SPORTS DIGEST:SOCCER: Newly-appointed Sligo Rovers manager Ian Baraclough has sought to reassure the club's fans that he intends to stick with the same brand of football the club produced under his predecessor Paul Cook.
Aside from winning the FAI Cup for the last two years and running Shamrock Rovers close in the league, Sligo were widely admired for their style of play under Cook.
“My beliefs on how the game should be played are similar to what was here previously so hopefully it is an easy transition,” said the Englishman who was presented to the media yesterday at the showrooms of club sponsor Connolly Volkswagon.
“I like to play attacking, free-flowing football. I like players to express themselves, the full-backs to get forward and the midfield to get on the ball.”
O’Rourke back on track for big challenge in Istanbul
ATHLETICS:She won't have raced nearly as fast as planned and that might just be the way Derval O'Rourke will like it: performing at the major championships and not in the build-up has always been her forte, writes IAN O'RIORDAN.
There are some concerns about O’Rourke’s race fitness, due to a recent foot inflammation problem, going into the World Indoor Championships – which start on Friday week in Istanbul.
But she is back to full training and “everything is still on track,” according to her coach Seán Cahill.
O’Rourke is one of only three Irish athletes selected to travel, named in the 60 metres hurdles, and it will be her first participation in the event since she famously won the gold medal six years ago in Moscow.
She ran 7.84 seconds on that occasion – still an Irish record – but her best for 2012 is only 8.16, which ranks her joint 56th in the world.
There are a host of Americans ahead of her, and although only two can travel, O’Rourke will definitely need to break eight seconds to put herself in the medal hunt.
Newcomer Ben Reynolds from North Down AC has also been named in the men’s 60 metres, after running the required standard of 7.74, exactly – and completing the team is Ciarán Ó Lionáird, in the 1,500 metres, who will make only his second championship appearance after his breakthrough last summer, when he finished 10th at the World Championships in Daegu. Ó Lionáird’s indoor mile best of 3:54.76 ranks him eighth in the world.
Murphy produces a personal best
SWIMMING:On the opening day of competition, at the Carlton National Long Course Championships and Olympic Trials, there were some impressive results.
Highlights included Gráinne Murphy beating her personal best by 2.06 seconds in the 200m freestyle, making the qualifying time for the European Championships in Debrehen, Hungary in May.
Melanie Nocher also qualified for the European Senior Championships in the 100m backstroke while five promising swimmers, Sarah Kelly (200m butterfly), Jane Roberts (100m backstroke), David O’Sullivan (200m butterfly) and Conor Turner and Brendan Gibbons (1,500m) qualified for the European Junior Championships.
Murphy beat her personal best with a time of 2.00.02, just missing out on the Irish record by 0.09. Sycerika McMahon, finished second with a time of 2.01.90. McMahon also took gold in the 50m breaststroke (31.50).
St Kevin’s College claim FAIS cup
SCHOOLS SOCCER:Dublin's St Kevin's College, Clondalkin, defeated Nagle CC of Cork 3-2 in a thrilling FAIS John Murphy All-Ireland cup final at Waterford RSC yesterday. Winger Marco Chindea was the hero as he scored the equaliser and then winner in the second period of extra-time.
Nagle took the on 19 minutes through Paul Lawlor’s superb free-kick. Captain Daniel Matthews equalised for Kevin’s after 38 minutes. Nagle regained the lead when Alan Browne scored from a free kick. But Chindea headed home from a corner to equalise on 74 minutes and then lobbed home the winner.
NAGLE CC: M McGrath, R Delaney, S Crowley, D McCarthy, V Noonan, S Irwin, G Edmunds, R Kenny, K O'Keeffe, A Browne, P Lawlor (S Holland '58)
ST KEVIN'S CC: S Kavanagh, I Greene, A Djimani, D Smith, D Matthews, L Higgins (L Byrne '83), M Chindea, C Ward (P McMahon '109), J Harcourt, D McKeever, D Byrne
Referee: Tony Walsh(Waterford).
