Football – Mayo v Galway – Starting News, Live Scores, Betting; TV Coverage

Connacht Senior Football Championship Final – Mayo v Galway – Croke Park -1. 30 pm – RTE

Click here for live scores on Galway v Mayo

Mayo will go head to head with Galway at Croke Park in Dublin this coming Sunday at 1.30 pm in the Connacht Senior Football Championship Final live on RTÉ.

In their last outing, Mayo thrashed Leitrim in the semi-finals of the Connacht championship. Winning by 5-20 (35) to 0-11 (11) in a 24-point winning margin at MacHale Park in Castlebar.

Now, the Connacht Senior Football Championship Final – Mayo v Galway will be live on RTÉ 2 as part of a double header.

Throughout their league campaign, Mayo has been on tip-top form, after their shock relegation. They have bounced back to Division 1 in style.

Since their promotion, James Horan’s side has steamrolled through their provincial rivals, stomping Sligo by 20 points in the quarter-final and them Leitrim in the semi’s.

They now face a rejuvenated Galway side, who are coming into this game on a high after toppling Roscommon at Dr Hyde Park with a score of 0-12 (12) to 2-11 (17) to book their place in Sunday’s final.

This will be Galway’s fourth consecutive Connacht final, winning only one title in those final appearances.

Their opponents, Mayo, will compete in their first back-to-back Connacht finals after completing a historic five-in-a-row from 2011 to 2015. Four of which were under James Horan’s management.

Both counties are the dominant force in their province, with a combined total of 93 titles between the two rivals, with Mayo winning one more title (47) to Galway’s (46) to make them Connacht’s most successful team.

This final will be a repeat of last years Connacht decider where Mayo prevailed to reclaim their first title since 2015, in a 0-14 to 0-13 victory at Pearse Stadium in Galway.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Looking at both team’s, they do possess a lot of advantages and disadvantages coming into this game.

Many questions have been asked of Mayo’s firepower going forward without their talisman Cillian O’Connor after the Ballintubber man suffered an Achilles injury against Clare. Since then Mayo has scored a combined total of 8-43 (67 points) in their past two games.

Now, this is more than likely down to the poor level of quality faced, but with Tommy Conroy and Ryan O’Donoghue improving game by game, and with the addition of Aidan O’Shea in the full-forward line, he has shown in the past that he can cause damage if given the proper service.

The Tribesmen on the other hand lack that winning mentality, even if they do beat Mayo on Sunday, come to the big games in the All-Ireland they often fail to impress. Only reaching the semi-final of the All-Ireland once (2018) since their last All-Ireland victory back in 2001.

Conclusion

On any given day, Galway can beat Mayo, especially this Mayo side who are still in a transitional phase.

Mayo will be more than confident in getting one over their rivals for the second year in a row and with their forward line looking sharp if Galway does overcome this Mayo side, they will be darkhorse’s for the remainder of the championship season.

All in all, I see James Horan’s side coming out winners in this one. Looking sharper in their past two games, and seemingly wanting to prove they can compete in O’Connor’s absence, claiming a 48th Connacht title will set up a mouth-watering tie against Dublin.

Prediction: Mayo by 5 points

Starting Teams

Mayo

Galway

Betting

Mayo: 4/6

Galway: 13/8

Draw: 15/2

Michelle O’Neill is first Irish referee to officiate at Olympics

Wexford’s Michelle O’Neill is making history as she becomes the first Irish referee to officiate at the Olympic Games. She is one of 99 match officials from 51 countries who will take charge for the men’s and women’s Olympic football tournaments.

Michelle, who was an assistant referee for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final between the USA and Holland in Lyon, said of her appointment.

“I am absolutely over the moon, thrilled to bits. It is such an honour for me to represent Ireland out in Tokyo this year at the Olympics Games. Even saying that in the one sentence, I still have to pinch myself. What an honour to be representing Irish referees and Irish football in Japan,” Michelle told FAI TV.

