Riyad Mahrez scored twice for Manchester City in the FA Cup as Chelsea were thrashed 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, their first third round exit for 25 years – as their miserable run under Graham Potter continued. There is no rational case for Chelsea to sack Potter. Unfortunately football is not a rational business, writes Ken Early, as Chelsea fans chanted the previous manager Thomas Tuchel’s name. “The current situation has its roots in the catastrophic transfer dealings of the 2021-22 season, before the change of ownership,” he writes. Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Nathan Collins was named man of the match as Wolves forced a FA Cup replay with Liverpool, while another Collins was on the scoresheet as James scored for Derby as they beat Barnsley.
In golf, Collin Morikawa gave up a six-shot lead at the first PGA Tour event of the year as Spaniard Jon Rahm shot a stunning final-round 63 to win in Hawaii. Ireland’s Séamus Power was also competing and finished tied 25th in the limited field event for high-finishers and winners from the previous year and Denis Walsh writes his patience and resilience are paying dividends as he joins the elite ranks. “His story is one of the most inspirational in Irish sport: because of where he started, and because of how much climbing he did on his hands and knees, refusing to give up,” writes Walsh.
In the All-Ireland club football semi-finals, Kilmacud Crokes were made to sweat by Kerins O’Rahillys before sealing a final spot as the Dublin champions saw a big lead shrink and a goal line clearance at the death was required. In the other semi-final, Glen held on to beat Moycullen and reach first All-Ireland final. The Galway champions had a late chance with the final play of the game but Tiarnan Flanagan’s goal proved the difference. In hurling, Derek Lyng and Liam Cahill got off to winning starts for Kilkenny and Tipperary respectively. The Cats beat Offaly 2-19 to 0-21 in the Walsh Cup at Callan, while goals in either half from Sean Ryan and Jason Forde helped Tipp beat Clare in the Munster Hurling League.
Johnny Sexton could be fit to lead Ireland in their Six Nations opener against Wales after Leinster head coach Leo Cullen offered a positive prognosis, saying his injury was “reasonably minor” and would likely see him out for a few weeks at most. Meanwhile, a late bench boost saw Leinster recover from a sluggish start to see off the Ospreys in the URC. The Welsh side were up by six points in the second half but tries from Keenan and O’Brien saw Leinster turn things around. There were wins for Connacht and Munster, but a late Benetton penalty piled on the misery for Ulster. Head coach Dan McFarland is under pressure after his fifth defeat in six matches.
Finally, in athletics Zak Hanna has an interesting profile as an Orange Order member running for Ireland. The mountain runner says “to me we all live on the same island, it’s not a political or religious thing. I just want to run.”
