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LOITV passes available to purchase

LOITV passes are now available to purchase ahead of the Premier & First Division season restart next Friday, June 11.

The Premier Division will join the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League on LOITV.ie.

A Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season costs €79.

A First Division Pass is available for €49, while all Women’s National League matches remain FREE, upon subscription.

The Premier Division matches will be broadcast via the clubs’ own production solutions including replays and multiple camera set-ups. Some First Division and WNL clubs will also have enhanced production.

Premier Division Supporters 
  • Premier Division supporters who have a season ticket with their Clubs that includes a Streaming Pass for the 2021 Season will be contacted with a new pass for LOITV
  • Former WATCHLOI customers are encouraged to subscribe to loitv.ie to get access to all the remaining Premier Division fixtures this season for just €79
First Division Supporters
  • All existing First Division LOITV Season Pass Holders will be contacted by the end of this week with details on how they can transfer their Pass to the new LOITV platform
Women’s National League Supporters
  • All existing Women’s National League LOITV Subscribers will be requested to re-register.

Brothers Japan and Mogul to contest Coral Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs

Full brothers Japan and Mogul will contest the £330,000 Coral Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs on Friday, the first day of the two-day Cazoo Derby Festival.

Both colts, trained by Aidan O’Brien for Coolmore partnerships, are the only Irish-trained horses declared for the 7-runner Group 1 contest.

The declared runners are as follows:

3:10pm £330,000 Coral Coronation Cup (Group 1)

(British Champions Series) 1m 4f 6y

1 Al Aasy (IRE) 4 9 0 William Haggas Shadwell Estate Company Ltd Jim Crowley

2 Highland Chief (IRE) ts, p 4 9 0 Paul & Oliver Cole Mrs Fitri Hay David Probert

3 Japan 5 9 0 Aidan O’Brien Ireland M Matsushima/D Smith/Mrs Magnier/M Tabor Ryan Moore

4 Mogul 4 9 0 Aidan O’Brien Ireland Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier Séamie Heffernan

5 Pyledriver 4 9 0 William Muir & Chris Grassick La Pyle Partnership Martin Dwyer

6 Albaflora 4 8 11 Ralph Beckett Miss K. Rausing Frankie Dettori

7 Alpinista 4 8 11 Sir Mark Prescott Bt Miss K. Rausing Luke Morris   NON-RUNNER

Abraham Papali’i gets four weeks suspension

Connacht Rugby fans were expecting a long ban for Abraham Papali’i who got his 3rd red card of the season last week. 

So the four-week ban coming down from six weeks will be seen as very fair, Connacht coach Andy Friend had expected a six-week ban.

In considering mitigation, the Judicial Officer found that, apart from a clean record, all mitigating features were present including the Player’s early and full admission, spontaneous apology to his opponent and his engagement with the process. As a consequence, the period of suspension was reduced by two weeks instead of three. The Player has been banned for a period of four weeks.

Abraham Papali’i of Connacht Rugby has been suspended for a period of four weeks after receiving a red card during the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup Round 4 fixture against Benetton on May 29, 2021.

Papali’I was shown a red card by referee Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR) under Law 9.13 – A Player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

The disciplinary process for the offence was presided over by Rhian Williams (WRU) who found that the foul play was reckless rather than intentional and noted that no injury was suffered by the opposing player. The Judicial Officer concluded that a mid-range offence had occurred, which carries a six-week suspension. In order to determine the extent of foul play, Hawk-eye footage, Referee Reports, Medical Reports and Player Reports were considered, as well as the Player’s response to the standing directions.

In applying the off-field considerations of aggravation and mitigation, the Player’s recent disciplinary record was seriously considered as an aggravating factor. However, in the Player’s responses, not only did he display a frank and honest recognition of his offending but also a serious commitment and determination to addressing it in practical terms so that no additional suspension was imposed.

Liverpool about to sign 34-goal Zambian striker

The 22-year-old forward, Patson Daka has been left out of Zambia’s international squad suggesting a move is on the cards, reports emerge that Liverpool are making a deal

Daka currently plays his football for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league with him getting 34 goals and 12 assists in 42 games.