“The World Cup final is the biggest honour that you can get as a referee but the Olympics tournament is something extra special. I am so honoured to be going to Tokyo.”

Irish referee Michelle O’Neill prepares to make Olympic history at Tokyo Games.

Video courtesy of FAI TV.

Darren Clarke three behind Stephen Dodd at The Senior Open

Stephen Dodd posted an eight under par round of 62 to tie the lowest round in the history of The Senior Open. As a result, the Welshman will head into the final day with a two-stroke lead at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Half-way leader Darren Clarke is three shots behind the leader, after carding a 70 on Saturday. In between is American Jerry Kelly, whose 68 today puts him a shot ahead of Clarke and two behind Dodd.

“I suppose I got lucky once or twice”

Dodd leads on 11 under par after a scintillating third round. He signed for nine birdies and just a single dropped shot.

Commenting on his round Dodd said:

“Well, after yesterday, I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen today because it was pretty poor yesterday. So good night’s sleep, I suppose I got lucky once or twice early on. They weren’t very good shots, but it went close, and I started to hit some good shots in the back nine.”

Dodd’s history equalling effort sees him join South African Harold Henning and American Jim Colbert as holders of the lowest Senior Open rounds. Both posted eight under par rounds of 62 at Turnberry Resort in 1990 and 2003 respectively. The 55-year-old also tied Sunningdale’s Old Course record which was set by Nick Faldo at the 1986 European Open and tied by Shane Lowry in 2010 Open Qualifying.

Former Senior Open winners in contention

One stroke behind Darren Clarke are a trio of past Senior Open winners in defending champion Bernhard Langer, 2016 winner Paul Broadhurst and 2018 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez.

South Africa’s Ernie Els sits five shots off the lead in seventh place on six under par and still with a chance of picking up his first Senior Major Championship to add to his two Claret Jugs and two U.S. Open titles.

Round three select scores

199 S DODD (WAL) 66 71 62,
201 J KELLY (USA) 67 66 68,
202 D CLARKE 65 67 70,
203 M JIMÉNEZ (ESP) 69 67 67, P BROADHURST (ENG) 69 65 69, B LANGER (GER) 66 67 70,
204 E ELS (RSA) 67 67 70,
205 Y TSUKADA (JPN) 71 65 69,
206 W SHORT JR (USA) 67 70 69, R GONZALEZ (ARG) 66 71 69, J SANDELIN (SWE) 69 67 70,
207 T LEHMAN (USA) 68 71 68, D SHACKLADY (ENG) 69 68 70.
208 C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 68 72 68, J REMESY (FRA) 68 69 71, I WOOSNAM (WAL) 68 68 72.
209 A CEJKA (GER) 71 71 67, R BEEM (USA) 71 70 68, P BAKER (ENG) 73 68 68, G DAY (USA) 75 65 69, M GOGEL (USA) 68 72 69, P WILSON (ENG) 68 71 70, J KINGSTON (RSA) 65 74 70, P PRICE (WAL) 67 72 70, M MARTIN (ESP) 70 67 72, T BJORN (DEN) 68 69 72,
210 P GOLDING (ENG) 71 70 69, B SOWARDS (USA) 71 69 70, T PERNICE JR (USA) 70 68 72, P FOWLER (AUS) 67 70 73.

215 A RAITT (ENG) 71 74 70, C WILLIAMS (RSA) 72 73 70, D GILFORD (ENG) 73 72 70, S MICHEEL (USA) 69 75 71, M MOULAND (WAL) 72 71 72, P MCGINLEY 69 73 73, T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 72 70 73, P EALES (ENG) 69 70 76.

Rhys McClenaghan is first Irish gymnast to make Olympic final

Rhys McClenaghan today became the first Irish gymnast to qualify for an Olympic final.

Following his incredible performance on the Pommel Horse earlier today, McClenaghan had a long wait for the completion of the three subdivisions to receive the exciting news.

