to become the youngest ever champion when he led by two shots after seven holes of the final round before finishing second behind Bubba Watson, while he was unbeaten alongside Patrick Reed in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles before losing a three-hole lead with nine to play to Graeme McDowell in the singles.
"But the ultimate goal that I have mentioned, I think each week, is try to become the number one player in the world"
Having come into the Masters on the back of finishing first, second and second in his previous three events, Spieth was one of the favourites at Augusta and duly delivered, becoming the first player ever to reach 19 under par and only a bogey on the 18th prevented him from adding the outright 72-hole scoring record to the 36 and 54-hole records he set on Friday and Saturday.
"It was the ultimate goal in my golfing life when I was a kid," Spieth said. "I did not expect to get it done at 21. It's time to get excited about following Bubba as a two-time champion.
"But the ultimate goal that I have mentioned, I think each week, is try to become the number one player in the world. I'm still behind so I'm still chasing that goal. It's going to be very difficult, but to be a large step closer is huge."
Spieth's win took him to second in the world rankings behind Rory McIlroy and much has been made about a possible rivalry between the pair.
"As far as (a rivalry) with Rory, he's got four majors. That's something I can still only dream about," Spieth added.
"I'll never hit it as far as he does and I have to make up for that somewhere else. He's an unbelievably nice guy, carries that world number one with class.
"I don't know as far as a rivalry right now. I look forward to getting in the heat of the moment with him a couple times in the near future and see if we can battle it out and test our games."
Next up in terms of major championships will be the US Open at Chambers Bay, where Spieth could have a crucial advantage over the vast majority of his rivals.
His caddie Greller, who was a sixth grade teacher for 10 years before giving it up to caddie for Spieth, lives close to the course and caddied there during the 2010 US Amateur championship, where Spieth shot 72, 83 and failed to qualify for the match play stage.
And then comes the Open Championship at St Andrews, a course Spieth played before the 2011 Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen.
"To go to the home of golf and what I consider one of the coolest places in the world is going to be really special as the Masters champion, with maybe the most knowledgeable fans in the world," Spieth added.
"Hopefully at that point, maybe I'll try and go for the third leg of a grand slam! Can't win four unless you win the first, right?"
Ken Doherty beat Reanne Evans in the previous round
World Snooker Championship qualifying latest:
Lee Walker 4-8 Ken Doherty
Fergal O'Brien 9-7 Chris Wakelin
Joe Swail 5-9 Dominic Dale
Matches are best of 19 frames to be played to a finish.
Veteran multiple champion Steve Davis is struggling to stay in contention for this year's Betfred World Snooker Championship following this morning's session.
Six-time world title-holder Davis, 57, was 8-1 down against Kurt Maflin at Ponds Forge.
Davis was therefore set to miss out on the Crucible again, having lost in qualifying last year too, unless he could launch an evening fightback in the first-to-10 encounter.
Maflin, London-born but resident in Norway, was bang on course to play either Fergal O'Brien or Chris Wakelin next in the third qualifying round.
Fellow veteran Jimmy White fared better than Davis, leading 7-2 against Matthew Selt.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 12 April 2015 | 23.06
Updated: Sunday, 12 Apr 2015 12:48 | Comments
Justin Rose hit five birdies in his final six holes to get to within four shots of leader Jordan Spieth
Justin Rose produced a stunning burst of scoring to take advantage of a late blunder from Jordan Spieth and set up a thrilling final day of the 79th Masters at Augusta National.
Rose was two-over par after five holes of the third round but played the remaining 13 in seven under, holing a bunker shot on the 16th as he reeled off five birdies in the last six holes.
And with Spieth carding a double bogey on the 17th, the American's seven-shot lead had been drastically reduced, although the 21-year-old still set a new 54-hole scoring record at the Masters.
At 16-under par, Spieth broke the record shared by Ray Floyd and Tiger Woods by a single shot to lead by four from 2013 US Open champion Rose, with three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson a shot further back and Charley Hoffman on 10 under.
