Italy qualify, undefeated Irish face tough games on Nov. 14, 18

If the chance to record one of the most storied wins in the history of Irish soccer slipped away in those closing seconds, the net result remains the same. Even though the Italians play Cyprus and Ireland take on Montenegro later today (Wednesday) in the last matches of Group Eight, the die is already cast.
Italy have topped the group and are on their way to next year’s World Cup while coach Giovanni Trapattoni and his Irish squad are now destined for a play-off to determine if they can also reach those 2010 finals in South Africa.
Although the eight countries who go forward to the play-offs have yet to be officially determined, Ireland, France, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are through, and are likely to be joined by Portugal, Greece, Ukraine and Slovenia if results go as predicted.
And as FIFA in its wisdom has decided to seed the play-offs on the basis of the world rankings, the Irish, as one of the lesser ranked teams, will probably come up against either France, Russia, Portugal or Greece.
Asked who he would like to meet, Trapattoni joked that he wanted simply to get “a team we can win against”. After drawing twice with Italy during the qualification, he added that there was no need to fear any of the possible opponents.
“We must not be presumptuous, though. With the right attitude we can have confidence about the next opponent. We have shown that we can play against anyone. We still have to rectify some little situations, but we know our qualities. Our strength is our attitude. We don’t have a Platini or a Ronaldo, but we have a good compact team.”
Ireland mightn’t have been good or compact for the full 90 minutes last Saturday, yet it was another gritty performance that surely bodes well for the play-offs. Even without the injured Damien Duff – Liam Lawrence got the vote on the right wing in his place – they were on the verge of a prized result until those old defensive frailties let them down once again.
Glenn Whelan opened the scoring with a superbly taken goal after just eight minutes. Lawrence slid a free kick across the face of the penalty area in a training ground move, and with no defender moving out to challenge Whelan, the midfielder struck a perfect right-footed shot in the top corner past Gianluigi Buffon.
Although the Irish tended to give the ball away too frequently, Aiden McGeady’s tricky footwork on the left, allied to the hard graft of Keith Andrews and Whelan, frustrated Italy until Mauro Camoranesi took advantage of some slack marking to head home the equaliser from an Andrea Pirlo corner on 26 minutes.
Not surprisingly, the Italians had the better of the second half, but with John O’Shea and Sean St Ledger performing impressively in defence, a draw appeared to be the most likely outcome. Then with just four minutes remaining, St Ledger got his head on the end of a beautifully-flighted Stephen Hunt free kick to dramatically give Ireland the lead against the run of play.
However, with O’Shea out of position, and St Ledger caught ball watching, Giraldino finished off a fast break when he sidefooted Vincenzo Iaquinta’s low cross past Shay Given.
Although the Irish players sank to their knees in despair, a draw was probably the right result in the circumstances. Another draw, this time for the play-offs, takes place on Monday with the home and away games scheduled for 14 and 18 November.

Set hed:

Ulster salvage Irish pride

THERE were contrasting fortunes for the three main provinces as rugby’s European Cup got under way last weekend. Holders Leinster lost at home to London Irish, pre-tournament favorites, Munster, were beaten on the road by English club Northampton, but Ulster managed to salvage some Irish pride with a valuable home win over Bath.
If Leinster had justifiable complaints about the performance of French referee, Romain Poite, at the RDS, it was largely their own fault that they failed to secure even a draw against London Irish. In the end, it finished 12-9 to the visitors after Leinster had dominated the first half.
Frustratingly, Leinster gave away an incredibly soft penalty in the last minute which Ryan Lamb kicked from 45 meters, but then in the dying seconds they had a chance to make the honors even only for Eoin Reddan to inexplicably kick the ball away close to the London Irish line.
“That performance was not of the required intensity,” said captain, Leo Cullen. “We have the character to atone for this defeat, but the result has hurt us because we pride ourselves on our home record.” Leinster now travel to Brive in France on Saturday knowing that another defeat would almost certainly scupper their chances of reaching the knockout stages.
For much of their game in Northampton an off-color Munster looked down and out, however, they managed to finish strongly to gain a losing bonus point in a 31-27 defeat.
On the back of a recent 30-0 drubbing by Leinster, Munster were in dire need of a good performance, but they still do not look like the team which was regarded as favorites to win the trophy for a third time. At one stage, Northampton led by 28-14 and it seemed as if they would win comfortably, and yet Munster somehow summoned up the will for a late surge which could almost unbelievably have seen them snatch the victory.
David Wallace and Tomas O’Leary scored tries, Ronan O’Gara kicked 14 points and Paul Warwick landed a drop goal. Munster should get back to winning ways when they play Italian side Treviso in Limerick on Saturday.
Ulster, meanwhile, got off to the ideal start with a convincing 26-12 win over Bath at Ravenhill. Man of the match, Willie Faloon, and wing Timoci Nagusa scored tries while Ian Humphreys kicked 16 points in what was an impressive opening to the campaign.
Even if last Friday’s facile 46-6 victory over a weak Olympus Madrid side at the Sportsground in the opening round of the European Challenge Cup can’t be judged as a barometer of Connacht’s well-being, it was still a morale-booster after what has been a difficult start to the season for the western province.
Eight tries, with two apiece for Michael Swift and Fionn Carr, a bonus point, and job done. It’s now on to France and Montpellier where the real business of the tournament begins.