McClenaghan sat comfortably in 1^st place throughout the first and second subdivision with the hopes of qualification set firmly in his sight.

After the day’s competition, McClenaghan finished in joint 2^nd place alongside Kohei Kameyama of Japan, on a score of 15.266.

Gymnasts are judged on a combination of Difficulty (D) & Execution (E) for their performance and both gymnasts were awarded the same score as Taiwan’s Chih Kai Lee in 1^st place.

Lee was declared the winner by achieving a higher execution mark. He was awarded 6.400 for Difficulty (D) and 8.866 for Execution (E). He beat both McClenaghan’s and Kameyama’s Execution (E) mark of 8.766. The runners-up were awarded 6.500 for Difficulty (D).

“I am so proud to be the first Irish gymnast to make an Olympic final,”McClenaghan stated. “I am looking forward to going out and representing Team Ireland once again.”

Meanwhile, the Irish women’s hockey team beat South Africa 2-0 in their Olympic opener today. Read the report here.

Ireland 2 South Africa 0 in Olympic hockey opener

Ireland 2 (R Upton, S Torrans) South Africa 0

Ireland made a dream perfect start in the women’s Olympic hockey team as they beat South Africa at the Oi Stadium.

Róisín Upton’s powerful low drag-flick in the ninth minute meant they held the lead from the outset. The eventually doubled their lead before the end of the third quarter via Sarah Torrans.

Reaction

“You could see the smiles when we walked out,” Torrans said after the win, scoring in what was her first senior ranking tournament game.

“It was just fun; it was a long day waiting to get out on the pitch and it still feels so surreal. To do it with this group of girls is incredible It is just a pity we can’t do it with family and friends but hopefully we are doing them proud. It is nice to get on the score sheet in the first game; it is what an attacker dreams of and hopefully we can bring that into the next few games.

“Netherlands next, the best in the world. It’s always a fun game but we will come out fighting.”

Ireland got off to a fast start with Torrans and Nicci Daly storming down the right flank. Deirdre Duke’s trickery duly earned the first penalty corner of the match which Upton duly whipped into the left corner past the stick of Phumelela Mbande.

After that, it was a case of when rather than if Ireland would score again as they held the vast majority of the play against South Africa, the lowest ranked side in the tournament at number 16.

Three more corner chances came and went in the first half while Naomi Carroll pinged the post with a rasping shot from close range.

The African champions showed their threat in fits and starts with Nomnikelo Veto the danger player.

It was the Green Army who always looked the more likely to push on. Torrans missed out from a great chance created by Katie Mullan’s driving run and diagonal ball into the danger zone. Anna O’Flanagan also stung the pads of the goalkeeper and Sarah Hawkshaw chipped one over.

The insurance goal eventually arrived in the 44^th minute when Loreto team mates Hannah Matthews and Torrans connected. The former provided the pace on the ball into the circle which saw the ball deflected high in the air and Torrans instinctively batted down and into the net.

After that, there were further corner chances which went incomplete but goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran never looked unduly troubled in a composed defensive outing. Matthews was denied a third by Mbande’s brilliant diving stop but Ireland content to win 2-0.

Ireland next meet the Netherlands on Monday morning (2am Irish time). The Dutch eased to a 5-1 win over India with four second half goals.

Teams

Ireland: A McFerran, C Watkins, S Torrans, R Upton, H McLoughlin, D Duke, K Mullan, S Hawkshaw, L Tice, S McAuley, A O’Flanagan

Subs: H Matthews, N Daly, S McCay, N Carroll, L Holden

South Africa: P Mbande, C Seerane, N Walraven, K Paton, R Johnson, O Zulu, L-M Deetlefs, E Hunter, L du Plessis, Q Bobbs, T Glasby

Subs: E Molikoe, T Mallett, N Veto, C Maddocks, L Mahole

Umpires: E Yamada (JPN), K Hudson (NZL)

Heike Holstein and Sambuca first Irish equestrians in Olympic action

Heike Holsten and her Irish-bred mare Sambuca will be the first Irish equestrian combination in action. They begin their Olympic campaign at 9.36 am Irish time on Sunday morning.

