THERE were matches aplenty to savour at Belfield yesterday afternoon as the third day of the five-a-side competition drew to a conclusion on the 25 sun-parched pitches at UCD.

CONCENTRATING the popular mind in a way no politician could ever hope to achieve, the soaring cost of waste disposal is poised to hit Ireland’s householders where it will hurt most, namely their pockets.

NEXT Saturday’s replay between Sligo and Roscommon will be decided in the old-fashioned Gaelic football way — with the more dominant midfield emerging from the battle.

Brendan O’Brien

Charlton 0 Southampton 0

RAY BURKE was given a clean bill of health by the Garda Commissioner, prior to his appointment to the cabinet in 1997, the Taoiseach said yesterday.

Ann Cahill, European Correspondent

BRENDAN Jer O’Sullivan has played some big games for Cork over the years but yesterday was easily his best outing in a red jersey.

LONG after the final whistle, the quaint and friendly town of Gloucester reverberated to the sound of ‘Munster, Munster’, the huge travelling contingent absorbing another epic result in Europe.

MORE than 5,000 students took to the streets yesterday to hammer home their bitter opposition to the reintroduction of third-level fees.

LAST week I was in England, visiting friends in a rural part of Devon.

TIPPERARY coach Liam Sheedy was at pains to point out that his side have won nothing yet after knocking Cork out of the Munster championship at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.

Celtic 0 Rangers 1

DANNY O’HANLON was the name on everyone’s lips at Nowlan Park yesterday.

AGES 18-20, The promising minor: One night the phone rings and it’s the manager of the county side, not his pal pretending same.

LEEDS legend Eddie Gray fears the club could struggle to get back among the game’s elite after a humiliating relegation to League One — English football’s third tier — was all but sealed.

MARTIN JOHNSON believes victory over South Africa today would be a seminal moment in his quest to re-establish England as the dominant force in world rugby.

HE was battered, he was bruised, but on a night when another slice of history was denied only by a harsh call from referee Roman Poite, Mick O’Driscoll couldn’t have been more proud of his men.