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The Morning Sports Briefing

Southampton beat Liverpool to reach League Cup final, Joe Schmidt aiming for Six Nations top-two, Williams sisters reach Melbourne final and Annie Power out of Cheltenham

Shane Long scored for Southampton as they knocked out Liverpool to reach the League Cup semi-finals. Photograph: Paul Wllis/Afp

Thu Jan 26 2017 - 08:17

Saints reach Wembley

Southampton are through to the League Cup final after a Shane Long goal gave them a 1-0 win at Anfield last night, with Claude Puel’s side winning their semi-final clash against Liverpool 2-0 on aggregate.

They will face either Manchester United or Hull City at Wembley, with United taking a two goal lead into the second leg at the KCom Stadium tonight.

Schmidt aiming for top-two

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The 2017 Six Nations was launched yesterday and Ireland coach Joe Schmidt believes a vintage edition of the tournament lies in wait, he said: “I think it is going to be more competitive than ever but again it would be great if we could get a top-two finish.

“England are obviously incredibly tough, I think France are going to be tough as well.”

However the one Irish coach in the competition, Italy’s Conor O’Shea, wasn’t quite as optimistic about his side’s chances, he said: “We can’t fool you. We can’t fool supporters. We’re obviously a team who is striving to work in the right way, and if we do that then results will look after themselves.”

Williams sisters in final

The women’s Australian Open final will be a family affair after Serena and Venus Williams won their last four clashes to progress to the showpiece in Melbourne.

Serena thrashed Mirjana Lucic 6-2, 6-1 while earlier Venus continued her fairytale tournament with a 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-3 victory over CoCo Vandeweghe.

In the men’s competition, Roger Federer takes on compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the first semi-final today, with the match starting at 8.30am Irish time.

Annie Power out of Cheltenham

Elsewhere Willie Mullins, and racing fans everywhere, were dealt a massive blow yesterday with the news the brilliant mare Annie Power has been ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival after picking up a leg injury at home.

Sonia O’Sullivan

Meanwhile in her column today Sonia O’Sullivan reflects on her early exit from television’s MasterChef, she writes: “It wasn’t as bad as finishing fourth in the Olympics, although in some ways it felt that way.”

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