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Paralympic Cycling: Dunleavy and McCrystal win second gold medal

Day Ten in the Tokyo Paralympics was a very busy morning for the Team Ireland cyclists, taking part in four road events

Katie George-Dunleavy, Eve McCrystal – Women’s B Road Race

This has already been an amazing Paralympics for the Irish pair having won gold already earlier in the week. After hearing the national anthem while atop the podium, the two seemed excited to do it again.

This tough race set off at 05:00 this morning Irish time. Dunleavy and McCrystal showed their strength on the road in the time trial and this would be no difference and they continuously stayed near the top of the pack with its changing leaders and bursts from behind.

Just before the halfway mark of the 92.4km race, the Irish pair had themselves in a great position in the leading pack with the damp conditions not affecting them.

The race became more hectic in the final 12km lap. The Irish women were in the top three, competing with Team GB and the Swedish athletes.

They showed their true quality and fitness to break out in front over the last few kilometers. They brought the gold medal home in the Road Race with a time of 2:35:53.

This is now their third medal at these Paralympic Games and it marks them as one of the greatest tandem teams to compete in the sport.

Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4-5 Road Race

The Galway man was one of 25 riders in this long 92 km race. He came in this event searching for silverware with this being his third and final event.

Grimes’ race set off at 01:30 Irish time, with all racers going at a hectic pace to make it to the top and set the tempo.

As the race progressed, the Irishman had dropped to the back of the main group of riders, it was clear that this event is harder for cyclists without a partner from the same nation.

Grimes finished the race in 11th position with a time of 2:29:21

Richael Timothy – Women’s C1-3 Road Race

Timothy started only six minutes after Grimes’ event as she lined up with 14 other riders. This was the Irish woman’s fourth race at a busy Paralympics having broken personal bests in earlier events

Using some good riding, she remained off the top group of cyclists for the majority of the race. The tough wet conditions made it hard for each rider, making the race much more compact and steadier.

The 26-year-old finished the race in the 11th position with a time of 1:21:22.

Martin Gordon, Aidan Byrne – Men’s B Road Race

This was set to be a long and tough race for the Irish pair lining up against some top-class opponents. This would be the pair’s fourth and final event at these Paralympic Games.

Unfortunately, today was not going to be the glory finish for the Irish tandem team as the weather conditions continued to get worse. The heavy downpour of rain led to Gordon and Byrne withdrawing a little over two hours into the race.

It is not the ending that the Sligo and Dublin men would have wanted but they leave these Games after breaking personal best times and setting a new Irish record.

 

Paralympic Swimming: Ireland’s last swimmer misses out on final

Team Ireland’s final swimmer took to the pool of the Tokyo Aquatic Centre early morning on Day Ten of Tokyo 2020

Patrick Flanagan – S6 100m Backstroke Heat 2

This is Flanagan’s second race of his debut Paralympic games. Yesterday he finished in seventh place in the 400m Freestyle.

This morning, the Sligo man was hoping to build on that performance in the Backstroke. After watching a very strong opening heat, Flanagan would take part in the second race.

The Irish swimmer started the race in the water in lane seven with six other very strong swimmers. The outside lanes are normally the hardest places to start a race and he struggled to keep up with the leaders in the beginning.

Flanagan started to speed up before the only turn and he jumped up to fifth place. He held his position for the remainder of the race, not able to find the extra gear needed to scare the event favorites.

The Irishman hit the wall in a time of 1:26.81, this was unfortunately not enough for him to progress to the finals later today.

The end of the event concludes Flanagan’s Paralympic journey in Tokyo but as a young debutant, he still has many years ahead of him and Paris is only three years away.

He has done his coach David Malone and the people of Rosses point proud with two strong races as part of a historic Irish Paralympic team.

Paralympic Canoe: O’Leary wins B final for ninth place finish

Team Ireland’s leading Paralympic canoer was back in action on the morning of Day Ten of Tokyo 2020 in his first semifinal

Pat O’Leary – Men’s 200m KL3 semifinal

This is Pat O’Leary’s third race at the Paralympic Games. His journey began yesterday as he competed well in two opening heats, the Va’a and the Kayak.

He finished in fifth place in his heat for this event the last day but knows he will need to kick it up a notch to qualify for the final. The 48-year-old will want to improve on his best Paralympic result after finishing in sixth place overall in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

He started this short, fast race in lane three with five other racers. The top three racers would qualify for the A final while the next three would to put in the B final.