The pair will compete in the Dressage competition at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Sixty competitors that take part in the opening Grand Prix. The top 18 will qualify for the individual final on Wednesday, July 28th.

Eventing

The Irish Eventing team is Sam Watson, Cathal Daniels, Sarah Ennis and Austin O’Connor (reserve). They will get their Olympic campaign underway on Friday, July 30th, with the opening Dressage phase. Next, the Cross Country takes place on Sunday, August 1st. The Eventing team and individual Olympic medals will be decided after the jumping phase on Monday, August 2nd.

Showjumping

The Irish Show Jumping team arrive in Tokyo hoping to challenge for the team gold medal. The team of Bertram Allen, Darragh Kenny, Cian O’Connor and Shane Sweetnam (reserve) will first compete in the individual competition on Tuesday, August 3rd.

Thirty of the 75 starters are set to qualify for the individual final on Wednesday, August 4th. The first round of the Show Jumping team competition takes place on Friday, August 6th, with 10 of the 20 teams looking to book a place in the team final on Saturday, August 7th.

Hurling Preview: Waterford v Galway – Live Score & Team News

Here is all everything you will need to know ahead of Saturday’s senior hurling Round 2 qualifier between Waterford and Galway

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON WATERFORD v GALWAY HURLING

The match will throw in at 14:00 on Saturday, 24^th July in the Semple Stadium, Tipperary. Sky Sport Arena will also be televising the match for those who are stuck at home.

Waterford reached this point after losing to a Tony Kelly inspired Clare, they since narrowly knocked out Laois in round one to put them back on form.

Other the other side of the coin, Galway found themselves in the qualifiers after being stunned in a four-point defeat to Dublin.

This match could prove to be a battle between two current county legends, Austin Gleeson and Joe Canning. It will be interesting to see who has the greater attacking threat for their side and who can be nullified.

These two last faced each other in the Hurling League in early June. Galway won the tie scoring 4-28 to Waterford’s 3-23; let’s hope this game is just as exciting.

That moment today @JoeyCan88 scored from the sideline . #Magic #GalvWat #GAA #GalwayvWaterford pic.twitter.com/rZ7bbidc17

— Jack Murray (@mediamurray) September 3, 2017

Starting 15

Waterford
Shaun O’Brien; Conor Gleeson, Conor Prunty, Ian Kenny; Calum Lyons, Shane Bennett, Kieran Bennett; Jamie Barron, Peter Hogan; Jack Fagan, Jack Prendergast, Stephen Bennett; Dessie Hutchinson, Austin Gleeson, Patrick Curran.

Subs: Billy Nolan, Shane McNulty, Darragh Lyons, Billy Power, Shane Fives, Michael Kiely, Neil Montgomery, Jake Dillon, Colin Dunford, Kevin Moran, Mikey Kearney

Galway

Darach Fahy; Shane Cooney, Gearoid McInerney, Darren Morrissey; Padraic Mannion, Daithi Burke, Aidan Harte; Sean Loftus, Cathal Mannion; Joseph Cooney, Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney; Sean Linnane, Joe Canning, Brian Concannon.

Subs: Mark Fahy, Jack Fitzpatrick, TJ Brennan, Adrian Tuohy, Fintan Burke, David Burke, Johnny Coen, Niall Burke, Evan Niland, Jason Flynn, Kevin Cooney.

That was too close for comfort for #Waterford vs #Laois, a fresh addition to the list of major hurling counties @CharlieFlanagan. That was one of the closest 5-point game I’ve ever watched. pic.twitter.com/EgJS5nYwUK

— Daniel Mulhall (@DanMulhall) July 17, 2021

Betting

Galway are the bookies’ favourites with odds of 4/9.

A draw has odds of 10/1.