The striker has previously been linked with West Ham and Liverpool with both sides wanting to secure his £25 million price tag.

According to African football expert, Hugo Zoff, Daka has been given time away from his international team so that he can decide his future.

Zoff said: “Daka, Mwepu and Kangwa have to decide on their next future, and it is just fair that they can make a decision that is in the best interests of the country.”

 

Daka is set not to play in next years African Cup of Nations which would help Liverpool’s chance as they will be missing Mohammad Salah and Sadio Mané for the month of February.

Liverpool have been known to sign former RB Salzburg players with midfielders Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino having played for the club before.

It would be hard to see Daka getting much game time in his first season at Liverpool with him competing for minutes with Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi and Diogo Jota.

With none of the three previously mentioned strikers scoring more than nine goals in the last two seasons, maybe it is time that Jurgen Klopp looks for a new goal threat.

Having played in the Champions League this year with Salzburg, Daka would want to continue playing at the highest level.

This could be given to him at Liverpool if he is willing to spend a little more time on the bench this season.

Three English giants in £86 million race to sign Barcelona teenager

Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all want to sign Ilaix Moriba from Barcelona with only one year left on his contract

The 18-year-old Moriba is a product of Barcelona’s famous la Masia youth academy and is very highly rated at the club.

Barcelona have been in financial trouble for the last few years and are unable to meet the demands of the young player to sign him to a long-term contract.

The Catalan giants may have to sell the player this summer instead of letting him go on a free next year to help keep star Lionel Messi at the club for longer.

Three of England’s ‘big six’ clubs have already shown some interest in signing the midfielder with Man City as the favourites after narrowly missing out on signing the player in 2019

The teenager contributed three goal involvements in 14 matches in Barcelona’s disappointing third place finish in the league but played three matches in their Copa del Rey victory.

The young Spaniard has shown to be a physical presence with the ability for neat dribbling, he seems to be as capable in a defensive position as he is at attacking.

Barcelona may have to accept less than his release clause of £86 million if they want to sell him this summer. 

Moriba would be a very interesting and eye-catching addition to any Premier League team looking to sign him.

Dressage legend Vancouver K is retired

Judy Reynolds has announced the retirement of her long-time partner Vancouver K, owned by her parents Joe and Kathleen.

Vancouver K is the greatest horse to represent Ireland on the international Dressage stage and has inspired a new generation of Irish Dressage riders with his record-breaking performances around the world.

Reynolds and the now 19-year-old Vancouver K, better known as JP, reached heights never before seen by an Irish Dressage combination. The pair represented Ireland in an Olympic Final, a World Championship Final, a European Championship Final and three World Cup Finals. Vancouver K regularly smashed Irish Dressage records. He currently holds all three Irish International record scores in Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle To Music.

A breath-taking performance of Vancouver K and Judy Reynolds at the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam was key to helping the Irish team to make history and qualify for the Olympic Games for the very first time. Though Vancouver K will not now compete in Tokyo, Ireland will still have a Dressage team at the Olympics.

Emotional Tribute

Speaking after announcing the retirement of Vancouver K, Judy Reynolds paid an emotional tribute to her horse of a lifetime:

“I know I have always said that JP would decide when it was time to retire but I’ve had to make that decision for him. This horse has more heart than anyone can imagine and at 19 he still tries to give me everything. I’ve decided that it’s time to stop asking. What a trip it’s been. A good horse can carry you all around the world and back again. 1 Olympic Final, 3 World Cup Finals, 1 WEG Final, 1 European Championship Final. A good record for any horse but a great one for a horse that many thought wasn’t good enough.

“Many people may ask why I’ve waited until now to make this decision but the fact is JP still wants to work. We have given him every chance to be able to perform on the world’s biggest stage one more time but alas it is not to be. It has been a massive team effort over the years to allow JP and I to perform, my Parents, Patrick, Libby, Johann, farrier Errol, my vets the late Dr Stihl, Dr Hülsey, Dr Beeke, Marcus & Davide and many many more people along the way. JP you legend.”

