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Best SSE Airtricity League XI in FIFA 22

FIFA 22 launches Friday, 1st October which will see the return of the SSE Airtricity League along with Ireland’s ten best clubs

This will be the 14th year that the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division has featured in-game. People that purchase the game will also get exclusive Club Pack Covers featuring the individual club crests of all 10 Premier Division teams.

Powered by The League, each Premier Division team will have their very own exclusive FIFA 22 Club Pack, and the cover sleeves will once again be free to download for all League of Ireland fans when the game launches on Friday, October 1st.

Many FIFA players are great fans of their most popular feature and there have been some upgrades and downgrades to the players in the Irish league.

The squad of best players is made up of four nations and five clubs with Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers having the majority of players.

Dundalk’s Michael Duffy is the new highest rated player in the game with a 68 rating. The best aspects of his card are his 81 pace and that he is one of three players in the league with four-star skill moves and weak foot – the other two are Rovers’ Danny Mandroiu and Sligo Rovers’ Kiwi forward Ryan de Vries.

The two fastest players in the league by FIFA 22 standards are English winger Junior Odegi-Uzokwe and Jamaican forward Romeo Parkes.

FIFA 22 Airtricity League XI

Formation: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Talbot (65)

James Talbot just edges out Mannus with more individual stats. The Bohemians keeper stands at only 5’11” but his higher reflexes will make him strong with close shots.

Defence: Kavanagh (63), Cleary (64), Lopes (65), Gannon (65)

The mainly Shamrock Rovers defence is made up of two silver cards. Cape Verde’s Roberto Lopes and Ireland’s Sean Gannon will sure up a backline that is missing speed.

Midfield: McEleney (65), Zahibo (66), O’Neill (65)

Now we start to move on to the big guns. Wilfried Zahibo from the Central African Republic is a rare silver card with high physicality and an orange link to Athletico Madrid’s Kondogbia.

He is surrounded by Irish league mainstay’s Gary O’Neill and Patrick McEleney whose stats do not properly reflect the effect they have had on the league.

Front Three: Duffy (68), Hoban (65), Byrne (66)

The strike force has two of the Airticity league’s best shooters in Graham Burke and Patrick Hoban. They will join the 68 rated rare card in Michael Duffy who has had a lackluster season with Dundalk so far this season.

Bench: Mannus (65), Hoare (64), Bolger (64), Forrester (64), Mandroiu (64)

Connacht Star Paul Boyle Excited To Work Under New Coaches

Connacht back-rower Paul Boyle is looking forward to working under the new coaching ticket in the province for the upcoming season.

Colm ‘Cullie’ Tucker, Mossy Lawler and Dewald Senekal have joined Andy Friend’s backroom for the 2021/22 season while Peter Wilkins is now the side’s senior coach after previously holding the position of defence coach.

Boyle has previously worked with Cullie Tucker and Lawler during his time in the Connacht Academy and has worked with Wilkins in the last few years.

The 24-year-old is excited to work with the familiar faces again and is also eager to get a season under his belt alongside Senekal.

“I worked with Cullie and Mossy before in the Academy – I always enjoyed working with them,” Boyle said. “Pete in his new role is doing a really good job and then Dewald, he’s kind of laying down the law with the forwards, and I’m really enjoying working under him as well.

“Even during the international window when I hadn’t met him, he was texting me wishing me the best of luck – he’s a really nice guy.

“Then coaching-wise, like I said he kind of lays down the law. Really strict, but adds a bit of fun to it as well and he has some really cool ideas around how he wants our forward pack to play.”

Forwards coach Senekal joined the province after spells with Bayonne, Grenoble (joint-head coach) and Stade Francais in recent years.

Boyle also worked with another coaching ticket this summer – Andy Farrell’s Ireland team.

The former Landsdowne man was one of six Connacht players called up to the national squad and he got his first cap against the USA.

The Dubliner values the time he spent in the Irish camp and noted that it was an enjoyable, but intense experience.

“The three-week camp was really enjoyable, it was unbelievably intense. I learned a lot and since then I’ve just been trying to implement the things I’ve learned, whether it was work-ons or good things I need to improve as well.