The race got off to a hectic start with each paddle forcing the water back and the kayaks glided over the water. O’Leary maintained a strong speed that kept him in touching distance with the fastest racers.

Unfortunately, the Cork man’s impressive performance was not enough to qualify for the A final only half a second behind Germany’s Tom Kierey.

He finished in fourth place with a time of 42.203 and would go into the B final.

There was very little turnaround between the semifinals and finals. Only an hour later, O’Leary lined out in lane four as one of the fastest competitors in the race.

He finished this race in a time of 42.416 seconds and this meant that he finished in an overall position of ninth for the kayak event.

It was a good day for O’Leary but he will hope to go one step further as he goes into the Va’a semifinals tomorrow morning.

Northern Ireland Put Four Past Lithuania In Chaotic Qualifier

Northern Ireland got their first win of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after a four-goal performance proved to be too much for hosts Lithuania in Vilnius.

The Northerners got three vital points in the hunt for a World Cup Qualifier play-off spot in Group C without some of their most important players.

The match saw three penalties awarded, two of them going in the Green and White Army’s favour and both of those Northern Irish spot-kicks finding the net.

Daniel Ballard opened the scoring for Ian Baraclough’s side, who were searching for their second win in their last three games.

Ballard slotted in after a well-constructed move that led to striker Conor Washington playing a ball across goal for the defender.

Washington was instrumental in the final third for Northern Ireland, adding the second from the penalty spot and being the side’s focal point up top, creating several chances throughout the game.

His strike partner for the evening, Blackpool’s Shane Lavery struggled to take his chances in the first half, missing two gilt-edged chances that could have killed the game before the first 45 minutes had passed.

Lithuania grew into the game in the final ten minutes of the opening half and caused some trouble but could not find an equaliser before the referee halted proceedings.

Northern Irish full-back Michael Smith’s shot early in the second half struck the arm of Lithuanian defender Linas Megelaitis and after a check from referee Stephanie Frappart, a penalty was awarded.

Conor Washington slotted it in the left corner while Lithuanian goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus went the other way.

Northern Ireland finally had a cushion to depend on but it was thrown away minutes later when forward Rolandas Baravykas’ scintillating strike found the back of the Northern Irish net following a corner.

Several minutes later, Frappart awarded a penalty to the home side after a lengthy VAR check and it had appeared that the visitors had let their opponents back into the game.

Former Manchester United player Paddy McNair was given a yellow card for his foul in the box but his blushes were spared as Bailey Peacock-Farrell denied Novikovas.

Jordan Thompson, who combined well with Conor Washington in the attacking third on the night, assisted Shayne Lavery to get clear daylight for their side once again.

It was Lavery’s first goal in international football, which compliments his four goals in seven games for Blackpool this season.

The game began to fade as the result became clearer but Northern Ireland had another goal in them and when captain Steven Davis went down in the box, McNair stepped up to slot home their second penalty of the match to secure a win and an important three points for his side.

Next up for Northern Ireland is a visit to Estonia on Saturday, September 5 before a second World Cup Qualifier of the September internationals against Switzerland takes place on the night of Wednesday, September 8.

MOTM: Conor Washington (Northern Ireland)

Lineups

Lithuania (4-2-3-1): Setkus; Baravykas, Utkas, Satkus, Slavickus; Verbickas, Megelaitis; Novikovas, Chernykh, Lasickas; Dubickas.

Subs: Gertmonas, Klimavicius, Gaspuitis, Dapkus, Uzela, Jankauskas, Tutyskinas, Kazlauskas, Plukas, Barauskas, Vorobjovas.

Northern Ireland (4-4-2): Peacock-Farrell; Smith, Cathcart, Ballard, Lewis; McNair, Davis (C), Thompson, McCann; Lavery, Washington.

Subs: Donnelly, Carson, Flanagan, McCalmont, Lafferty, McGinn, Brown, Jones, Whyte, Charles, Hazard.

Shane O’Neill Steps Down As Galway Senior Hurling Manager

Shane O’Neill has stepped down from his role as manager of the Galway senior hurling team, Galway GAA have announced.

O’Neill decided against extending his time in charge and leaves the inter-county side after two years in the role.

The 47-year-old won Division One of the Allianz National Hurling League this year after his side finished top of Group A – they shared the title with Group B winners Kilkenny.

However, provincial and All-Ireland success eluded Galway under the former Limerick hurler.

