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Weekend Preview

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:34:05 +0000

In football, reaction to Friday’s Euro 2010 Qualifiers will, no doubt, abound, but among the weekend games taking place are European U-21 Qualifiers, African Nations Cup games, League 1 and 2 fixtures in England, League of Ireland First Division games and Northern Ireland Premiership matches.

In GAA, it is All-Ireland Hurling Final day on Sunday, with Kilkenny playing Tipperary at 3:30pm. Kilkenny also play Clare at 1:30pm in Sunday’s Minor Hurling Championship Final and there are weekend Senior Football and Hurling games, plus Ladies All-Ireland matches.

In tennis, the US Open goes into its first weekend and, in golf, the Deutsche Bank Championship and the European Masters are the key tournaments in progress.

In cricket, there are seven CB40 games on Saturday, whilst in Rugby League, Saturday and Sunday sees the final games of the regular Super League season. There are also NRL games taking place in Australia.

In Rugby Union, there are Magners League matches on Saturday, Aviva Premiership games and ITM Cup fixtures in New Zealand on Saturday and Sunday, and a Currie Cup match in Australia on Saturday. Also on Saturday is the latest Tri-Nations match, South Africa v Australia (3:30pm), and, on Sunday, the Women’s World Cup Final, New Zealand versus England (5pm).

In greyhound racing, taking centre stage are the Irish Greyhound Derby semi-finals at Shelbourne Park. Can Tyrur Big Mike carry his hitherto blistering Derby form into Saturday night in Dublin?

In horseracing, it is Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes day at Leopardstown, and what a line-up there is for the big race: recent International Stakes winner Rip Van Winkle, the Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco, the Eclipse Stakes winner Twice Over (who was also second in the International), the high-class Dermot Weld-trained Famous Name, the progressive Sea Lord and, just for good measure, a likely pacemaker in last season’s Dewhurst Stakes winner Beethoven. It could be quite a day and night in Dublin.

The Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes is the other Group 1 race on the Leopardstown card, in which the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Bethrah, the Falmouth Stakes first Music Show, and the Coronation Stakes heroine Lillie Langtry are set to run.

Racing at the track gets underway at 1:45pm. They also race on Saturday at Haydock Park (start time 2pm, and where it is Group 1 Sprint Cup day – 16 runners in a field headed by Golden Jubilee Stakes and July Cup winner Starspangledbanner), Thirsk (1:55pm), Kempton (2:15pm), Stratford (2:20pm) and Wolverhampton (5:50pm).

On Sunday, there are meetings scheduled at Fontwell (1:40pm), Worcester (1:50pm), York (2pm) and, in Ireland, Dundalk (2:15pm). At Longchamp in France, it is Group 1 Prix Moulin day, the six-runner line-up including Paco Boy, Rio de la Plata and Lope de Vega.

And we mustn’t forget the BAGS fixtures in greyhound racing: six on Saturday from 10:31am, and four on Sunday from 11:19am

It is, once again, quite a weekend for sport.

Sport on TV – Saturday

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:14:38 +0000

If you plan on putting your feet up for a day of sport tomorrow, here’s what’s on TV.

SOCCER: npower League One, MK Dons v Hartlepool – Sky Sports 2 12:00.

CRICKET: Clydesdale Bank 40: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire – Sky Sports 4 12:30.

RUGBY UNION: Aviva Premiership, London Irish v Saracens – ESPN 13:15; Wasps v Harlequins – ESPN 16:00; Tri Nations series, South Africa v Australia – Sky Sports 3 15:30.

RUGBY LEAGUE: Engage Super League, Hull v Leeds – Sky Sports 1 16:00; St Helens v Castleford Tigers – Sky Sports 1 18:30.

GOLF: European Masters from Switzerland – Sky Sports 3 12:00; Deutsche Bank Championship from Boston – Sky Sports 4, 20:00.

TENNIS: US Open – Sky Sports 2 16:00, British Eurosport 16:45.

BOXING: WBO super-featherweight title, Roman Martinez v Ricky Burns – Sky Sports 1 21:00.

CYCLING: Vuelta a Espana – British Eurosport 14:45.

Group One Treble

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:19 +0000

Aidan O’Brien is bidding for a Group One treble on Saturday with fancied runners in all three featured races in Britain and Ireland.

After a slow start to the season O’Brien’s fortunes are starting to change as evident in Misty For Me’s Moyglare win, his ninth Group One of the season with three of those coming in August.

The Ballydoyle trainer is 14-1 with Stan James to do the hat-trick. Lillie Langtry begins O’Briens attempt at 2.40pm when lining up in the Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes at Leopardstown.