Vancouver K also scored major international wins at Achleiten and Fritzens-Schindlhof in Austria, Dortmund in Germany, and at Pennsylvania and New York in the USA.

Andorra 1 Republic of Ireland 4

Andorra 1 Republic of Ireland 4

Two goals from Troy Parrott saw the Republic of Ireland come from behind to clinch a 4-1 victory over Andorra at the Estadi Nacional on Thursday.

The result saw manager Stephen Kenny claim his first victory as Republic of Ireland boss, as two further goals from Jason Knight and Daryl Horgan ensured a comfortable first win for the Dubliner.

In a disappointing opening half, the Irish side produced only one decent chance when an excellent passing move saw a Josh Cullen’s cross finding James Collins, but the latter disappointingly sent his headed effort wide of the mark.

The home side took the lead on 51 minutes through Marc Vales, who rose highest of all to head home from a set-piece.

Parrott brace

Shortly afterwards a response came from Kenny’s side when 19-year-old Troy Parrott equalised on 58 minutes. With Parrott finding space, he drove at the Andorran defence, before turning to create space and then finding the bottom corner.

Three minutes later Parrott doubled his international goals tally. Conor Hourihane, advanced down the right side, dug out a cross to the far post and the keeper couldn’t keep out Parrott’s powerful downward header.

Ireland had found their groove at this point and would go on to score a further two goals in the final 10 minutes.

Substitute Daryl Horgan found an inch-perfect cross to Knight who deceived the defender at the back-post to tap home his first international goal six minutes from time.

Knight returned the favour four minutes later with a fantastic cross, this time from the right, found Horgan and his diving header found the net to round off an impressive victory.

Kenny happy with response

“We were disappointed with the first-half and to go behind, but the response from that point was really impressive,” said manager Stephen Kenny.

“I’m delighted for Troy. He has had a tough season but we believe in his talent and ability, and he took his two goals brilliantly which told us a lot about his character.

“Hungary will be a much tougher test so we’ll have to raise our performance levels for that match on Tuesday but we’re delighted to come away with a win.”

Andorra: 

12 Iker (GK) (13 Francisco Pires (GK) 76), 3 Marc Vales, 4 Marc Rebes (24 Christian Garcia 72), 8 Marcio Vieira (C), 10 Ludovic Clemente (2 Cristian Martinez 59), 14 Jordi Alaez, 15 Moises San Nicolas, 16 Alex Martinez (6 Ildefons Lima 76), 17 Joan Cervos, 19 Ricard Fernandez (9 Aaron Sanchez 59), 20 Max Llovera.

Subs not used: 1 Josep Gomes (GK), 5 Albert Alavedera, 7 Marc Pujol, 11 Sergi Moreno, 21 Marc Garcia, 22 Victor Bernat, 23 Eric De Pablos.

Republic of Ireland

1 Gavin Bazunu, 2 Matt Doherty, 20 Dara O’Shea (4 Shane Duffy 86), 5 John Egan, 11 James McClean (3 Ryan Manning 86), 6 Josh Cullen, 8 Conor Hourihane (12 Harry Arter 86), 10 Troy Parrott (18 Jamie McGrath 82), 7 Ronan Curtis (15 Daryl Horgan 66), 14 Jason Knight, 19 James Collins (9 Adam Idah 66).

Subs not used: 16 Caoimhin Kelleher (GK), 23 Mark Travers (GK), 17 Jayson Molumby, 21 Daniel Mandroiu, 22 Chiedozie Ogbene, 24 Lee O’Connor.

Ireland under-21s pick up impressive win over Australian Olympic side

An own goal and a late Ross Tierney winner helped Jim Crawford’s side to victory.

Ireland under-21s came out on top in Marbella this afternoon against the Australian Olympic (under-23s) side, securing a 2-1 win thanks to a late Ross Tierney winner.