World number one Rory McIlroy and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods sit in a five-way tie for fifth, albeit 10 shots off the lead after matching rounds of 68.
Spieth's halfway total of 130 had not only set a new Masters record but also equalled the lowest 36-hole total in major championship history and, at 14-under, was the lowest in relation to par in any major.
The world number four was the fourth player to have a five-shot halfway lead in the Masters after Herman Keiser (1946), Jack Nicklaus (1975) and Floyd (1976) - all of whom went on to win - with Floyd the last man to hold the outright lead after every round.
Looking to become the second youngest champion ever - he is five months older than Woods was in 1997 - Spieth also became just the second player after Woods to reach 18 under par in the Masters when he carded his seventh birdie of the day on the 16th.
At that point he was seven shots clear of the field, only to take six on the 17th after a wayward drive, poor pitch and three putts, while Rose finished in style with a birdie on the 18th to ensure he would be in the final group on Sunday.
Spieth, who led by two shots after seven holes of the final round last year, said: "Last year definitely left a bad taste and I have been looking to get back here and get some revenge but I have a long way to go still.
"It was weird because I had 24 hours from the time I finished on Friday to teeing off today and that's a long time to sit on a lead like that. I maybe got a little anxious at times but all in all kept it together with the putter."
Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell both had days to forget as they plummeted down the leaderboard.
Clarke hit eight bogeys and just three birdies for a five over par 77 that left him on six over, and two spots off last place.
McDowell fared only one shot better as he bogeyed the 17th and 18th for a 76, which leaves him in joint 51st.
Andy Lee showed his battling qualities to force a draw
Reflecting on his non-title WBO World Middleweight bout with Peter Quillin in New York, Andy Lee felt that a draw was a fair outcome.
The Limerickman fought back from knockdowns in the first and third rounds to claim an unlikely split-decision draw at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Speaking afterwards to RTÉ, Lee said: "It was a fair result in the end. He scored good knockdowns early on. I boxed may way back into it and I was stronger and more consistent going down the stretch. That's what's important in those 12-round fights.
"In his last knockdown, he stood on my toe and the referee acknowledged that after the fight and said it was a mistake. I know that decisions are made in a split second but overall I think it was a fair result."
In his post-fight interview, Quillin summed up the bout as a "bit of a chess match" - a view that his opponent agreed with.
"He showed his class and I showed my resilience and eventually my boxing" - Andy Lee
"I thought it would be like that," said Lee.
"We are both counter punchers ultimately and we're also both big punchers. There were knockdowns for both of us. We had to be careful. You can't make a false move as both of us made each other pay for mistakes. It may not have been great for the crowd watching but we're in the ring and it's dangerous and you have to be careful."
As Quillin failed to make the required weight ahead of the contest, there was no title on the line, with Lee describing that situation as "weird, in that if I lose the fight I'm still champion".
Nevertheless, he feels there are positives to take after facing the American.
"Both of us enhanced our reputation," he added
"That's what was on the line. We both came out looking better for it. He showed his class and I showed my resilience and eventually my boxing. We could fight again. Who knows?"
By Greg Allen at Augusta | Updated: Sunday, 12 Apr 2015 12:44 | Comments
Jordan Spieth and his caddie walk over the Nelson Bridge on the 13th hole at Augusta
Jordan Spieth is still on top of the leaderboard on 16 under going into the final round of the 2015 Masters.
The way the Masters course is set up, slight errors will be punished severely.
MASTERS LEADERBOARD
Spieth was in complete control, seven shots clear of the field after 16 holes in his third round. But in the space of five to seven minutes, that lead was down to four and it could have been down to three another ten minutes later only for a brilliant saving par on the 18th.
What do we make of that?
Spieth looks like he might be suffering a little bit of battle fatigue. He's been in contention in three consecutive tournaments running into the Masters, winning one of them. He has led after three rounds of the Masters and that is tough.