“I’ve just been enjoying implementing those, I got some good feedback from coaches, learned a lot off other players I was in camp with and hopefully come game time I can implement some of the things I’ve been working on.

“It was something that I had been working towards but I suppose when the call comes it is always a surprise.

“It’s a lovely surprise but it’s something I’ve been working towards for the last number of years so I was delighted as well.”

The back-rowers focus for now, however, has returned to the Connacht setup ahead of the new season.

The Westerners start their season on Friday, September 24 with a journey to Cardiff Arms Park to take one the renamed Cardiff Rugby.

Boyle is hoping for more consistent performances throughout the season after a frustrating 2020/21 campaign.

“It’s just putting in an 80-minute performance. There’s been patches of games that have got away from us.

“Even if it’s only 10-15 minutes, it’s enough to let the game slip away so it’s not only about being consistent game-to-game, it’s being consistent for the full 80 minutes as well.

“It’s about putting the head down and working hard. We’ve had plenty of weeks now to prep, we’ve had our two games, so I think it would be silly to have any excuses come the first game.”

Connacht’s opening match of the inaugural United Rugby Championship season against Cardiff gets underway on Friday at 7:35 pm and will be shown live on TG4.

Three Changes To Ireland Sevens Squad For Edmonton Tournament

Three changes have been made to the Ireland men’s sevens squad for the second and final leg of the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series in Edmonton, Canada.

The three changes to the squad for this weekend are injury-enforced, with Gavin Mullin, Ed Kelly and Mark Roche, unfortunately, picking up injuries in Vancouver.

All three have been ruled out this week and have returned to Dublin while Olympians Billy Dardis and Jordan Conroy, and Aaron O’Sullivan return to action for the national side.

A new-look Ireland squad impressed last weekend in Vancouver as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series returned after 18 months, and the side – led by Bryan Mollen – will be hoping to build further on those performances at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

A fourth-place finish in Vancouver was Ireland’s best placing as a World Series core team, and the exposure of nine debutants to international action across the weekend was a real positive at the start of a new Olympic cycle.

Commenting ahead of the Edmonton tournament, IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby Anthony Eddy says this weekend will provide the squad with another exciting opportunity to build experience and cohesion building towards the 2022 season.

“It was great to see to team perform so well in Vancouver and they have taken a lot of learnings from that tournament that should put them in a better position this weekend,” Eddy said.

“What is really exciting is to see some of the young men that have no experience of this level of competition perform so well and they will continue to develop and become very important players for the team during the 2021/2022 World Series.”

Ireland will open their campaign against Germany on Saturday, September 25 (9:44 am local time/4:44 pm Irish time), before further Pool C clashes against Jamaica (12:55 pm local time/7:55 pm Irish time) and Great Britain (4:28 pm local time/11:28 pm Irish time) later in the day.

Play-off matches will be played on Sunday, September 26 – all games will be available to watch on the World Rugby Sevens Series social media channels.

Ireland Squad – Edmonton 7s

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers)
Chris Cosgrave (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Seán Cribbin (Suttonians)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College)
Shane Jennings (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Sean Kearns (Irish Sevens)
Steven Kilgallen (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College)(Captain)
Ben Moxham (Ballymena/Ulster)
Aaron O’Sullivan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Conor Phillips (Young Munster/Munster)
Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster)

Millwall v Leicester City – Preview, Lineups, Odds, Where To Watch

Leicester City will travel to London to take on Millwall in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

Leicester will be hoping to put an end to a three-game winless streak and get things back on track as their season has failed to get going so far.

Milwall are another club suffering from a slow start with only three wins in 10 games this season – two of them have come in the League Cup.

A Premier League scalp like Leicester would be the perfect motivation for the Lions to start a strong run of form.

Leicester loanee Ademola Lookman is in line to earn his first start after impressing Brendan Rodgers with his cameo against Brighton.

Rodgers is expected to rotate his side heavily for the clash as they look to give some regular starters a rest.

Daniel Amartey, who is the only available player that started at the Den in Leicester’s last clash with them in 2017, could also start.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could also line up for the Foxes after being eased into the first-team by his Northern Irish manager.

Players such as Patson Daka, Hamza Choudhury and Marc Albrighton also have a chance of getting on the teamsheet.