There were six changes in the Ireland side after suffering a 2-0 loss to Switzerland’s under-21s last Sunday. Andy Lyons, Gavin Kilkenny, Conor Noß, Jonathan Afolabi, Will Ferry and Luca Connell all came into the starting XI having started on the bench in the previous fixture.

There wasn’t much to discuss from an Irish perspective in the first-half. The flow of the half was very much stop-start, but Australia undoubtedly had the better opportunities.

Panos Armenakas came closest in the first half, hitting the post from inside the box which would of surely been the opener had it been just a few inches to the right.

Australia had a handful of other half-chances, none of which truly troubled St Pat’s man Brian Maher in the Ireland goal.

The first-half ended scoreless in what was a scrappy encounter to that point.

Celtic striker Jonathan Afolabi looked isolated up front throughout the half which likely resulted in his substitution going into the second half, on came Rotherham United frontman JJ Kayode who had started against Switzerland.

Noticeable changes were immediate from the restart with Ireland playing with more intensity and urgency as well as looking more assured in possession of the ball.

Their new-found confidence paid off in the 57th minute as they got the opening. Australian defender Jay Rich put the ball into his own net after some good work from Ireland. The combination of Conor Noß’s dangerous low cross and JJ Kayode’s looming presence behind him forced the defender to stick out a leg which ended up in the back of the net.

Two of Ireland’s best players against Switzerland, Ryan Johansson and Tyreik Wright, came on for Gavin Kilkenny and Louie Watson just minutes later.

Johansson’s quality on the ball was immediately evident, but his work off the ball very well could have resulted in another Ireland goal. His pressing created momentary panic for the Australian ‘keeper but he managed to get it out of his feet just before Johansson could close in and potentially get his first goal for Ireland.

There was a water break around the 70-minute mark, and maybe one which Ireland could have done without. The Irish side switched off after the break and a lapse in concentration allowed Australia to steal the ball before Ramy Najjarine accurately placed the ball into the top left-hand corner, nothing Brian Maher could do about it.

Bohemians’ man Ross Tierney came on with just minutes left and his contribution would be telling. After some brilliant running down the left-flank and a pinpoint cross by Tyreik Wright, the Bohs’ man applied the finishing touches with a bullet header into the top of the net. It was Tierney’s first touch as an Ireland under-21 player, and what a touch it proved to be.

Ireland won the game 2-1 after Tierney’s late winner. Although just a friendly match, this result will give the under-21s confidence going into their final game against Denmark under-21s on Saturday.

Support pours out to Naomi Osaka over French Open withdrawal

Tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams have spoken out about their troubles with mental health and dealing with the press after Naomi Osaka pulled out of Open

The Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka, announced that she would be withdrawing from the French Open on the 31st of May due to struggles with her mental health through a post on Twitter.

Osaka chose to leave the tournament after she was fined $15,000 and told she may be banned if she did not complete her contractual obligation of speaking to journalists.

SUPPORT

A wave of support has been shown to world number two throughout social media and fellow tennis players have spoken on the issue in press conference interviews today.

American competitor, Venus Williams says: “How I deal with it is that I know every single person asking me a question can’t play as well as I can. And never will. So, no matter what you say, or what you write, you’ll never hold a candle to me.”

 

Grand Slams have since made a statement offering support to Osaka and pledged to improve the experience of players competing in their competitions.

Interestingly the tennis community seemed to be mixed after the 23-year-olds first decision to not partake in interviews but after her withdrawal, widespread encouragement has been shown for her standing up for her mental health.

The men’s world number one, Novak Djokovic has spoken about Osaka’s boldness and bravery in stepping away from the competition.

“I empathize with her and I understand her very well. I was on the wrong edge of the sword many times in my career. I support her; she was very brave to do that.”