He admitted that the gap between the end of his second round and the start of his third round was 24 hours and it was a long time to dwell on a record-breaking performance over the first two rounds.
Maybe his concentration was affected. Five dropped shots in the space of 14 holes in round three compared to one dropped shot in the previous 36 holes points to that. There is no doubt that the pressure did lean on him. But apart from the mistake on 17 he has been very, very composed.
A terrific illustration of that was when he hit a bad shot on 18 into the crowd and it looked like an automatic bogey. He said himself it was one-in-five scenario to get up and down from where he was but he got up and down from where he was.
That shows the nerve of the man and I think that will stand to him in the final round the fact that he made that par on 18. If he hadn't made that par he would have slept on very negative vibes and thoughts overnight.
The pursuers
Jordan Spieth now has serious rivals. Justin Rose birdied five of the last six holes. Rose was an impressive winner of the US Open two years ago so he's got that fresh experience of been right in contention in his mind.
That gives him a serious advantage in the final grouping knowing that he's got little to lose and he'll be watching to see whether Spieth shows any of the elements of cracking that were present at times in the third round. Rose has a great chance, four off the lead.
Phil Mickelson, five off the lead, also has a great chance. He's in the part of his career where these chances are getting fewer and far between. He wore a pink shirt in the third round in honour of Arnold Palmer, who was a famously gritty competitor and a multiple winner of the Green Jacket. In the final round, Phil will wear black as he always does on the final day of his Masters victories. It's a lucky colour for him and he also says it makes him play aggressively. He makes a big deal about it and he added that he will be playing aggressively in the final round to match his black shirt.
Charlie Hoffman wobbled a bit towards the end of his third round with bogeys on 15 and 17. He may have run his course in what has been a good Masters for him so far. He's six shots back on ten under.
Rory & Tiger
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are both ten off the lead. Rory believes he needs to card a 61 or 62 in the final round if he is to have any chance. That would be a major championship record. It's very hard to do. His comments came before he heard about Spieth's double bogey on 17.
If Rory could post a 64, that would get him to 14 under, so he needs a serious wobble from Spieth.
Tiger Woods, I think, is happy to be in the top five. To be in that position after the season he has had so far is a sign that Woods is back to something approaching good golf, but nowhere near his best.
Prediction
I think Spieth will do it. He has set a record in that 16 under par after 54 holes has never been done before at the Masters, similar to his 14 under total after 36 holes. He reached 18 under after 16 holes in round three. That was only thee second time 18 under has been reached in the history of the tournament.
Spieth deserves this. He's really been gutsy in the way that he has led from the front and that par save on 18 in round three is the important hole that he has played so far because it gives him momentum going into the final round.
Robbie McNamara is in 'good spirits' after his fall at Wexford
Robbie McNamara was described as being in "very good spirits" in hospital in Dublin on Sunday as he continues to recover from serious injuries suffered in a fall at Wexford on Friday.
The jockey was due to partner last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Lord Windermere in the Crabbie's Grand National at Aintree, but suffered multiple injuries when coming to grief in a fall from Bursledon four out in the first division of the Cahore Point Handicap Hurdle.
Speaking at Leopardstown on Sunday, Dr Adrian McGoldrick, chief medical officer for the Irish Turf Club, said: "He was very stable overnight and in very good spirits. He doesn't want to say any more at this stage and you can understand that.
"It was serious chest, abdominal and spinal injuries. The spinal injuries have been operated on and that's stabilized.
"The next phase is recuperation and we'll take it from there."
McGoldrick added that Davy Condon, who was taken to hospital with concussion following the National after a fall from Portrait King, was set to return home on Monday.
Cesc Fabregas scored an 88th-minute winner as Chelsea restored their seven-point lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 victory at West London rivals QPR.
