Monday’s draw for the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland football championship produced four intriguing matchups, not least the one between old pals Dublin and Mayo and the pairing of the 2022 and 2021 champions, Kerry and Tyrone.
Seán Moran talks us through the draw and the championship history between the eight counties, while Gordon Manning hears from Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea, a relieved man after that one-point win over Galway on Sunday. “It was kind of s**t or bust time for us, we had to perform – and thankfully we did.”
Jim McGuinness, meanwhile, writes about how “slow and monotonous” possession-based football has become the norm with so many counties adopting the style because of the amount of success it brought Dublin in recent times.
Over in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are waiting to see what style of football Robbie Keane will have their team playing now that he’s been appointed manager. Gavin Cummiskey has a word of warning for the Dubliner, though – their last five managers lasted less than six months in the job. So it might be best to rent rather than buy a home.
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In Poland, five of the six Irish boxers competing in the European Games are through to the quarter-finals, moving them one step closer to Olympic qualification. Kellie Harrington is among that group, Johnny Watterson hearing her talk about rediscovering her love of boxing after a spell when she’d lost her enjoyment of the sport.
And Johnny’s keeping an eye too on the Irish Sevens men’s efforts to book their slot in next summer’s Paris Games, the team in to the semi-finals in Poland where they will meet Portugal. Only the winners of the event will be assured of an Olympic place.
Leona Maguire, no stranger to the Olympics herself, is dusting herself down after a disappointing final round at the PGA Championship, but her fellow Ulster woman Stephanie Meadow, who tied for third in the tournament, tells Philip Reid she has no doubts that Maguire will bounce back, probably as soon as next week at the US Open.
Telly watch: You always know that Wimbledon is only around the corner when the Eastbourne International is up and running. The women’s tournament has a much higher quality field than the men’s, largely because it offers double their ranking points, two of the world’s top five, Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauffm in action today. BBC2 has coverage from 1.0 to 5.15.
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