 

14 uncapped players in latest Irish men’s Hockey squad

Irish men’s coach Mark Tumilty will kickstart a new era for the Green Machine next week as he looks set to hand 14 players their first taste of senior international hockey.
Ireland will face Scotland in an uncapped three-game series with games on June 10th, 12th and 13th at the recently redeveloped pitch at University of Ulster, Jordanstown.
These will be the first games for the side since October 2019’s Olympic qualifiers in Vancouver and it offers the side a chance to give new faces a chance to stake a claim for a place in Tumilty’s plans for the next cycle.
It comes ahead of a busy summer with the European Hockey Federation confirming on Monday the second tier of continental competition has been cleared to go ahead in Poland in August. There is also a potential World Cup qualifier in October on the horizon.
With this in mind, Tumilty has sought to significantly widen his playing options over the past nine months, working in regional hubs with a host of rising talent.
In defence, former Under-21 internationals Kyle Marshall, Mark Samuel and Matthew Walker and ex-Under-18 star Fergus Gibson included along with Mark McNellis. The uncapped midfielders are Lisnagarvey Jonny Lynch and YMCA’s Sam Hyland while the forward line is augmented by newcomers Troy Chambers, Simon Wolfe, Ollie Kidd, Ian Stewart, Ben Nelson and Conor Empey.
James Milliken completes the uncapped group having previously been part of the panel that went to Vancouver in 2019.
They are joined by 11 more senior players and Tumilty is excited by what the future holds,
“We have a very young group, an exciting group and one that has worked extremely hard over the last year,” he said.
“We need to be patient with these players. There will be ups and downs and challenges along the way but I definitely think there is talent to work with. I also feel it is a great opportunity for the players who have been involved for a period of time to have a much greater influence on the team”
The coach has also been pleased to formalise his coaching staff in recent weeks. Eoin Cunniffe has been installed as physical performance lead for the side while Neill Irwin will be the team manager and nutritionist. The latter will dovetail that role with his work with the all-conquering Dublin senior footballers.
“Eoin co-ordinates the support side of the staff, the physios, the S&C and so on. He has done really well in developing the players physically. I felt this was a key area in which we needed to be much better, so I look forward to seeing how the improvement made here enable us to play a more aggressive and attacking style of play.
“Neill has made good progress in educating the players of the importance of nutrition and how it can enhance their performance. The players have engaged extremely well with him.
“For Neill, he is also involved with Dublin GAA as a nutritionist which gives him a great understanding of high performance and has been involved with a very successful and professional environment.
“Neil has also taken on the important role as manager. Ross Willis was added this week as video analyst, so it is great to finally have the management team in place now as we work towards the Euro’s and hopefully WCQ.”
Ireland men’s panel for Scotland series – Jordanstown; Thursday, June 10th to Sunday, June 13th (club, caps): Jamie Carr (KHC Leuven, 36), James Milliken (Lisnagarvey, 0), Mark Ingram (Pembroke, 26); Kyle Marshall (Beeston, 0), Mark Samuel (UCD, 0), Matthew Walker (YMCA, 0), Peter McKibbin (Lisnagarvey, 1), Fergus Gibson (Loughborough Students, 0), Sam O’Connor (Glenanne, 14), Tim Cross (Annadale, 8), Lee Cole (Monkstown, 89), Mark McNellis (Lisnagarvey, 0); Sean Murray (KHC Leuven, 78), Jonny Lynch (Lisnagarvey, 0), Neal Glassey (Crefelder HTC, 61), Daragh Walsh (Three Rock Rovers, 51), Sam Hyland (YMCA, 0), Michael Robson (Annadale, 113); Troy Chambers (Lisnagarvey, 0), Simon Wolfe (Cork C of I, 0), Ollie Kidd (Lisnagarvey, 0), Ian Stewart (Corinthian, 0), Conor Empey (UCD, 0), Ben Nelson (Lisnagarvey, 0), Ben Walker (Three Rock Rovers, 35), Jonny McKee (Crefelder HTC, 43)
Fixture schedule
Thursday, June 10th: Ireland v Scotland, 7pm, Jordanstown
Saturday, June 12th: Ireland v Scotland, 5pm, Jordanstown

Sunday, Sunday 13th: Ireland v Scotland, 11am, Jordanstown

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