Jose Mourinho's side had failed to register a single shot on target before Fabregas' late strike and it was Rangers who enjoyed the better of a disappointing game, with Matt Phillips squandering an excellent chance in the second half.
Fabregas, however, broke the home side's heart with his fifth goal of the season to keep Chelsea's title charge firmly on track, while QPR remain 18th and two points adrift of safety.
Roman Abramovich's 700th game as Chelsea owner was certainly not in keeping with his aspirations of flash, free-flowing football but the Blues have developed a resilience this season that looks likely to earn a fourth league title under the Russian's stewardship.
Rangers meanwhile played with a renewed confidence after taking four points from consecutive away matches at West Brom and Aston Villa, but with matches at Liverpool and Manchester City still to come, their chances of survival look now to be hanging by a thread.
Chelsea dominated the opening quarter of an hour but a swirling wind and bobbly pitch meant the visitors struggled for fluency with only Willian going close in the eighth minute with a cross that struck the post.
Rangers were disciplined in their pressing, forcing their opponents into a number of sloppy touches and misplaced passes but neither side were able to create anything close to a clear-cut chance during a drab first period.
The home support were temporarily cheered when John Terry was thrown to the ground in a scuffle with Charlie Austin and in the 44th minute, the Rangers striker had the game's first shot on target, his long-range effort drawing a comfortable save from Thibaut Courtois.
Austin's battle with Terry resumed shortly after the interval when the Chelsea captain felt Austin left his foot in longer than necessary on Courtois after the Blues keeper had collected a shot from Clint Hill.
Rangers enjoyed a strong spell midway through the second period and should have opened the scoring when Phillips, turning Nemanja Matic in the box, engineered a clear sight at goal but Courtois was again on hand to palm away the finish.
There was a hint of panic in the Chelsea defence as QPR piled forward late on and when Courtois fumbled Austin's shot in the 82nd minute, it looked like it might fall to a Rangers shirt but the Blues stopper gathered just in the nick of time.
The hosts looked the more likely to snatch victory in the latter stages but when the winner came it went to Chelsea, as Eden Hazard exchanged passes with Oscar on the left before laying on Fabregas to slide past Rob Green and into the net.
Rangers pushed forward in search of an equaliser in stoppage time but it was the away fans who were left singing at the end as the Blues' march towards the title continued.
By Francie Mooney | Updated: Sunday, 12 Apr 2015 16:41 | Comments
Brian Hurley scoring one of the Cork goals
Cork 4-11 Donegal 0-19
Cork are through to the Allianz Football League final after being Donegal 4-11 to 0-19 in Croke Park.
Donegal went four ahead with four Michael Murphy points and three from Paddy McBrearty, but a Tom Clancy goal sent Cork in level at the break at 1-08 to 0-11.
Colm O'Neill (2) and Brian Hurley added second-half goals as the Rebels took control, and Murphy's eight points tally was not enough to rescue the Ulster men.
Both sides implemented their tried and tested defensive systems, but this semi-final lacked intensity, and both sides found ways to create and execute scoring chances while confronted by lines of defenders.
Donegal had three points on the board inside the opening five minutes, Anthony Thompson, Michael Murphy, with the assistance of Hawk-Eye technology, and Paddy McBrearty all on target.
Cork went level through Fintan Goold in the seventh minute, but needed a smart save from Ken O'Halloran to deny Colm McFadden, who took Ryan McHugh's return pass to get his shot away.
Odhran MacNiallais and youngster Hugh McFadden were getting plenty of ball around the middle, helping the Ulster men open up a four points lead, McBrearty and Murphy on target again, before MacNiallais swept over an eye-catching score.
But Donegal's rigid system, with attackers dropping back to add layers to the defensive blanket, back-fired, when defenders Conor Dorman and Tom Clancy found space to push forward for scores.
Dorman landed a point, and in the 18th minute, Clancy accepted Colm O'Neill's pass to fire home a levelling goal.
