Sports Digest

A round-up of other sports news in brief

FC Carlow give Monaghan scare

SOCCER: Monaghan United survived an early scare and used their greater experience to see off the threat of A League FC Carlow 2-1 in the FAI Cup third round replay at Gortakeegan.

Carlow went ahead through Adam Byrne’s fifth-minute penalty, awarded after Brian Gartland hauled down Greg Sykula in the box.

But Shane Keegan’s team failed to press home their advantage. They were soon on the defensive, with goalkeeper Gavin Dowling making outstanding saves from Cathal O’Connor and Philly Hughes.

United’s 32nd-minute equaliser also came from the penalty spot, courtesy of Karl Bermingham after Seán Brennan was fouled.

Carlow were badly exposed when Hughes ran on to Don Tierney’s pass from deep and fired his side in front eight minutes later.

Ireland receive timely boost

CRICKET: Ireland received a big boost ahead of the defence of their World Cricket League title in the Netherlands yesterday as they beat Canada by six wickets in a warm-up game at Kampong CC in Utrecht, writes Emmet Riordan.

Paul Stirling’s innings of 114 helped Ireland chase down a target of 260, the 19-year-old Middlesex player facing just 98 balls to bring up his three figures, hitting six fours and three sixes.

James Hall (34) and Kevin O’Brien (43) chipped in with valuable contributions, with Andrew Poynter (25 not out) and John Mooney (23 not out) getting Ireland over the line with four overs to spare.

Trent Johnston struck early with the new ball when Rizwan Cheema was caught behind for a duck to give new wicketkeeper Rory McCann his first catch with the gloves on.

Turf Club and trainers discuss phone records issue

RACING: New talks between the Turf Club and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association on the contentious issue of access to phone records have begun with the regulatory body outlining proposals on a method with which they hope to expand their investigative processes, writes Brian O’Connor.

Talks with the Irish jockeys association are also likely to begin soon as the Turf Club attempts to reach agreement with racing professionals over the thorny matter of phone records.

In Britain, the BHA can access such documents as part of any investigation into suspicious betting patterns, but trainers and jockeys in Ireland have up to now refused to accept any similar powers being given to the Turf Club. They argue that it infringes on their rights to privacy.

Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan stressed yesterday that all sides accept that issues of potential fraud do have to be investigated.

“Our thinking is that if we require phone records as part of an investigation, we would need a third party with no relationship to the Turf Club, such as a barrister or a solicitor who would fulfil certain criteria, and that we would make a case to him that we need certain records.

“He would agree or disagree to allow us access based on our case,” he said.

Trainers association spokesman Jim Kavanagh confirmed yesterday that “there have been talks and they will be ongoing”.

Moriarty qualifies for British Open  

GOLF: Colm Moriarty, the former Irish amateur International now attached to the Glasson club in Co Westmeath, will play in the British Open Championship at St Andrews next month.

He secured one of the precious places at stake in local final qualifying yesterday – and did so in style. With 72 players battling it out for just three spots at the Kingsbarns course in Scotland, Moriarty came top of the pile with splendid rounds of 67 and 70 for a 36-hole total of 137, seven under par, finishing three strokes clear of the chasing pack which included British Amateur championship runner-up James Byrne.

There was no such success for other Irish contenders. Limerick’s Cian McNamara shot 76 and 71 at Kingsbarns, while at Fairmont, St Andrews, Patrick Devine from Royal Dublin and Limerick’s Tim Rice also lost out, as did Killarney’s Daniel Sugrue at Ladybank and Waterville’s David Higgins (66, 73) at Scotscraig.

Niland proves too strong for Muster

TENNIS: Ireland’s Conor Niland made short work of former world number one Thomas Muster in the first round of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Braunschweig, Germany, yesterday.

The Austrian left-hander (42), who won the French Open in 1995, was playing his first competitive match since losing in the first round of the Roland Garros event in 1999.

But the former King of Clay’s hopes of making an impact on his return were shattered by the Limerick man on a 6-2 6-1 scoreline.

Niland had 12 break points, of which he took five, while Muster’s return was one from three. Niland will now face Swiss Stephane Bohli, who shocked Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja, 6-2 7-6 (7/2).

Niland’s fellow Davis Cup player James Cluskey took two scalps in qualifying to book a place in the main draw of the ITF Futures grass event in Manchester.