At 3.35pm Starspangledbanner runs in the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock, just 10 minutes before Rip Van Winkle in the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

StarBets.ie tipster Brian Flanagan is tipping a Group One double for Rip Van Winkle and Starspangledbanner, but can O’Brien’s team complete the treble?

Cats’ consistency the key

Kevin Egan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:26:30 +0000

Kilkenny’s record over the past five years has been discussed in great detail all across the nation’s media, however perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of their championship performances in that time has been the scarcity of games where the Cats have even been in any sort of trouble. This year is the perfect example – not alone have the All Ireland champions returned to Croke Park to defend their title, they have done so by comfortably beating every opponent that they met along the way. Most unbeaten runs of this nature would be peppered with narrow escapes, matches where either the break of the ball or perhaps a piece of individual brilliance snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but Kilkenny have avoided any such pitfalls, instead cruising for most of the five year run.

Perhaps the most intimidating fact about this Kilkenny team is that they have needed no such miracle escapes. In the 2006 All Ireland semi final against Clare, the Cats were level at 1-10 apiece at half time, before going on to win comfortably, 2-21 to 1-16 on a day when Henry Shefflin scored 1-13. In every other championship match for the last five years, not only have Kilkenny won, but they also led at half time.

Of course Tipperary did give Brian Cody’s men a scare last year in the final and led with a ten minutes to go, however in all their games against every hurling county in Ireland in the past five years, that was the only instance where this team was in any kind of trouble. Even then they only barely went odds against in the in-running betting. Clive Woodward always used to maintain that he trained his rugby teams to win by eight points or more, because that gave his sides the margin for error in case of an unlucky bounce, a bad refereeing call or simply a piece of brilliance from the opposition. Brian Cody has stated no such goal, but his team have implemented that approach nonetheless. They have been comfortably superior in every game, so much so that while they have lots of championship experience, they haven’t been prepared for nervy finishes because they simply don’t experience them.

Tipperary have been the source of plenty of betting support this week and it will be interesting to see if Ladbrokes’ offer of a standout price of 5/2 about the Premier men survives until 3.30pm on Sunday, however even if Tipperary give Kilkenny plenty to think about, chances are the Cats will still have got off to a better start, simply because that is their way.

4/5 about Kilkenny to lead at half time and to win the match is therefore an excellent bet, and one that would have paid out in every one of Kilkenny’s championship matches for the last five years, with the exception of that August afternoon against the Banner County. The run will come to an end some time and there is every chance that Tipperary will be the team to finally slay the Marble demons, but at 4/5, it’s worth taking the chance that Sunday will not be that day.

An Easy Score!

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:02:35 +0000

AN EASY SCORE! Place a €20 bet on Ladbrokes.com’s First Goalscorer market for the All Ireland Hurling Final between Kilkenny and Tipp, and Ladbrokes.com will give you a free €20 bet on the All Ireland Football Final First Goalscorer market*.

* Web and phone offer only.

Tipperary name unchanged side

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:52:17 +0000

Tipperary have named an unchanged side from their semi final win over Waterford to play Kilkenny in the All Ireland Hurling final at Croke Park on Sunday.

1. Brendan Cummins (Ballybacon-Grange)
2. Paddy Stapleton (Borris-Ileigh)
3. Paul Curran (Mullinahone)
4. Michael Cahill (Thurles Sarsfields)
5. Declan Fanning (Killenaule)
6. Conor O’Mahony (Newport)
7. Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
8. Brendan Maher (Borris-Ileigh)
9. Shane McGrath (Ballinahinch)
10. Gearóid Ryan (Templederry Kenyons)
11. Patrick Maher (Lorrha & Dorrha)
12. John O’Brien (Toomevara)
13. Noel McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)
14. Eoin Kelly (Mullinahone) Captain
15. Lar Corbett (Thurles Sarsfields)

Cats to hit the spot on Sunday

Kevin Egan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:21:34 +0000

The beauty of All Ireland finals is that while it’s a great day for hurling or football, it’s also a great day for betting opportunities. A quick look at Ladbrokes.com’s range of markets for Sunday’s match reveals that roughly sixty different betting markets are available, and while many of those are of the coin toss variety, others offer opportunities that cannot be found at any other time of year.

Scoring totals and matchups between players are always well worthy of analysis, however the questions hanging over Kilkenny’s team selection means that there is a little bit too much speculation involved in such bets this year. We may revisit those tomorrow depending on the selection announced by the Kilkenny management team tonight, but for now these bets are best parked. Another interesting selection however is that of a penalty to be awarded to both teams, a 6/1 shot for Kilkenny and a 7/1 chance about Tipperary being awarded one. Both these selections look like decent value, however in particular, the price about Kilkenny being awarded the placed ball opportunity looks hugely appealing.