Wesley Fofana, James Justin and Nampalys Mendy are still sidelined with long-term injuries.

Maikel Kieftenbeld is the only injury concern for the hosts ahead of the clash with the FA Cup champions.

Shaun Hutchinson is set to return from injury while Benik Afobe, George Evans and Danny McNamara have also been training this week.

Jed Wallace and Sheyi Ojo will miss the game through illness.

Lineups

Milwall (3-4-2-1): Long; Hutchinson, Pearce, Cooper; Leonard, Mitchell, Evans, Wallace; Maloney, Thompson; Bradshaw.

Subs: Smith, Malone, Saville, Bodvarsson, Afobe, Ballard Bialkowski.

Leicester City (3-5-2): Ward; Amartey, Soyuncu, Evans; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Dewbury-Hall, Thomas; Iheanacho, Lookman.

Subs: Barnes, Maddison, Vestergaard, Castagne, Daka, Jakupovic, Soumaré.

Odds

Millwall 9/2

Draw 11/4

Leicester City 8/13

Where To Watch

The match will kick-off at 7:45 pm but will not be available on TV. You can follow the game on the clubs’ social media pages.

Kearney opens up on ‘perfect’ stay with Western Force

Irish Rugby legend Rob Kearney has spoken about his ‘perfect final six months’ while playing for Australian side Western Force

Ireland’s most decorated rugby player is in the twilight of his career after spending 15 years at provincial side Leinster. After over 200 competitive appearances for the club and nearly a century of caps for the Boys in Green he felt it was time to try something new.

Before returning to his boyhood Gaelic football club Cooley Kickhams for a few games, he spent six months down under playing for Western Force.

Speaking at a media event for the new season of rugby on Premier Sport yesterday, Kearney spoke about his short stay in Australia:

“I had a great time away in Australia. It was almost the perfect final six months for me to get away and I’d always planned to play outside Ireland, and I suppose the older I got and the longer my contracts with Leinster and the [Irish Rugby] Union went on, the less likely it became.”

The Louth man only managed eight caps while playing for the Perth club, scoring a single try against the Blues.

The accomplished defender noted the challenges when moving to the new club. He understood that Southern hemisphere rugby was more focused on attack than defense and he knew he could still improve in places.

“[If] you’re a 35-year-old fullback, the changes have already been made for you, I was down there very much with the mindset that aerial game, kicking game, backfield coverages was going to be the areas, to play my strengths,” added Kearney.

While in Australia, he also found some of the cultural differences to be a shock. Although the Wallabies have been a powerhouse in international rugby for many years, it is still not one of the more popular sports in the country.

Union rugby has to compete with the ASL, cricket, and emerging soccer to get more schoolboys and girls playing the game in the fields.

Because of this, Kearney understands the importance of the nation’s double victory of the Springbok, especially the home win on Saturday.

“It is very different, Rugby Union is very much down the pecking order, and you do feel for the Australians a little bit that the game is under real pressure there,” the rugby player added.

“That’s why that win at the weekend was huge for them, not just from that group of players but for the game as a whole in the country,”

Premier Sport announce Rob Kearney as new pundit

Premier Sports has announced that Irish rugby icon Rob Kearney will join its TV team for its live coverage of the new-look United Rugby Championship in Ireland

Kearney joins a star-studded line-up of Premier Sports pundits for its Irish rugby coverage including fellow former internationals Stephen Ferris and Andrew Trimble. They will appear with the experienced TV team of Bernard Jackman, Graham Little, Mark Robson, and lead Irish commentator Ryle Nugent.

As Ireland’s most decorated player ever, Rob Kearney (93 caps) won four Six Nations titles, four Heineken Cups, six PRO 12/14 trophies, and one European Challenge Cup plus was named 2012 European Rugby Player of the year.

Kearney was also part of two Lions Tours in 2009 and 2013.  He played for Leinster for 15 seasons with more than 200 appearances for his home province.

Also, new to the Premier Sports team in Ireland will be popular rugby presenter and podcast host Christina Mahon who brings great rugby contacts and knowledge to the team at Premier Sports.

Premier Sports has also been awarded TV rights for the Republic of Ireland for the first time in the new era of the tournament expanding its coverage to bring together live games from each round to a wider rugby audience across the UK and Ireland.

