Dominance in sport can appear to be easy to achieve, but Peamount United can attest that maintaining that grip on success is not so straightforward.

Tributes are being paid to a teenager who collapsed and died during a soccer match in Galway yesterday.

Cork City will host defending champions St Patrick’s Athletic in their opening game of the new Airtricity League Premier Division season on Friday March 7.

New Galway FC manager Tommy Dunne says the prospect of building a club from the ground up is what attracted him to take the reins at Eamonn Deacy Park.

Bray Wanderers climbed off the bottom of the Airtricity League Premier Division table with their first win in 14 league games when a first half goal by skipper Danny O’Connor gave them victory over Limerick at the Carlisle Grounds yesterday.

Joint league leaders St Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk meet in a top-of-the-table clash at Richmond Park this evening which will screened live on RTÉ2 (kick-off 7.30pm).

Hopes of a single Galway team to compete in next year’s Airtricity League are starting to dim as one of the four group involved in discussions indicated there has been no progress made in crunch talks.

Caretaker manager Stuart Ashton faces his biggest test yet as Cork City take on Bohemians at Turner’s Cross this evening in a game which could have major significance on the race away from the bottom of the Airtricity League Premier Division.

After its brief summer respite, the Airtricity League resumes this evening with Premier Division table-toppers St Patrick’s Athletic at home to Bray Wanderers.

Sligo Rovers moved to within four points of leaders St Patrick’s Athletic after they secured their first win in five, and just second in nine, by comprehensively defeating UCD 5-2 at the Showgrounds on Saturday evening.

They’re top of the table and now they’ve got the top man in the league.

It’s the weekend when some of the country’s top intermediate sides dream of causing a shock against Airtricity League opposition.

Cork City have been fined by the FAI after one of its supporters racially abused Bray Wanderers player Ismahil Akinade at last week’s home game at Turners Cross.

Chris Lyons dumped his home town club out of the EA Sports cup with a double at Dalymount Park as Bohemians beat Bray Wanderers 4-2 in extra-time to make the quarter-finals.

Domestic football has claimed its first managerial casualty of the season with the departure of Alan Mathews from Shelbourne.

Cobh Ramblers 1 Athlone Town 1

Still holding maximum points in the league, but smarting from defeat by Drogheda United in the Setanta Cup, champions Sligo Rovers travel to Richmond Park to take on third-placed St Patrick’s Athletic in the big game of the night in the Airtricity Premier Division (kick-off 7:05pm, live on RTE 2).

Cork City travel to Tallaght this evening to face Shamrock Rovers in the Airtricity League with both sides anxious to prevail, albeit for slightly different reasons.

Dundalk are fully confident of taking their place in the Airtricity League Premier Division this season despite being the only club to be awarded a conditional licence yesterday.

Galway should have only one League of Ireland team according to a report commissioned by the FAI.

Limerick FC opened up a three point lead at the top of the First Division with a hard-earned win over bottom-of-the-table Salthill Devon Galway at Jackman Park last night.

Runaway Munster Senior League leaders Avondale United got the home draw they wanted in the FAI Ford Cup, first round — but they’ll still be up against it when they meet Dublin side Sheriff YC, who have an added incentive to do well in the Blue Riband this year.

Cork City duo Danny Morrissey and Jason Forde featured for Ireland’s U19s yesterday as they lost to Turkey in their final friendly before the UEFA elite stage qualifiers in May.

Ireland Under-19 manager Paul Doolin reckons Cork City’s Danny Morrissey can boost his international prospects in Turkey next week.

Business opportunity.

Ireland’s U18s suffered late heartache against Wales in last night’s friendly at Ferrycarrig Park in Wexford.

Cobh Ramblers and Tralee Dynamos have reacted with dismay and disappointment to the news that, in all probability, they won’t be in the Airtricity League First Division this season.

They say that you need to be up early to achieve anything in life, which means that Setanta Cup newcomers Bray Wanderers should have at least some kind of edge on all the rest when they open their competitive season with a home game against Glentoran on February 13.

SPORTS reporters are regularly chastised for resorting to cliché but it will require some truly heroic originality if reports from Drom and Terryland Park over the next couple of days aren’t riddled with references to aerial bombardment, dogged resistance, shoot on sight and the heat of battle.

MONAGHAN UNITED will meet Galway United in the promotion-relegation play-off this week after finishing third in the First Division.

WHILE Shelbourne and Cork City battle it out for the First Division title at Tolka Park tonight, the only certainty before kick off is that leaders Shels have already secured automatic promotion.

SUDDENLY, it has all become crystal clear: Cork City will travel to Tolka Park next Saturday knowing that a win against Shelbourne will deliver the First Division title and promotion to the Premier Division.

CORK CITY’S bid to win automatic promotion to the Premier Division received a major boost on Saturday with a four-goal blitz of Salthill Devon in Drom.

IT’S been a good week for league leaders Sligo Rovers.

WATERFORD UNITED will make their second and final trip of the season to Drom to take on Salthill Devon this evening (kick off, 7pm).

HAVING shared the points with Limerick in a 3-3 thriller last time out at Turner’s Cross, Cork City hit the road for Athlone today knowing it’s wins not draws they need to keep their Airtricity League First Division promotion challenge firmly on course.

EUROPA LEAGUE football is coming home for Shamrock Rovers after UEFA yesterday gave the thumbs up for the club’s group stage games to be played at Tallaght Stadium, beginning with the match against Rubin Kazan next Thursday.

SLIGO ROVERS know they need to end their recent poor form against Bohemians to keep their Premier Division title challenge on course at the Showgrounds this evening (7.45pm), the Gypsies having only lost once to the Bit O’Red in the league since Pat Fenlon became manager in 2008.

THE task for both Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic tomorrow will be to recover from European hangovers, as the two clubs resume action in the Airtricity League Premier Division.

IT’S another big Airtricity League Premier Division derby night in the capital as Bohemians host Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park (kick-off 7.05pm).

IT’S the battle of the bottom two at Hunky Dorys Park this evening but Drogheda manager Mick Cooke is convinced the pressure is on visiting basement side Galway United (7.45pm).

CORK CITY maintained their strong promotion challenge, thanks to a second-half goal from Shane Duggan which gave them a narrow victory over bottom side Salthill Devon at Turner’s Cross last night.

FORMER Northern Ireland international Jim Magilton will join Michael O’Neill in the Rovers dugout for the first time since being appointed assistant manager on a temporary basis when Shamrock Rovers visit Derry tonight in the Airtricity League Premier Division (RTÉ 2, 7.35pm).

First Division roundup