Donegal responded with another volley of scores, including a Murphy gem, but those were cancelled out by a Cork flourish.
Hawk-Eye was called into action again to confirm Goold's third point, before Colm O'Driscoll equalised on the half-hour.
O'Neill had the sides level for the fifth time in stoppage time, sending the sides in tied at 1-08 to 0-11 at the interval.
Cork struck two goals in the opening five minutes of the second half to take a grip on the game, and never looked like losing once Brian Hurley collected Eoin Cadogan's long delivery to smash the ball to the roof of the net on 40 minutes
Two minutes earlier, O'Neill had punched home the first of his two goals, reacting quickest when John O'Rourke's effort dropped back off a post.
Now seven points behind, Donegal needed to step up the work-rate and intensity, but it just didn't happen, and while they did turn over possession on a number of occasions, they failed to capitalise, but McBrearty did have a goal chance well saved by Ken O'Halloran.
Murphy swept over a couple of scores, and McFadden landed a fine effort as they closed the gap to three points.
But Cork were able to find gaping holes in a normally well-organised rearguard formation, and punished yet again in the 57th minute when Hurley broke away on the left.
He had options, but chose the right one, picking out O'Neill, who finished low and accurately to the net past Michael Boyle.
Cork were afforded a glut of scoring chances, and their winning margin would have been significantly greater had they not shot eight second half wides.
Donegal finished with a modest flourish, with McBrearty kicking his fourth point and Murphy bringing his tally to eight.
Cork: K O'Halloran, Tom Clancy (1-00), M Shields (0-01), J Loughrey, C Dorman (0-01), Brian O'Driscoll Tomas Clancy, E Cadogan, F Goold (0-04), C O'Driscoll (0-01), J O'Rourke (0-01), K O'Driscoll, C O'Neill (2-02, 0-1f), M Collins, B Hurley (1-01).
Subs: P Kerrigan for Shields, D Goulding for K O'Driscoll, Barry O'Driscoll for Brian O'Driscoll, J Hayes for Hurley, D Og Hodnett for O'Rourke
Donegal: M Boyle, P McGrath, N McGee, E McGee, F McGlynn, K Lacey (0-01), A Thompson (0-01), O MacNiallais (0-01), H McFadden, E McHugh, M McElhinney (0-02), R McHugh, P McBrearty (0-04, 1f), M Murphy (0-08, 3f, 2 '45), C McFadden (0-02).
Subs: E Doherty for Thompson, M O'Reilly for E McHugh, C Toye for McGrath, S Griffin for C McFadden, D McLaughlin for H McFadden
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 11 April 2015 | 23.06
Updated: Saturday, 11 Apr 2015 14:57 | Comments
Jonjo Shelvey scores from the penalty spotAaron Lennon (l) opened the scoring for Everton
Swansea 1-1 Everton
Swansea City equalled their highest ever points tally in a Premier League as a bizarre handball from Seamus Coleman gifted them a penalty and a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium.
Aaron Lennon gave the visitors a 41st minute lead with his second goal in Everton colours following his recent winner at QPR and manager Roberto Martinez looked on course for a successful return to his old home.
But Swansea equalised after 69 minutes when Coleman's inexplicable handball was spotted by referee Michael Oliver and Jonjo Shelvey scored with a firm spot-kick.
Everton had won on their three previous Premier League visits to the Liberty Stadium and Swansea had never beaten the Toffees in any competition before September's 3-0 victory in the Capital One Cup.
On the face of it eighth against 12th suggested a calm end-of-season affair but it was anything but as Oliver was tested throughout and did well to keep the full complement of players on the field.
Both camps will probably be content with a point as Swansea made it three games unbeaten and reached 47 points - the mark set in their first Premier League campaign in 2011-12 - while improving Everton have now gone four games without losing in the top flight.
Swansea started brightly with Bafetimbi Gomis in confident mood after three goals in his last two appearances.