Premier Sports viewers can enjoy double delight high profile sport with Premier League action from 14:30 this weekend as Leeds faces West Ham before a URC doubleheader as the Irish provinces met South African teams first up with Leinster v Bulls before Munster host Sharks.

Premier Sports team on duty this weekend are Graham Little, Rob Kearney, and Bob Skinstad in the studio with Ryle Nugent and Stephen Ferris on commentary at the Aviva, and Connor Morris and Alan Quinlan in Thomond Park.

Dundalk Into FAI Cup Semi-Finals After ET Win Over Finn Harps

Dundalk have reached the FAI Cup semi-finals for the seventh time in a row after a 3-1 win over Finn Harps in their quarter-final replay on Tuesday night.

The defending champions scored twice in extra time to put proceedings in their favour after going a goal down after six minutes.

Sean Murray, Patrick Hoban and Michael Duffy got on the scoresheet for the Lilywhites on a night they were missing several players through Covid-related absences.

They did not call upon their inexperienced bench throughout the match and fought back after Sean Boyd notched the first goal of the evening and his third in two games.

Finn Harps maintained their lead for the majority of the first half but Vinny Perth’s side grew into the game and an acrobatic cross from Patrick Hoban found Sean Murray who brought the sides level with only minutes to go in the half.

The replay was not the classic that the initial fixture was as both sides failed to take their chances in the second 45.

Extra-time proved to be the part of the match where the winners stood out as Dundalk notched two goals with no reply to book their place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Harps centre-back David Webster brought down midfielder Sami Ben Amar in the box and Patrick Hoban took the chance that was given to him from 12 yards out.

Michael Duffy’s free-kick sealed the deal for the 12-time FAI Cup holders before the break in extra time and the Lilywhites held on from there to reach the semi-finals of the competition once again.

They join fellow Premier Division sides St Patrick’s Athletic, Bohemians and Waterford in the final four.

The draw for the penultimate round will be made on RTE 2 following their coverage of Pat’s against Shamrock Rovers on Friday evening.

Liverpool Debutants Impress In Comfortable Win Over Norwich

The three debutants on the night – Conor Bradley, Kaide Gordon and Tyler Morton – all impressed in the third round of the Carabao Cup against Norwich City as Liverpool put three past the struggling Canaries.

Takumi Minamino scored four minutes into the game and added another early in the second half before Divock Origi killed the tie with a third for the side while left-back Kostas Tsimikas was instrumental throughout.

However, it was the Redmen’s young guns that caught the eye on their big nights as the trio seamlessly slotted into the system that Liverpool use.

Northern Irish right-back Conor Bradley was adept at making use of the right half-space in between the midfield and the right flank.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is known for making use of this area of the pitch when providing support in attack.

Bradley’s time in the Liverpool academy and with the Northern Irish senior side showcases his ability to join the midfield and help sustain pressure on the opposition.

However, the Tyrone native gave away a penalty towards the end of the first half but Kelleher, who hails from the same island, made sure the debutant’s mistake was not costly.

Summer signing Ibrahima Konate also helped the 18-year-old in his first game for the senior team, often occupying the right flank to cut out counter-attacks.

Kaide Gordon, born in 2004, made his anticipated debut at Carrow Road on the right wing and linked up well with Bradley.

Gordon worked hard and did well on the back to force his way into spaces and create goalscoring opportunities.

He was the only member of the front three that did not get himself a goal but it was not for lack of trying on the night the former Derby County player became Liverpool’s fifth youngest-ever player at 16 years and 351 days.

Liverpool leaked counter-attacks in the first-half as the midfield that looked like it lacked a defensive presence on paper lacked a defensive presence.

Neither of the three starting midfielders were objectively bad and all added something to the Liverpool attack but a natural six was needed.

Step up Tyler Morton for his first 45 minutes under Jurgen Klopp – Naby Keita went the other way after picking up what appeared to be a minor muscle injury.

Morton was given lots of time and space on the ball by the hosts and did well with it as he became the assured presence that calmed the eight-time league cup winners’ midfield.