His side finished runners-up in Leinster last year and fell to eventual champions Limerick in a three-point loss at the All-Ireland semi-final stage at the end of 2020.

Galway regressed this year and failed to reach the Leinster final after a shock loss to Mattie Kenny’s Dublin.

The side were beaten by eventual semi-finalists Waterford in their only All-Ireland qualifier in July in a match where they avoided a humiliating scoreline and almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

In a statement, O’Neill said: “I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Galway County Board and the Hurling Committee for their unwavering support throughout my tenure,” O’Neill said in a statement released by Galway GAA.

“I am extremely grateful to them for their most professional and proactive approach to all matters related to the Galway Senior Hurling Team.

“I wish to acknowledge and commend the efforts of each and every one of the members of the backroom team. You are too numerous to mention but I must especially thank our management team of John Fitzgerald, Lukasz Kirszenstein, Fergal Healy, David Forde and Colm Callanan.

“I would like to thank the players for their hard work and dedication. It was a special privilege to be involved with some of the greats of the game.

“I wish them every success in the future.”

Galway GAA would like to thank O’Neill and his entire backroom team for their efforts over the past two seasons and has cited their commitment, dedication and professionalism as “exemplary.”

Lithuania v Northern Ireland – Preview, Lineups, Odds, TV Coverage

Northern Ireland travels to the LFF Stadium in Vilnius to take on Lithuania in their third 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier tie on Thursday night.

The two teams in Group C are in need of a win to chase Italy and Switzerland down, with Ian Baraclough’s side sitting third, five points off the play-off spot.

A 2-0 loss to a rotated Italian side before their European success and a goalless draw with Bulgaria are all Northern Ireland have to show for their efforts thus far.

Baraclough’s national side have only won one of their last 10 games – a 3-0 friendly win over Malta in June – and have been the lesser side when it comes to possession in each of them.

Their five-at-the-back setup is likely to be in use once again tonight but it will not be at full strength as their will be several absentees.

Leeds United star Stuart Dallas did not travel to Lithuania with the side for personal reasons and will not return for the Switzerland clash.

Hearts forward Liam Boyce misses out for family reasons.

Corry Evans joins his brother Jonny on the sidelines after straining his hamstring and Josh Magennis has been replaced in the squad by Kyle Lafferty after picking up a knock.

Craig Cathcart is a doubt for the Lithuania fixture but Baraclough has said that he expects the Watford defender to play.

Morecombe loanee Alfie McCalmont, whose parent club is Leeds, has been called up from the under-21s.

Stephen Donnelly returns from a long-term injury while Sunderland’s Tom Flanagan has also joined up with the squad.

Midfielder George Saville will miss the game through suspension but will be available for the side’s match against Switzerland.

Leicester first-team coach Adam Sadler, who joined Baraclough’s staff this week, will not be with the side for the September internationals due to a family bereavement.

Lineups

Lithuania (4-2-3-1): Setkus; Baravykas, Utkas, Satkus, Slavickus; Verbickas, Megelaitis; Novikovas, Chernykh, Lasickas; Dubickas.

Subs: Gertmonas, Klimavicius, Gaspuitis, Dapkus, Uzela, Jankauskas, Tutyskinas, Kazlauskas, Plukas, Barauskas, Vorobjovas.

Northern Ireland (5-3-2): Peacock-Farrell; Smith, Cathcart, Ballard, Lewis, McNair; Davis (C), Thompson, McCann; Lavery, Washington.

Subs: Donnelly, Carson, Flanagan, McCalmont, Lafferty, McGinn, Brown, Jones, Whyte, Charles, Hazard.

 

Odds

Lithuania 10/3

Draw 2/1

Northern Ireland 19/20

Where To Watch

Lithuania v Northern Ireland will kick-off at 7:45 pm Irish Standard Time. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 7:30 pm.

Ireland Lead Zimbabwe Series As Stirling Hits Century

Ireland took a 2-1 lead in their T20 international series against Zimbabwe after a 40-run win over the side at Bready Cricket Club in Derry.

Paul Stirling’s first century in T20 international cricket came at a good time with his 115 pushing Ireland to victory against their visiting opponents.

The Belfast native took centre stage on a day when the second test’s Player of the Match, Kevin O’Brien failed to get up to speed.

Zimbabwe failed to muster a significant reply and they were dismissed for 138 in 18.2 overs.