Waterford are still given a good chance by the bookmakers with odds of 2/1 to win.

Predicted Score

After their shock in the Leinster championship, expect Galway to come out and prove a point. They won’t be as lazy and lack lustre, they will want to win.

This still young Waterford side has shown their quality but it will be hard to see them dealing with the Tribesmen firing on all cylinders.

Expect to see Galway having the cutting edge to win this game by three or more scores.

HURLING: @Galway_GAA will take on @WaterfordGAA this Saturday at Semple Stadium in Round 2 of the All-Ireland hurling championship qualifiers.

Throw-in at Thurles is 2pm.

Clare face Cork in the other game at 4.30pm in the LIT Gaelic Grounds. #gbfmsports pic.twitter.com/hSltA8mfRR

— Galway Bay FM Sport (@gbfmsports) July 19, 2021

Irish U21 Show Jumping team wins silver medal at European Championships

The Irish U21 Show Jumping team won a silver medal at the 2021 FEI European Championships in Vilamoura on Friday.

The Irish team was made up of Kayleigh Soden (Ard Leaderman), Jack Ryan (BBS McGregor (ISH), Seán Monaghan (Dalvaro), Harry Allen (Guinness) and Jason Foley (Clyde VA).

The Liam Buckley-managed Irish team finished on a three-round total of 23.56 penalties. Belgium won the team gold on 21.35 while the bronze medal went to Britain on 28.72.

Two Irish riders remain in contention for medals heading into Sunday’s individual final. Wexford’s Harry Allen is in fifth just one place ahead of Kilkenny’s Jack Ryan in sixth.

Irish U18 (Junior) team of Max Wachman, Caragh Charlton, Francis Derwin and Tom Wachman finished fifth of 20 teams in their team final.

Tom Wachman lies in the gold medal position with the Lady Bamford-owned HHS Fireball going into the U18 individual final on Saturday.

Darren Clarke leads The Senior Open at the halfway stage

Four birdies in his final six holes saw Darren Clarke take a one-stroke lead into the third round of The Senior Open at Sunningdale Golf Club.

The Dungannon golfer added a three under par round of 67 to his opening 65 to reach eight under par. He is one stroke ahead of defending champion Bernhard Langer and American Jerry Kelly on seven under par.

Good round 2 start

The 2011 Champion Golfer of the Year started well with birdies at the first and the third. Three bogeys in a row from the sixth threatened to derail his round. He quickly bounced back with five birdies and only a single dropped shot in his final ten holes.

“I got a couple of birdies on the first three holes and made some poor swings,” Clarke admitted. “Pleased that I finished on 8-under because the wind was swirling about a little bit,” he added.

“It would be huge to win,” conceded the Tyrone man. “But you know, we’re all long enough in the tooth to know this is only two rounds and a lot of golf to be played yet. I would love to have this trophy sitting beside the Claret Jug. Got to go work on some iron play, my iron play wasn’t there especially around the front nine today but other than that drove the ball well. Really in the mix come Sunday afternoon and would love to improve.”

Big names in chasing pack

Clarke’s playing partner Ernie Els shares fourth place with two-time Senior Major Champion Paul Broadhurst on six under par. The Englishman’s five under 65 the joint-low round of the day.

Four players share sixth place on four under par including 1991 Masters Champion Ian Woosnam, 2018 Senior Open winner Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin and Japan’s Yoshinobu Tsukada.

The cut fell at five over par, with 79 players surviving to compete over the weekend in Berkshire.