The Cats have been awarded three penalties in their last twelve championship fixtures, including last year’s controversial call in the closing stages of the All Ireland final against Sunday’s opponents. Eddie Brennan and Richie Power’s pace and incision often leads to the penalty being awarded and both those players should spend plenty of time close to goal on Sunday, presuming of course Eddie Brennan starts, which is uncertain at the time of writing.

Of course the other side of this equation is looking at how many Tipperary concede, and this is where our appetite is whetted even further. Since Liam Sheedy took over in late 2007, Tipperary have played twelve championship fixtures and though they’ve yet to be awarded one, they’ve conceded five penalties in those fixtures, including, of course, last year’s final. The Tipperary full back line is not exactly a replica of the Hell’s Kitchen model of half a century ago, however they are known to stand up to running opposition players and could very easily concede close range fouls. Referee Michael Wadding is widely recognised as a good, competent and fair referee however he too has a track record of approximately one penalty awarded in every three championship matches, and he won’t shy away if a big call needs to be made.

At the other end of the field, Tipperary’s tendency to try and spread the play out and to restrict the number of players operating on the inside line does not lend itself to close range frees. Lar Corbett and Eoin Kelly are usually the two men who will operate closest to goal however both of these men do a lot of their hurling coming out and taking the ball off the half forwards before shooting from middle distances. 7/1 is still a healthy price, but the 6/1 about Kilkenny being awarded one is very much the eye catching selection and could easily be a genuine 3/1 or 4/1 shot. This column recommends a 2pt bet on Kilkenny being awarded a penalty at 6/1 but stops short of recommending such a wager on the Tipp side, though we certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone who would like to double up their investment by covering the other side as well.

Serbia must be Kerr-ful

Mark McCadden — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:13:40 +0000

It comes full circle for Brian Kerr tonight – as he faces Serbia with his Faroe Islands side.

It was a 2-0 defeat to the Serbians that kicked off Kerr’s reign of the tiny island grouping. Has he done enough since that match nearly 15 months ago to pull off a shock?

There is no doubt that the former Ireland boss has transformed the minnows into one of the more uncomfortable low-ranked teams to meet.

And that was highlighted only last month when they were seconds away from opening their Euro 2012 qualifiers with an away win in Estonia.

After taking a 28th minute lead they held out until injury-time, before conceding twice in the dying moments to lose in heartbreaking fashion.

That performance was no fluke – as only France have managed to inflict real damage on the Faroes under Kerr. Les Bleus won 5-0 at home but that was after a scrappy 1-0 win in Torshavn.

Austria won 3-1 in Graz last September but four days later Kerr masterminded a historic 2-1 win over Lithuania – their first competitive victory since the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

Romania (3-1) and Iceland (2-0) also claimed wins over the Faroes, who claimed a 0-0 friendly draw in June away to Luxembourg before their last-gasp defeat to Estonia.

Can the Dubliner’s adopted country bounce back and stun Serbia? Probably not. But if they continue to progress they way they have been under Kerr they should avoid a thumping tonight.

That’s why results like 2-1 or 3-1 to Serbia (both 12/1) could be good shouts for this evening’s clash.

Kilbeggan preview

Gary O Brien — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:12:35 +0000

Ahead of tomorrow’s glittering programme at Leopardstown it’s more bread and butter fare at Kilbeggan this evening, but there are still seven winners to be found and following stables in form could be the way forward.

Eoin Doyle is one man who certain falls into that category and Without The Bop looks to hold a terrific chance in the 2m3f handicap hurdle, the gelding reverting to the smaller obstacles off a much lower mark than the one he holds over fences. He won at Tramore before running creditably in defeat later in the week at that festival and may just have the edge over Hesaposer, who has once again been well backed.

The latter’s trainer Gordon Elliott saddles recent Downpatrick scorer Boragh Princess in a very tightly-knit mares hurdle at 5.05, with joint top-weights Isabellareine – who has been in good form on the level – and Benefit Of Porter best treated by the race conditions.

Hot Oscar has been running well in defeat of late and makes plenty of appeal against likely short-priced favourite Serve Time in the 2m4f beginners chase, with the jury still out in relation to how much ability the latter actually retains, while the defection of likely favourite Etcetera Etcetera may have opened the door for the consistent Oscar Glory in the 3m1f handicap chase.

Molinari hot streak continues

Brendan O Scollain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:38:26 +0000

Edoardo Molinari has continued his recent fine form in Switzerland today.

Just five days after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Molinari led the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.

The Ryder Cup newcomer was two behind fellow Italian Matteo Manassero overnight, but birdied four of his first six holes this morning.

He began the front nine with two more birdies to be 11 under par and two ahead of Finn Mikko Ilonen.