Gomis was stopped by a last-gasp Leighton Baines challenge and then warmed Tim Howard's palms from 20 yards when Shelvey rolled a quick free-kick into him, but the Frenchman's involvement was curtailed when he pulled up with a hamstring injury after 17 minutes and was replaced by Marvin Emnes.
Federico Fernandez had also gone close after climbing well at a corner and Swansea thought they had a taken a 31st minute lead which would have been entered into the goal of the season category.
Shelvey teed himself up on the volley to flash a ferocious shot past Howard from 25 yards but the referee had spotted a foul on Baines by Wayne Routledge.
The close shave appeared to galvanise Everton and they finished the half stronger with Coleman's low drive forcing a wonderful fingertip save from Lukasz Fabianski.
Coleman was raiding down the right and Ross Barkley was drifting into dangerous pockets of space but when the goal came it was manufactured down the left as Baines and Arouna Kone combined to good effect.
James McCarthy raced onto Kone's pass and his cross evaded everyone for Lennon to score in consecutive away games for the first time in his Premier League career.
Substitute Steven Pienaar tested Fabianski right on half-time and Swansea manager Garry Monk responded by changing his formation from a diamond system to 4-2-3-1 with Gylfi Sigurdsson the player pushed furthest forward.
Yet Everton were still dictating the tempo of the game and Gareth Barry might have doubled their advantage from a Baines corner, but his header lacked power and Fabianski safely gathered.
Emnes tried to inject some urgency into Swansea's play with a direct run which ended with a low shot past Howard's upright and Ki Sung-yueng produced a delicious bit of skill to lift ball over Barry, although he was unable to keep his shot down.
Swansea's pressure was rewarded when Emnes ran at Coleman and the Republic of Ireland defender appeared to have the situation under control but as he fell, perhaps expecting a free-kick for a shove in the back, he bizarrely handled.
Shelvey stepped up after some period of time which saw Howard booked for time-wasting to drill the ball low into the corner.
Howard acted smartly to tip over Sigurdsson's 25-yard free-kick and Everton had a chance to pinch it at the end - but substitute Kevin Mirallas shot straight at Fabianski and honours were shared.
By Greg Allen at Augusta | Updated: Saturday, 11 Apr 2015 11:39 | Comments
Jordan Spieth is five shots clear of the field
At 21 years of age, Jordan Speith has apparently done more homework on Augusta than many players have done in a lifetime. A lot of that work has come about from a very close relationship with his mentor, two-time Masters winner, Ben Crenshaw.
MASTERS LEADERBOARD
Crenshaw, like Speith, is a Texan and he has imparted a lot of his knowledge to the young pretender about what to expect at Augusta.
That seems to have helped the half-way leader because Spieth is putting these greens like a complete veteran.
He is a naturally strong grinder. In other words he gets the very best out of the talent he has - and he has a huge amount of talent.
It's not the same sort of talent as a Rory McIlroy or a Dustin Johnson and it's not a pure ball-striking talent. He has enough long-game talent to get the job done in that regard.
He also knows his limitations, when we saw him lay up on 13 and 15 in the back nine in round two on the way to making birdies. There's a touch of Zach Johnson about that, who in 2007 famously laid up on all the par fives and covered them in 11 under.
Spieth has something special. He is ranked fourth in the world. He has had form coming into Augusta and that has continued.
Spieth was a runner-up in the Masters last year, aged 20 and led after seven holes of the final round. He made bogeys on eight and nine, where Bubba Watson made birdies. There was a four-shot swing. It was a bit of a shock to Spieth and he never recovered. But he's a far more mature player now and he seems to be a maturing at a serious rate. As one of my colleagues said: ' he seems to have a 30-year-old head on a 21-year-old shoulder.'
His pedigree as the world's number four-ranked player; his deep knowledge of Augusta and the experience of finishing runner-up last year means that he is probably going to hang around at the top of the leaderboard all the way to the finish. It's whether someone catches him. I don't see Speith falling back very much.
