Conall Ó Fátharta finds publicans in Cork are very upbeat about the trade’s future.

The Welsh might have endured more damaging weekends for their national sport but nobody at Twickenham, or anywhere else for that matter, could remember one.

It is difficult to guesstimate the scale of the ‘controvassy’ had English footballers answered the call on the Wembley turf

Andrew Flintoff climbed off the canvas to record a points win on his heavyweight boxing debut against Richard Dawson lqst night.

England captain Alastair Cook was more than happy with his team’s all-round display after beating Australia in the second 50-over NatWest Series match.

Holders Shamrock Rovers beat Cliftonville 3-1 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals of the Setanta Sports Cup on a dramatic night at Solitude.

Keith Long’s Bray Wanderers’ first foray into the Setanta Sports Cup didn’t stretch beyond the first round.

A second half goal from Joe Gormley earned Cliftonville a surprise 1-0 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park as the Belfast side knocked out the Dubliners in the first round for the second year running.

IRELAND’S hopes of making the 2015 Cricket World Cup have taken a massive turn for the better after the International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday overturned a decision to exclude non-Test playing nations.

ENGLAND shut out Australia’s bowlers for more than 10 hours in Brisbane, but are under orders to close the door much earlier in Adelaide.

Glentoran 1 Bohemians 2

Glentoran and Bohemians meet in the opening fixture of this season’s Setanta Sports Cup at The Oval tonight (kick-off 5.30pm).

CORK CITY will begin their defence of the Setanta Cup at home to Cliftonville tonight against the backdrop of ongoing difficulties with wages (Turner’s Cross, 7pm).

ENGLAND bowling hero Stuart Broad played down his own contribution after the home side moved into a dominant position against Australia in the decisive fifth Test at The Oval, yesterday.

IAN BELL admitted he was surprised by the way the Brit Oval pitch played on the opening day of the decisive fifth npower Ashes Test yesterday.

CRICKET chiefs are confident the Ashes series has not been affected by corruption despite a serious betting allegation ahead of tomorrow’s crunch final Test.

Cricket chiefs are probing a suspicious betting allegation concerning the Ashes series ahead of tomorrow’s crunch final test.

Ireland’s cricketers have nothing to lose but perhaps a fortune to gain in their final World Twenty20 Group A match against champions India today.

IRELAND are banging their heads against a “glass ceiling” in their attempts to break into the Test-playing elite above them.

Ireland are banging their heads against a “glass ceiling” in their attempts to break into the Test-playing elite above them.

IRELAND coach Phil Simmons admits he would be “very disappointed” if his team do not make the quarter-finals of the World Twenty20.

IRELAND became the first team to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England when they laboured to a four-wicket victory against Kenya in the first semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier at Stormont yesterday.

PHIL SIMMONS will be looking for an Ireland victory over Scotland today in the European Championship decider at Clontarf to banish memories of the lowest point of his 15 months as national coach.

Glentoran 1 Derry City 1

Glentoran 1 Linfield 2

Glentoran 0 Drogheda United 1

Glentoran 0 Derry City 1

Inzamam-ul-Haq has today been cleared of the charge of ball-tampering against him – but found guilty of bringing cricket into disrepute.

ENGLAND’S one-day series with Pakistan was saved yesterday after the stunning revelations umpire Darrell Hair asked for $500,000 (€392,000) to quit his position in the aftermath of the forfeited fourth Test.

PAKISTAN’S cricket manager Bob Woolmer has attempted to dampen growing tensions by claiming his side are keen to play in the forthcoming one-day series against England.

PAKISTAN will continue with their tour of England despite the ball-tampering row but may review that decision following captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s disciplinary hearing with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Pakistanis today burned pictures of Australian cricket umpire Darrell Hair and dubbed him a “mini Hitler” for his role in the sport’s first ever international forfeit – which awarded a game that Pakistan was winning to England.

England’s hopes of mounting a fightback in the deciding Ashes Test were frustrated by Australia’s best opening partnership of the summer at The Oval.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has dropped his broadest hint yet that Michael Owen will return to the side to play Northern Ireland tomorrow.

ENGLAND survived a superb Shane Warne spell to win the fourth Test against Australia by three wickets and go 2-1 up in the Ashes after a dramatic finale at Trent Bridge yesterday.

Shelbourne 4 Glentoran 1 (Shelbourne win 6-2 on aggregate)

SHELBOURNE may have a healthy 2-1 lead going into the second leg of their Champions League first round qualifier against Glentoran at Tolka Park this evening, but manager Pat Fenlon insists his side must take the game entirely on its own merits.

SHELBOURNE’S David Crawley will be fit to play in the second leg of Shelbourne’s Champions’ League qualifier against Glentoran at Tolka Park tomorrow evening.

I DOUBT that when he started out on a career in accountancy, Neil Hughes ever imagined that the day would come when he would find himself being hailed as some kind of saviour by a crowd of football supporters.

Ian Parkes

Shelbourne kick off their Champions League campaign against Glentoran at The Oval tonight hoping for a good result to take back to Tolka Park for next week’s second leg.

THE last Sunday in September is still some way off but the luck of the European draw has produced an All Ireland final at the height of summer, with Glentoran playing host to Shelbourne in a Champions League qualifier at The Oval this evening (7pm).