The Morning Sports Briefing

Ireland closer to a ticket to France

Ireland took a huge step towards a Euro 2016 qualification play-off spot last night as they ground out a 1-0 win over a spirited Georgia side at the Aviva Stadium.

Martin O’Neill’s side produced an insipid first half display but were much improved after the break, with Derby County midfielder Jeff Hendrick providing the vital moment of magic which presented the ball for Jon Walters to bundle home for the game’s only goal in the 69th minute.

Emmet Malone was at the Aviva on a night Ireland got the job done, albeit not quite in the manner they would have hoped.

Ireland now sit four points clear of Scotland in third place in Group D, but still have to face world champions Germany and travel to Poland in what will be the defining weeks of O'Neill's campaign, writes Keith Duggan.

Kerr: Midfield diamond made Ireland too narrow

For large spells of the game Ireland were ponderous and struggled to break down the Georgians, with a midfield diamond of Hendrick, James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan - who along with James McClean will miss the Germany game after picking up a yellow - proving narrow and predictable, writes Brian Kerr.

Elsewhere in Group D Scotland battled back twice against Germany at Hampden Park but ultimately went down 3-2 after a Thomas Muller brace and Ilkay Gundogan's winner.

Lafferty rescues Northern Ireland

Meanwhile Kyle Lafferty rescued Northern Ireland at the death and sent Windsor Park barmy with a 93rd minute equaliser against Hungary, keeping his side top of Group F. Michael Walker was in Belfast as Michael O'Neill's team kept their France 2016 dream alive.

Jim McGuinness: Mayo’s game plan unravelled

In his weekly column Jim McGuinness reflects on last Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final replay between Dublin and Mayo and looks at a Mayo side who have the attributes to finally take home Sam Maguire put don’t have the required pragmatism.

He says: “ I didn’t think that this match hinged upon a Mayo collapse. Nor did I feel that it was a story of a brilliant Dublin revival. My sense was that overall, the system with which Mayo tried to win the All-Ireland this year was not viable over 70 minutes against the very top teams.”

Cody backs restructuring of Championship

Brian Cody guided Kilkenny to an 11th All-Ireland hurling title last Sunday but the final win over Galway was only his side's fourth Championship game over 19 weeks, and he agrees the Championship structure would benefit from change.

Meanwhile Kilkenny's Jackie Tyrell has played down the importance of his half time speech as the Cats produced an imperious performance after the break to sweep away Galway.

Shades of 2011 in World Cup warm-ups

Ireland's World Cup warm-up games are now out of the way with 11 days to go before the real action starts against Canada, and while performances in the warm-ups didn't echo the nadir of 2007 there were certainly shades of 2011, underlining the need for Joe Schmidt's side to deliver strong performances against Canada and then Romania before they face Italy and France, writes Gerry Thornley.

One man in Schmidt's squad who didn't feature in the warm-ups was Cian Healy and Leinster boss Leo Cullen would welcome the loosehead into his squad for the Pro 12 fixture against Cardiff in a bid to build some match fitness.

Rory battles hard in Boston

Rory McIlroy is set to see his mantle of world number one taken off him by Jordan Spieth again after he failed to secure a top 10 finish at the Deutsche Bank Open despite an early birdie onslaught in his final five under par round of 66 in Boston. Rickie Fowler won the tournament by a shot from Henrik Stenson.

Murray out of US Open

Andy Murray is out of the US Open after being blown away in four sets by Kevin Anderson, while Roger Federer is through to the quarter-finals despite being made to work by John Isner for his straight sets win at Flushing Meadows.

What to watch out for:

Football

The Euro 2016 qualifiers continue tonight with England, who are already through, welcoming Switzerland to Wembley. (UTV, 7.45pm ko). Elsewhere Spain travel to play Macedonia (SS1 7.45pm ko).

Cricket

England play Australia in the third ODI of the series at Old Trafford. (SS2 from 1.30pm)

Tennis

The US Open continues with Novak Djokovic in action as well as Serena and Venus Williams’ quarter-final tie. (SS3 4pm-4am)