Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal must up their game to compete with Liverpool for the cream of Irish teenage talent.

Arsenal’s long drought of Irish first team players will continue after Conor Henderson confirmed he will quit the Emirates in May.

Derry City reserve goalkeeper Eugene Ferry is to be dispatched to Sunderland to help the Black Cats and Republic of Ireland winger to finally settle down on Wearside.

A nation may have groaned when Ireland’s path in Poland was laid out at last December’s draw in Kiev but John O’Shea knows what it is like to beat Italy and Spain in a European Championships and, lest we forget, to win one too.

IT’S 20 years today since Packie Bonner pulled off that memorable penalty save to deny Daniel Timofte, which proved paramount for Ireland’s cause in reaching the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup.

RESILIENT Cork City dealt Shamrock Rovers’ title ambitions a huge setback by coming from behind to win in Tallaght, knocking the Hoops off top spot in the Premier Division and securing their own grip on third place in the table.

Shamrock Rovers 2 Drogheda United 0

Sligo Rovers 1 Shamrock Rovers 2

Sporting Fingal 2 Shamrock Rovers 2

Galway United and Shamrock Rovers go head-to-head in tonight’s League of Ireland Premier Division clash at Terryland Park, kick-off 7.45pm.

A SERIES of roadshows are to be held across the country as part of a Garda awareness campaign targeting the carrying of knives by young people.

Falkirk 0 Celtic 3

Falkirk 0 Celtic 1

Celtic 4 Falkirk 0

MARK Brown has assured Celtic manager Gordon Strachan he is ready for a Champions League test if first-choice goalkeeper Artur Boruc fails to recover from a toe problem.

Livingston 0 Celtic 5

SATURDAY, March 26 could prove to be a pivotal date in Group 4 of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Graham Barrett believes his career for both club and country is being stifled by a two-year ‘exile’ in midfield.

IN the normal course of events, an Irish squad stripped of Roy Keane, Stephen Carr, Andy Reid, Clinton Morrison, Andy O’Brien and Matt Holland would have the headlines screaming about a personnel crisis for Brian Kerr.

Milan Baros scored on 70 minutes to put Liverpool 2-0 ahead against Millwall in the Carling Cup tonight.

THE search must go on for the key to that elusive consistent performance that will lead to qualification for the World Cup finals once Brian Kerr has assessed Ireland's unpredictable form against Faroe Islands at Lansdowne Road.

RICHARD DUNNE is Ireland’s only injury doubt as the squad held their first training session in Malahide yesterday ahead of the World Cup qualifier against France on Saturday.

Matt Holland has been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against France and the Faroe Islands despite not playing for his club, Charlton, in over a month.

Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Don Givens conceded his side had their “backsides smacked” following a miserable European Championship qualifying defeat to Switzerland.

Switzerland Under-21 4 Republic of Ireland Under-21 2

MANCHESTER UNITED’S Liam Miller was the latest to join Ireland’s long casualty list yesterday when he was declared unfit to play against Cyprus and Switzerland in the opening World Cup qualifying ties.

THE return for Ireland from nine challenge games in ten months can only be regarded as disappointing. The results have been outstanding but the old selection problems remain, in spite of Brian Kerr's best efforts.

CSKA Moscow 2 Rangers 1

Holland 0 Ireland 1

Brian Kerr believes his Republic of Ireland fringe players will return to their clubs brimming with confidence after the impressive 1-0 victory over Holland.

Brian Kerr praised his “magnificent” makeshift Republic of Ireland team after they signed off for the season with an impressive 1-0 victory over Holland in the Amsterdam Stadium tonight.

Holland 0 Rep of Ireland 1

Brian Kerr believes the Republic of Ireland can go into the “hot” atmosphere of the Amsterdam Arena to face Holland on Saturday with plenty of confidence from their recent end-of-season friendlies.

Coventry midfielder Graham Barrett netted a first-half winner for the Republic of Ireland in tonight’s Unity Cup match against Jamaica to boost his hopes of claiming a place in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers later this year.

Brian Kerr did Roy Keane a favour by sending him back to Manchester on Monday for treatment on his troublesome hamstring, as this friendly was definitely one to forget.

Roy Keane came through his first training Irish session with “no problems” and flies to Poland with the rest of the team ahead of Wednesday’s friendly.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U21 manager Don Givens has called on his new-look team to out-Portugal Portugal when the two teams meet in the opening game of the Madeira International tournament this morning (11am).

Stephen Elliott, the hat-trick hero of the Republic of Ireland’s 5 - 1 victory over Poland in Gdansk in August, retains his place in Don Givens’ squad of eighteen players he has named for the European 2004 Under-21 Championship qualifier against Switzerland in Neuchatel on Friday, October 10, 2003 (kick-off 6pm, 5pm Irish time).

Don Givens hailed tonight’s 2-0 victory over Russia as one of the highlights of his reign in charge of the Republic of Ireland Under-21s.

Republic of Ireland U21 2 Russia U21 0

Republic of Ireland U21 1 Russia U21 0

Republic of Ireland U21 0 Russia U21 0