The hosts rotated their side after their first win of the series in the previous test, making three changes in the form of Mark Adair, Joshua Little and debutant William McClintock who came in for Craig Young, Barry McCarthy and Harry Tector.

Ireland batted first but managed only 33 runs in the Powerplay, losing the wicket of O’Brien in the process.

Stirling, who opened with O’Brien, grew into the game and combined with captain Andrew Balbirnie to put up a 77-run stand.

Stirling reached a half-century for the 19th time in T20I cricket and continued his hot form when Balbirnie went out in the 16th over.

The 30-year-old reached his first century at this level after three sixes and a four in the 19th over against Tendai Chatara and went unbeaten on 115.

Ireland had turned their fortunes around from 60/1 at the halfway stage to 178/2 by the time they completed their overs.

Their bowlers stepped up to produce a tough challenge for the Zimbabwean batsmen, with Mark Adair being the pick of the bunch on his return to the side, posting 3-11.

The aggressive approach from the visitors did not pay off as captain Craig Ervine was the only player to score above 14 runs, putting 33 up for his side.

Ryan Burl managed to score 26 runs from 23 balls but the challenge of scoring 75 in the final 41 balls proved insurmountable and Zimbabwe were bowled out for 138.

Ireland will have the chance to wrap up the series on Thursday, September 2 at 3 pm when the two teams face off at Bready once again.

Ranking all of the Arsenal 2021 Summer signings

After what was nothing less than a dreadful season for Arsenal, they have spent big money in the transfer window to improve their luck

The Gunners have the highest net spend of any Premier League club this summer after Deadline Day.

Although the club has continued their bad form by losing their first three league games without scoring, Mikel Arteta will hope that some of these new players can turn their season around.

6. Nuno Tavares – €8 million

This was Arsenal’s first signing of the summer back in early July and it left most fans bewildered. The 21-year-old signed for a relatively small fee from Benfica and he has gone on to make two appearances in the league already.

Last season he only managed seven starts in the Portuguese league, providing no goal contributions. Arteta has clearly seen something he likes in the player but for now, he seems like more of a backup for Scotsman Kieren Tierney.

5. Ben White – €69 million

Arteta fiercely fought for the signing of White from Brighton & Hove Albion but after his first few games, it seems more like a panic buy. Arsenal have shown trouble at the back and going by his only game so far, the 23-year-old will not be the one to fix it.

It is clear that White has many years ahead of him and will probably play most of the remainder of Arsenal’s season but the main problem is the ludicrous price.

After a good season in the Championship and an alright one in the Premier League, Brighton managed to sell the player for twice what he is actually worth.

4. Aaron Ramsdale – €28 million

This was the transfer that Arteta hunted down the most in the transfer window. Ramsdale is still a young goalkeeper at the age of 23 but has already been a part of two relegated Premier League teams.

Although he was part of the Gunners win of the season – a thrashing of a West Brom reserve team in the EFL Cup – he does not seem worth his price tag.

Arsenal always had a decent keeper in Bernd Leno and it just seems that Ramsdale is costing more due to being English.

3. Albert Sambi Lokonga – €18 million

This signing has shown a slight bit of merit, Lokonga may have been in two of Arsenal’s opening losses but has shown to be a strong replacement for Granit Xhaka.

The 21-year-old started 27 times for Anderlecht last season and made five-goal contributions from a mainly defensive midfielder role.

The Belgian has also been praised by Premier League legend Vincent Kompany during his time in Anderlecht.

2. Takehiro Tomiyasu – €20 million

Here is another quality signing for a reasonable price. Tomiyasu signed from Italian midtable side Bologna on Deadline Day. He managed 31 starts for the club last year and three Olympic Games matches playing in every position in the backline.

What makes the deal sweeter is that they stole it from under the noses of their bitter rivals Tottenham at the last minute.

1. Martin Odegaard – €40 million

This is the biggest name / highest quality player that the Gunners managed to sign. Odegaard spent last season on loan at the club and Arteta loved every minute that the Norweigan spent on the field.

Signing from Real Madrid makes his price of €40 million more understandable. The main plus is that he has a lot of experience at the highest level for someone that is still only 22.

Only time will tell if any of these signings prove their worth and can pull Arsenal from the terrible rut they are in.

 

Republic of Ireland U17 Squad For Mexico Double Header Announced

The Republic of Ireland U17 squad for the Mexico double-header has been announced, with a 20-man squad chosen to represent the country in the two games.