Round two select scores

132 D CLARKE 65 67,
133 J KELLY (USA) 67 66, B LANGER (GER) 66 67,
134 E ELS (RSA) 67 67, P BROADHURST (ENG) 69 65,
136 I WOOSNAM (WAL) 68 68, M JIM?NEZ (ESP) 69 67, J SANDELIN (SWE) 69 67, Y TSUKADA (JPN) 71 65,
137 P FOWLER (AUS) 67 70, J REMESY (FRA) 68 69, T BJ?RN (DEN) 68 69, D SHACKLADY (ENG) 69 68, R GONZALEZ (ARG) 66 71, S DODD (WAL) 66 71, M MARTIN (ESP) 70 67, W SHORT JR (USA) 67 70,
138 T PERNICE JR (USA) 70 68, W CHAPMAN (USA) 70 68,
139 P PRICE (WAL) 67 72, J KINGSTON (RSA) 65 74, P EALES (ENG) 69 70, P WILSON (ENG) 68 71, T LEHMAN (USA) 68 71, W AUSTIN (USA) 69 70, J COCERES (ARG) 67 72,
140 C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 68 72, M MOLINA (ARG) 73 67, J CARRILES (ESP) 71 69, G ORR (SCO) 70 70, M GOGEL (USA) 68 72, K TANIGAWA (USA) 70 70, G DAY (USA) 75 65, B SOWARDS (USA) 71 69,
141 R CHAPMAN (ENG) 71 70, P BAKER (ENG) 73 68, D PRIDE (USA) 68 73, F QUINN (USA) 71 70, D COPSEY (ENG) 69 72, R BEEM (USA) 71 70, P GOLDING (ENG) 71 70,
142 M RIDLEY (ENG) 70 72, R ALLENBY (AUS) 67 75, T LEVET (FRA) 68 74, C WHITELAW (RSA) 73 69, S HENDERSON (SCO) 70 72, T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 72 70, S KENDALL (USA) 73 69, P MCGINLEY 69 73, A CEJKA (GER) 71 71, J FURYK (USA) 70 72,

EDGA tournaments over three weekends

Eight players from seven countries have been confirmed for the EDGA Cazoo Open.

The first of five 36-hole tournaments forming the 2021 EDGA European Tour that will run alongside the Cazoo Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales from July 24-25.

Daphne Van Outen

Daphne van Houten of Holland will tee it up at the inaugural event becoming the first female golfer to participate competitively in the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) initiative. The competition takes place under the umbrella of the European Tour’s Golf For Good initiative – the Tour’s overarching Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

The 22-year-old was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition which causes a sideways curvature of the spine, at age 12. She made the decision to have corrective surgery at age 17. In 2018, she became the European Golf Association’s Champion Women Golfer with Disability, winning the title at her first attempt.

She is the highest-ranked female player on the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), currently tenth.

“I have done a lot of amazing things with EDGA, playing in Australia, playing here with the European Tour and I played in the Diversity Cup ahead of the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in 2019,” said van Houten. “I’ve done a lot because of EDGA.

“Golf has always been a part of my life. After my operation they told me I wouldn’t be able to play golf for a year. I worked hard and shortened that to just two weeks. You can achieve anything if you have a passion for it and want to do it.”

Tournaments over next three weekends

Golfers taken from the WR4GD will have the opportunity to tackle the same course set-up as the European Tour professionals. The remaining three qualifying tournaments taking place over the weekends of the next successive European Tour events in Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Each player will participate in two back-to-back tournaments with the entry lists finalised for the EDGA Cazoo Open at The Celtic Manor Resort and the ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor from July 31 – August 1. It will be hosted at Massereene (Saturday) and Galgorm Castle (Sunday), Co Antrim.

The top four players from each group of two tournaments qualify for the returning EDGA Dubai Finale. The fifth and final EDGA European Tour event of 2021 will be held alongside the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Friday and Saturday (November 19-20).

Scoring for all five EDGA tournaments will feature on the European Tour’s website and App for fans to follow. The tournament world feed broadcast will also feature updates across the weekend.

Entry List – 2021 EDGA Cazoo Open and ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor
Kenny Bontz (USA)
Felix Norman (SWE)
Tomasso Perrino (ITA)
Brendan Lawlor (IRE)
Ryan Brendan (USA)
Daphne van Houten (NED)
Mike Browne (ENG)
Timo Klischan (GER)