Goals

Simon Lewis looks at the events that captured the sporting imagination during 2002.

JANUARY

FA Cup shock as Leeds knocked out by Cardiff amid scenes of violence and a lap of honour by chairman Sam Hamann during the game Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis brawl in front of cameras after announcing their long-awaited world heavyweight title fight Munster's Peter Clohessy accused and later cleared of racially abusing Castres' Ismaela Lassissi In the Heineken Cup quarter-finals Leinster beaten by champions Leicester but Munster overturn Stade Francais in Paris Thomas Johansson wins Australian Open tennis, Jennifer Capriati retains the women's title Jockey Tony McCoy remounts Family Business for victory at Southwell after all seven starters fall.

FEBRUARY

Ireland's new rugby coach Eddie O'Sullivan enjoys victory in his first game as Wales are put to the sword in the Six Nations opener at Lansdowne Road but England hammer O'Sullivan's side 45-11 at Twickenham later in the month Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson performs retirement U-turn after taking advice from wife and family Scotland unveil Berti Vogts as new coach Ireland boss Mick McCarthy signs two-year contract Blackburn win Worthington Cup after beating Tottenham Salt Lake City hosts controversial Winter Olympics drug scandals and the Skate-gate controversy French judge admits to being pressured to vote for the Russians rather than more worthy winners from Canada.

MARCH

Istabraq's bid to land Champion Hurdle for a fourth time ends early with the nation's favourite pulling up as Hors La Loi III ridden by Dean Gallagher takes the race Killarney native Jim Culloty wins Cheltenham Gold Cup aboard Best Mate and then lands the Aintree Grand National on Bindaree Tony McCoy sets new mark for most winners in a jumps season by riding his 254th winner Ireland's rugby team gets back on track with home wins over Scotland and Italy Paula Radcliffe runs to long-course victory in the World Cross Country Championships at Leopardstown Sonia O'Sullivan's seventh place in the short course race gives Ireland a team bronze Roy Keane signs four-year Manchester United contract reportedly worth £90,000 per week

APRIL

Manchester United beat Deportivo la Coruna to reach the Champions League semi-finals but are beaten in the semi on away goals by Bayer Leverkusen, who had knocked Liverpool out in the quarters Manchester City are Division One champions Ruud van Nistelrooy is players' Player of the Year while Robert Pires wins football writers' equivalent Shelbourne are crowned Eircom League champions following deduction of nine points from league leaders St Patrick's Athletic France win Grand Slam with five-try romp against Ireland ... Ronan O'Gara kicks 20 points as Munster defeat Castres 25-17 to reach Heineken Cup final Tiger Woods walks away with the US Masters Tony McCoy beats Gordon Richards' all-time record of 269 winners in a season.

MAY

Arsenal beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final and Sylvain Wiltord's winner at Old Trafford seals the Premiership title Celtic win SPL but lose to Rangers in Scottish Cup final Zinedine Zidane seals Champions League triumph for Real Madrid with wonder goal against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Niall Quinn benefit game raises stg£750,000 for charity Roy Keane leaves Ireland World Cup squad after angry row with Mick McCarthy at Saipan training camp Alex Ferguson's Rock of Gibraltar wins the English 2000 Guineas ... Munster's Heineken Cup final is ruined by Leicester and the rogue hand of Neil Back Tyrone win first their National Football League final while Kilkenny win hurling title Ferrari dominate F1 season but victory in Austria is tarnished when Rubens Barrichello lets Michael Schumacher through to win

JUNE

The World Cup sees France, Portugal and Argentina failing to get out of their groups ... Italy are knocked out by South Korea in the last 16 as Ireland go out on penalties to Spain co-hosts South Korea are the surprise package, reaching the semi-finals, but Brazil win the World Cup, beating Germany in the final in Yokohama Aidan O'Brien claims English and Irish Derby double with High Chaparral Lewis and Tyson finally get it on in Memphis where Iron Mike is knocked out in round eight Tiger Woods tames Bethpage to land the US Open Justin McCarthy's Waterford win Munster SHC for first time in 39 years with a stirring win over Tipperary Cork beat Kerry in a replay to reach Munster SFC final the newly-reopened Croke Park sees Dublin defeat Meath to reach Leinster SFC final David O'Leary is sacked by debt-ridden Leeds United

JULY

Kilkenny beat Wexford in Leinster SHC final Cork's hurlers are knocked out in the qualifiers by Galway Dublin win first Leinster SFC title since 1985 in a thriller with Kildare at Croke Park Cork are taken to a replay by Tipperary before landing the Munster SFC title Armagh win third Ulster SFC title in four years Mick O'Dwyer bows out as Kildare manager after defeat by Kerry in the SFC qualifiers Sligo upset the odds by knocking out Tyrone in their SFC qualifier Ernie Els beats Thomas Levet in a sudden death play-off to claim the British Open at Muirfield Rock of Gibraltar equals Mill Reef's record of six straight Group One wins by landing the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood Michael Schumacher makes F1 history by winning the world championship earlier than any other driver thanks to victory at the French Grand Prix Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France. Again The first Eircom League summer season begins with bumper crowds

AUGUST

Roy Keane's autobiography blows the lid on Saipan and lands him in trouble with FA after the book implies he intentionally set out to injure rival player Alf-Inge Haaland in the Manchester derby two season previously Terry Venables appointed Leeds boss. His first task is to preside over the departure of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United in a stg£35m deal ITV Digital goes belly up owing Nationwide League clubs millions Ronaldo joins Real Madrid from Inter Milan

Cork's footballers implode as Kerry gain revenge for Munster final defeat in All-

Ireland semi final Armagh beat Dublin in other semi Justin McCarthy's dream of guiding Waterford to an All-Ireland is crushed by a resurgent Clare while DJ Carey is influential as Kilkenny eliminate reigning champions Tipp Champion jockey Tony McCoy claims his 1,700th win of his career to break Richard Dunwoody's record for jump victories Paula Radcliffe takes 24 seconds off her personal best and 13 seconds off European record to win European 10,000 title and leave Sonia O'Sullivan and co trailing in her wake after a devastating run O'Sullivan's run is still a personal best and she also collects silver in the 5,000m American Rich Beem is surprise winner of the USPGA Championship ... Ulsterman Graeme McDowell claims his maiden European Tour title in only his fourth start as a pro when he wins the Volvo Scandinavian Masters New Zealand win rugby's Tri-Nations tournament.