The two games against Mexico will both take place at Turner’s Cross in Cork with the first game scheduled for Sunday, September 5.

The second game will be played two days later on Tuesday, September 7 – squad rotations are likely.

It will be the final two games for the U17s before the first round of UEFA Under-17 European Championship qualifiers which also take place in Cork in October.

600 fans each will be able to see the Mexico games live before the side start their qualification campaign.

Colin O’Brien’s youngsters face North Macedonia, Poland and Andorra in the first round of qualifiers.

Speaking ahead of the games against Mexico, O’Brien said: “To get this level of opposition is a real huge plus for us. Mexico is a real powerhouse at this age group if you research and examine their age groups in the past couple of years they’re a World Cup standard team and that will the standard over the two games we will be playing.

“It’s a very ‘home-based squad’ and it’s the first squad we’re going to see around the Brexit situation but the players are well into their season and we’ve done a lot of home-based assessments and training camps over the last few months and a lot of games watched.”

17 of the players called up by O’Brien play for clubs on the island of Ireland, including League of Ireland sides.

Three players play abroad – midfielder Rocco Vata is in Celtic’s youth system while forwards Caden McLoughlin and Kevin Zefi line out in Villarreal and Inter Milan’s colours respectively.

“We’ve 20 players ready to represent the Republic of Ireland Under-17s against high-level opposition so the players are going to be really tested here, both collectively and individually, and it will give them a good measure to where they’re at.”

Republic of Ireland Under-17 Squad

Goalkeepers: Fintan Doherty (Derry City), Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers)

Defenders: Luke Browne (Shelbourne), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Cathal Heffernan (Cork City), Ruadhan Kane (Klub Kildare), Daniel Kelly (Sligo Rovers), Luke O’Brien (St. Patrick’s Athletic)

Midfielders: Justin Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers), Gavin Hodgins (Shelbourne), Darius Lipsivc (St. Patrick’s Athletic), James McManus (Bohemians), Rocco Vata (Celtic)

Forwards: Trent Kone Doherty (Derry City), Mark O’Mahony (Cork City), Caden McLoughlin (Villareal), Liam Murray (Cork City), Alex Nolan (Shelbourne), Franco Umeh (Cork City), Kevin Zefi (Inter Milan)

Fixtures – International Friendlies (all times are Irish times)

Sunday, September 5 | Republic of Ireland U17 v Mexico U17, Turner’s Cross, Cork, KO: 7 pm
Tuesday, September 7 | Republic of Ireland U17 v Mexico U17, Turner’s Cross, Cork KO: 12 pm

Ireland – Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifier Schedule Confirmed

The Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifier scheduled has been confirmed by World Rugby, with Ireland set to play from Monday, September 13 to Saturday, September 25.

The tournament will be hosted in Parma with all games played at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – Zebre’s home ground.

Adam Griggs’ Ireland side will face off against hosts Italy, Scotland and Spain in a round-robin format.

The top team will secure a spot in Pool B at Rugby World Cup 2021, taking place in 2022, and the runner-up will enter the Final Qualification Tournament.

Ireland will begin their campaign against Spain on Monday 13th September at 5 pm Irish Standard Time.

They will then face Six Nations rivals Italy on Sunday 19th September at 2 pm and Scotland on Saturday 25th September at 5 pm.

Rugby World Cup 2021 Tournament Director, Alison Hughes, said: “We are delighted to confirm the match schedule and a highly qualified team of match officials for what promises to be three exciting and hotly contested match days in the Europe Qualifier as all four participating teams will be aiming to claim the prize of a place at Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.

“We continue to work in close partnership with the hosts and all participating unions to ensure we deliver a safe and secure event and give the players the opportunity to showcase their talents on the pitch.”

The match officials for the game have also been announced – Nikki O’Donnell (RFU) oversees Ireland’s opener against Spain in the first Test match between the sides since May 2008.

Hollie Davidson (SRU) will take charge of Ireland’s second game when they play Italy and Clara Munarini (FIR) will referee the final fixture for Adam Griggs’ team against Scotland.

Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifier Schedule:

Monday, 13th September:

Scotland v Italy 2 pm

Spain v Ireland 5 pm

Sunday, 19th September:

Italy v Ireland 2 pm

Spain v Scotland 5 pm

Saturday, 25th September:

Italy v Spain 2 pm

Ireland v Scotland 5 pm

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