Who can catch him?
If Dustin Johnson shot a 65, 66 from seven under, then that would put the pressure on. Justin Rose - a US Open champion from 2013 also has the pedigree to put the pressure on.
You feel that if the explosiveness of Johnson's game, which we saw with the three eagles that he made in round two, can be repeated in a burst of nine holes to get him from seven off the lead to three off the lead then he really can challenge.
There are still 36 holes to play. A long way to go. We saw back in 1996 an 11-shot turnaround on the last day when Nick Faldo outscored Greg Norman by 11 strokes in the space of 18 holes.
So if you include everybody all the way back to Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods on two under, then many are still in with a chance. It is dependent on Spieth doing something atypical, which is falling back. It doesn't look like that is going to happen.
Phil Mickelson at six under has such nous around Augusta with three victories. If he shot a 63, 64 or 65 today and Speith shot a round in the high 60s or low 70s than that would bring Mickelson back into contention.
An awful lot can still happen on moving day just as long as Spieth doesn't shoot another 66.
In second place is Charlie Hoffman (five behind) and he is a hot streak sort of player. He has three tournament victories and because of that you would have to think that he can get the job done.
What of the Irish who made the cut?
Rory McIlroy on two under. We saw an extraordinary fightback from a front nine of 40 to back nine of 31. He can shoot a 65 around here but he isn't at the moment firing on all cylinders. The game is not flowing.
It was good performance by Darren Clarke to make the cut (+1). He accepts that he wants to remain relevant as a European Ryder Cup captain and he certainly has achieved that here.
Graeme McDowell (+1) is looking to have his best Masters finish. He's never finished better than 12th and has only made two cuts before and is targeting a top 10 finish this week.
By Barry McEneaney | Updated: Saturday, 11 Apr 2015 08:46 | Comments
Runners clear The Chair (15th fence) in last season's Grand NationalA giant image of Tony McCoy was projected on to the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool on Wednesday night
Shutthefrontdoor was a 25-1 shot for the Grand National with some bookmakers after scoring at Carlisle in November on his only start of the season.
Not too much has changed to bolster his prospects of success in the interim, but he's now no bigger than 7-1 for the world's most famous steeplechase and likely to go off at an even shorter starting price.
Despite winning last season's Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on his penultimate outing, Jonjo O'Neill's eight-year-old remains thoroughly unexposed over fences. He's raced over birch just six times in his life and looks capable of significant improvement. His stamina for this marathon trip looks assured and his absence from the racecourse has been by design, rather than due to any injury issues. Ensconced in O'Neill's luxurious Jackdaws Castle facility - think an equine Sandy Lane, but with a better gym - his handicap mark remained protected. He'll have been prepped to run the race of his life on Saturday afternoon by a trainer with a strong record in the race. All these positives merit his price contracting in the betting.
The McCoy factor
The main stumbling block for those wishing to support him is the degree of the price collapse and what spurred it.
The news that Tony McCoy couldn't go on forever and the revelation that this was to be his last season in the saddle was always likely to have a major impact on the odds of his chosen mount in the Aintree spectacular.
The lure of supporting racing's iron man as he bids for a fairytale ending to his career has gathered pace. Fairytales can come true, but McCoy's imminent departure is tangential to Shutthefrontdoor's performance.
Images of the perennial champion jockey will continue to dominate the media coverage until the tapes go up. In a world where optics and perception count for so much, punters will pay a premium for the brand recognition McCoy possesses.
The leading challengers
Second favourite Rocky Creek jumps well and ran fifth in last year's renewal as an eight-year-old. He hasn't been penalised for his impressive last-time-out victory at Kempton as the weights had already been framed before that contest and he should be improving as he continues to fill his ample frame.