SEPTEMBER

Showjumper Dermott Lennon wins gold with Liscalgot at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. The Co Down rider is the first Irishman to achieve the feat. After four days of competition, the field is whittled down to four finalists, each riding their own and their rivals' horses over the same course four times. The unflappable Lennon demonstrates his world-class talent by notching up just four faults in what is a supreme test of horsemanship and composure ... Paul McGinley's 10ft putt provides a thrilling finish to a remarkable final day of singles matches as Sam Torrance's European team defeats the United States 15½-12½ US reclaim women's equivalent, the Solheim Cup Armagh stage one of Gaelic football's greatest comebacks to lift their first All-Ireland football title at Croke Park, beating Kerry 1-12 to 0-14 ... Derry crush Meath to win All-Ireland MFC title, Limerick claim their third U21HC title in a row and Galway beat Tipp in a replay to claim All-Ireland IHC Cork land the All-Ireland camogie title Ireland qualify for Rugby World Cup with wins over Russia in Siberia and Georgia Lightweight sculler Sam Lynch successfully defends his World Championship title in Seville, Spain. Having already beaten his fellow finalists throughout the season, he has reason to be confident. This is justified as he crosses the line ahead of silver medallist Stefano Basalini (Italy) and Steve Tucker (USA) ... American sprinter Tim Montgomery runs 100m in Paris in 9.78 seconds to beat Maurice Greene's world record by one one-

hundredth of a second Sonia O'Sullivan shatters the world 10-mile record as she wins the Great South Run in Portsmouth in 51:00 Pete Sampras confounds the critics by clinching his fifth US Open men's singles title by defeating old foe Andre Agassi in four thrilling sets in New York as Serena Williams completed her dominance of the women's game by beating sister Venus in the final to cruise through the championships without dropping a set.

OCTOBER

The independently produced Genesis Report into the FAI's handling of the World Cup campaign all but endorses Roy Keane's complaints about a lack of professionalism by its officers. The report also criticises the FAI's lack of support for Mick McCarthy No excuses on the pitch as his side are beaten at home by Euro 2004 qualifying group rivals Switzerland Derry City lift the FAI Carlsberg Cup by beating Shamrock Rovers at Tolka Park Paula Radcliffe goes from strength to strength when she breaks the world marathon record in Chicago by running 2:17:18 in only her second race over the distance Padraig Harrington wins the Dunhill links championship in Scotland to close gap on Order of Merit leader Retief Goosen Australians win the International Rules series with backto-back victories at Croke Park Mayo win the Ladies Football All-Ireland title Adrian Maguire announces retirement as a jockey on medical grounds Jockey Dean Gallagher handed an 18-month ban after testing positive for cocaine Frankie Dettori pilots Marienbard to victory in the Arc High Chaparral triumphs in the Breeders' Cup Turf More controversy erupts for racing as BBC Panorama programme raises allegations of race-fixing, dubious betting networks and jockeys mixing with criminals Marcus Gronholm wins the Rally of New Zealand to claim world title.

NOVEMBER

Dermot Weld caps a great racing year for the Irish when Media Puzzle lands Australia's richest race, the Melbourne Cup Ireland's new captain Brian O'Driscoll delivers a famous victory in the rain at Lansdowne Road over world champions Australia. His side maintain a 100% record with wins over Fiji and Argentina England complete a clean sweep of the southern hemisphere giants with wins over the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks Don Givens takes charge of the Republic of Ireland for the friendly in Greece but the game is rendered meaningless by the large numbers of withdrawals and the refusal of David Connolly to join the squad having initially been overlooked Liverpool are surprise casualties in the Champions League first phase but Newcastle progress with Arsenal and Manchester United after a last-gasp win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam Celtic knock Graeme Souness's Blackburn side out of the UEFA Cup Ellen MacArthur wins the prestigious single-handers' Route du Rhum transatlantic race in a record-breaking time Sonia O'Sullivan's marathon debut in New York ends in disappointment as she finishes 12th, nearly seven minutes behind eventual winner Joyce Chepchumba South African golfer Retief Goosen retains European Tour Order of Merit after Padraig Harrington's challenge fades at season-ending Volvo Masters

DECEMBER

The Gaelic games community is rocked when Cork's hurlers withdraw their services as a result of their dispute with the county board. The footballers follow their lead but the situation is resolved when the board accedes to many of the players' demands On the pitch, the AIB Club Championships produce provincial football winners in Nemo Rangers (a third straight Munster title). Dunshaughlin, Errigal Ciaran and Crossmolina are champions in Leinster, Ulster and Connacht respectively Athenry, Birr, Mount Sion and Dunloy win their provincial hurling titles to reach All-Ireland Club semi-finals in new year the FAI's annus horribilis ends in suitable fashion when their joint bid with Scotland to host Euro 2008 fails to make the final vote of UEFA's Executive Committee, who award the event to Austria/Switzerland Leinster make qualification for Heneken Cup quarter-finals a virtual certainty with back-to-back wins over French giants Montferrand.