The U23 star made 31 passes while only taking 39 touches and also helped in defence, filling in for those who had left a space in the back four.

On a night that could have been so unspectacular for Liverpool, one cannot help but feel impressed by the seamless integration the youngsters had into the senior side’s style of play.

Ireland Snap Losing Streak And Stun Matildas In Tallaght

Vera Pauw’s Ireland snapped a seven-game losing streak by recording a deserved 3-2 victory against Australia in front of 3,314 supporters at Tallaght Stadium.

The Matildas played their first game since competing in the Olympics against a side 22 places below them in the world rankings but could not break the blossoming losing streak they currently hold.

It is Ireland’s biggest win over a higher-ranked opponent in over two decades and they set off to achieve it straight away with Amber Barrett unleashing a stinging shot inside two minutes.

Australia barely had a chance to catch their breath when debutant Lucy Quinn curled a powerful free-kick at goal, which struck the post and rebounded in off goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.

The game was back and forth in many ways but Ireland were never outclassed by a team led by star striker Sam Kerr, who was making her 100th appearance for her national side.

Mary Fowler twice got the visitors back into the contest, albeit with a bit of luck, but Ireland also profited when a strike from Denise O’Sullivan was deflected in.

At the end of a thrilling first half, it was 2-2 but Ireland will have felt that they were slightly on top. And they continued to play with confidence in the second period.

Louise Quinn powered in a header early in that half to reassert a lead that they would not surrender as Pauw’s team showed how recent performances against top-quality opponents stood to them.

Ireland, who were roared on by a vocal crowd, finished the game by battling for every ball and proving that they belonged in competition against such a good team.

Next up is their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign, starting at home to Sweden on October 21st.

Republic of Ireland: Brosnan; Fahey, Louise Quinn, McCarthy; O’Gorman, McCabe; Finn (Caldwell 90), O’Sullivan, Barrett (Farrelly, 60); Payne (Kiernan 90), Lucy Quinn (Whelan 72).

Australia: Arnold (Williams HT); Polkinghorne, Kennedy (Checker HT), Nevin (Beard 68); Yallop (Gant 68), Logarzo (Wheeler 53), Cooney-Cross, Catley; Gielnick, Kerr, Fowler.

Referee: Paula Brady (Ireland).

GAA President Larry McCarthy Hits Back At ‘Cowardly’ Criticism

GAA President Larry McCarthy has hit back at the criticism thrown at players who played in the All-Ireland final in a statement released on Tuesday, labelling it as “cowardly.”

Mayo GAA released a statement on Monday that hit out at the personal attacks that have aimed at players and management involved in their All-Ireland final defeat to Tyrone.

The county board deemed these attacks “unnecessary and unacceptable to all those involved with Mayo GAA.”

McCarthy doubles down on the stance Mayo have taken towards the comments aimed at figures that can be seen online.

“Words matter, what one says matters, what one puts in the public domain matters,” said McCarthy.

“This was a point I made at Congress in February 2021 in the context of, what Bob Costas calls, a corrosive assault on civility. That corrosive assault has been perpetuated recently by members of the ‘critics collective’ and by many people who term themselves supporters in their reaction to the All-Ireland football final.

“The criticism emanating from these people has been overly harsh, unfair and in some cases downright cowardly. It has gone well beyond fair analysis of team performance. Critical evaluation of match performance is fine and expected, but overly harsh scrutiny of amateur players is unjustifiable. It is inexcusable when it moves beyond the realm of what happens on the field.”

The GAA President added that he was surprised by the level of discord directed at players that some critics claim to support.

“It beggars belief that people who consider themselves supporters of a team would castigate members of that team, the management and the County Committee in a crude and, in some cases, personal fashion. Nobody sets out to play badly, nobody sets out to lose an All-Ireland, but it happens. Supporters, who are members of GAA clubs, who attend club games, and who know the commitment and sacrifice the players make, understand this. Unfortunately, it is a point that seems to have escaped far too many people in the last week.

“Stop unwarranted critiques of GAA members. Stop this corrosive assault on civility. Perspective is needed when commenting on games and sport in general – not least when players are amateurs. None of us know the long-lasting impact of this type of harsh criticism on amateur players and we need to be mindful of the positive mental health of others.”

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