There may still be doubts about his ability to truly stay this extreme trip after he tired in the closing stages of last year's race. Another negative surrounds his wind, as Paul Nicholls' charge has experienced breathing problems in the past. Staying three miles at a sharp track like Kempton wouldn't have allayed any fears in that area and this is an altogether more gruelling test of endurance.
Balthazar King should relish the good ground and is a paragon of consistency. The cross-country king claimed second in the Grand National 12 months ago and looks poised to run another big race. However, he is exposed after 26 starts over fences and is likely to prove vulnerable to more lightly-raced types.
As retained rider to JP McManus, McCoy could have thrown his leg over Cause of Causes, but Paul Carberry will instead be in the plate on Saturday afternoon. The ultimate stylist, Carberry is a more than able deputy for McCoy, but he won't carry the same cachet for the once-a-year punters. It's interesting to speculate as to what price Cause Of Causes would be if the champ had eschewed Shutthefrontdoor in favour of Gordon Elliott's runner and what price the latter would be if he was partnered by Carberry. He could yet prove the yellow-pack value alternative to McCoy's mount.
However, his age may be against him, as a seven-year-olds have a lamentable record in the race.
He also showed such good form over two miles during his hurdling days that his stamina could be suspect. The son of Dynaformer did win over four miles at the Cheltenham Festival, but that was in a steadily-run affair where he was ridden like a non-stayer.
There's also a concern that Cause Of Causes was trained to the minute to peak at Cheltenham and that this rigorous test is an afterthought.
That comment also applies to The Druids Nephew, but that might be the only negative in his profile. The perfect preparatory campaign for the Grand National is a matter for conjecture, but a number of his rivals will have had their seasons' structured - some would say sacrificed - so as to deliver their very best at Aintree. If The Druids Nephew can maintain his form and find a little improvement he would go close.
Soll has proven a revelation since transferring to the David Pipe yard, but he'll need to settle much better than he did at Newbury to last home on Merseyside. The blinkers he sported in his most recent success will be deployed again and could light him up once more. Tom Scudamore's mount lined up in the 2013 Grand National but faded badly in the closing stages.
Best of the rest
My shortlist has proven quite a misnomer, with Night In Milan, The Druids Nephew, Al Co, Monbeg Dude, Across The Bay, Oscar Time, Portrait King, Pineau De Re, Godsmejudge, Alvarado, Court By Surprise and Royale Knight reluctantly whittled down to a more manageable final four.
Cases could also be made for Duke Of Lucca and Raz De Maree, but these reserves look unlikely to get a run.
Alvarado and Godsmejudge have plenty in their profiles to recommend them for Grand National glory.
Alvarado boasts winning form over marathon trips and stayed on dourly to finish fourth in last year's race, but his requirement to be ridden from the rear means he's far from guaranteed to avoid traffic problems along the way.
Godsmejudge won the Scottish version of this race in 2013 and has run a series of big races in other long-distance chases.
The worry for both these challengers is that their form this season - or lack of it - could count against them. They were my long-term fancies for the race, but my faith is wavering.
Court By Surprise has made significant improvement this season and looks like a horse who could be well suited by this unique test.
Richard Newland has been notably keen to preserve Royale Knight's handicap mark since he sauntered clear up the run-in when scoring in last October's Durham National at lowly Sedgefield. He may have raced 17 times over fences, but he remains unexposed over marathon distances on good ground. The conditions underfoot do seem to be critical to his chances, which would diminish rapidly with any significant rainfall.
The main negative Royale Knight will have to overcome pertains to class. His progress is encouraging, but he has yet to face top-notch opposition.
Pineau De Re was an emphatic winner last year for Dr Newland when he belied doubts concerning his jumping technique to prevail. If he gets clear round he could prove a fly in the ointment, despite having to shoulder an extra 8lbs this time around.
Always take a price, insist on at least five places if you're betting each-way and be lucky.
Selection: Royale Knight Alternatives: Court By Surprise, Alvarado, Godsmejudge
The first and second in the 2014 Grand National were tipped here