Newtownshandrum
win title in style

ALTHOUGH Newtownshandrum have been an undoubted force in Cork club hurling for several years now, last Sunday’s emphatic 3-22 to 1-12 county final win over Sarsfields at Pairc Ui Chaoimh was one of their greatest performances.
Leading by 0-10 to 0-9 at the break after playing into a stiff breeze, Newtownshandrum went on to secure a fourth title with a magnificent second-half display. The O’Connor brothers, Ben and Jerry, hit 1-9 between them while Cathal Naughton and Pat Mulcahy were also outstanding.
A superb personal total of 3-4 by corner forward Nicky Kirwan was the key as Oulart-the-Ballagh held off the challenge of Buffers Alley to take the Wexford title with a 3-12 to 1-13 victory at Wexford Park.
Meanwhile, Paul Flynn was yet again the savior as his injury-time free earned Ballygunner a 4-12 to 2-18 draw with Lismore in the Waterford decider at Walsh Park. Flynn’s haul of 1-9, with 1-7 from placed balls, kept Ballygunner in the game, but Lismore, who were in search of a first title since 1993, had Maurice Shanahan to thank for his fine total of 0-11.
Clough Ballacolla ended a 91-year wait for a first Laois title since 1918 when they defeated Portlaoise by 2-13 to 1-10 in a surprise result at O’Moore Park. In Kildare, two late scores by Billy White sealed the win for Celbridge by 0-18 to 0-16 over Coill Dubh, while the Roscommon title went to Four Roads who got the better of Oran by 2-15 to 2-4 at Athleague.
Wolfe Tones Mostrim put in a powerful finish to take the Longford crown with a 1-16 to 1-6 win over Clonguish at Pearse Park, and Ballyhaunis made it three Mayo titles in succession thanks to 2-9 to 1-7 win against Tooreen at McHale Park.
In Carlow, Mount Leinster Rangers staved off a late challenge by Erin’s Own before coming through by 1-13 to 1-11, while the Leitrim title went to St Mary’s of Carrick on Shane who defeated Glencar/Manorhamilton by 2-18 to 1-9 in the decider at Ballinamore. St Gabriel’s clinched a first London championship in 10 years with a 3-6 to 1-8 win over Robert Emmets at Ruislip.
On the football front, Clara came through to win their first Offaly title since 2003 with a surprise 2-7 to 1-9 victory over favorites Rhode in the final in Tullamore. Two second-half goals by Ross Brady turned the game for Clara.
Kilmurry-Ibrickane edged out St Senan’s, Kilkee by 0-12 to 2-3 at Cusack Park to win back-to-back Clare championships for the first time in the club’s history. In Wicklow, Rathnew clinched the title with a 0-14 to 1-8 win over St Patrick’s in Aughrim, while Glenmore triumphed in Kilkenny when they defeated Muckalee by 2-7 to 0-10.
The Limerick decider between Fr Casey’s and Dromcollogher/Broadford had to be abandoned early in the second half following a serious leg injury sustained by Fr Casey’s player Tom Cahill. Because it took half an hour for an ambulance to arrive, it was decided to abandon the game with the scores level at 0-5 apiece.