The Easter Eggs are back in the press, the bank holiday is done and dusted but we’ve got a four day week ahead so that can’t be too bad, right? Let’s take a look at some of the headlines for your Tuesday morning on KCLR and Scoreline.ie.
Beginning with Gaelic Games with the dust settled on a busy Easter weekend of sport, it’s worth noting the past few days weren’t without their casualties.
Defeats for Kilkenny’s minors and Under 20 hurlers were followed by Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League Final defeat to Galway while Carlow are out of this year’s Leinster senior football championship following defeat to Wicklow in Aughrim. We caught up with Carlow football boss Niall Carew who says the buck stops with him when it comes to poor results on the field. You can hear his reaction on the latest Scoreline Extra podcast, available now.
Carlow back in the winners’ enclosure
We had a full house in studio last night for Full Time with Martin Quilty, some of the VERY Camogie League-winning Carlow team in to discuss their Division 3A title win over Armagh and promotion to 2A for next season.
Speaking on the win, manager Peter Chap Cleere was quick to heap the praise on his side having come through tricky conditions in Louth over the weekend while for the Breen sisters (Anna and Rachel), they’re taking things one step at a time with the Leinster championship up next. Hear that interview in full on the latest Full Time podcast with more discussion on tonight’s Camán Caint camogie podcast.
The Full Time podcast is out now which also includes a full recap of Carlow’s comprehensive dismantling of Kildare in the first round of the Joe McDonagh Cup on Saturday with the county laying down a serious marker for the championship.
Overnight results
Last night saw games in both Kilkenny and Carlow. In Kilkenny, the Kilkenny Vehicle Centre minor hurling league moved into the third round.
Among the winners were O’Loughlin Gaels who beat Dicksboro 5-14 to 0-14, Conahy Shamrocks with a 4-9 to 1-6 win over Mullinavat while John Lockes beat Glenmore 4-26 to 1-12 in the minor B league. In Carlow there were a handful of games in the Bolger Cup as Ballinkillen beat Mount Leinster Rangers 1-12 to 0-12, St. Mullins had one point to spare in a 0-13 to 0-12 win over Naomh Eoin while Bagenalstown Gaels had a 1-16 to 1-7 win away against Naomh Brid.
There are two games in the Bolger Shield tonight with Kildavin/Clonegal hosting St. Mullins while Mount Leinster Rangers take on Burren Rangers. Both games throw-in at 7pm.
I Am Maximus
The Willie Mullins-trained I Am Maximus took victory in a dramatic Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse yesterday. Paul Townend was on board the 8-to-1 shot to secure the honours for owner JP McManus. Read more about that one here.
Smith to Leicester as Champions League resumes
Dean Smith has been named as the new Leicester manager, at least until the end of the season. He replaces Brendan Rodgers who got the sack just over a week ago after four years with the club. Smith didn’t have the greatest of times at Norwich or Aston Villa but does bring Premier League experience to the role. Smith was sacked by Norwich before the turn of the year after a run of just three wins in 13 championship games.
2016 champions Leicester are two points from safety and if they go down they’ll only be the second former champions to suffer relegation having claimed a title in the Premier League era – can you name the other one (just to make your head scratch on a Tuesday morning)?
Elsewhere, Man City will look to take a step towards the semi-finals of the Champions League tonight. Pep Guardiola’s side face Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last eight tie. Kick off at the Etihad is at 8pm. In this evening’s other quarter-final, Benfica host Inter.
Baird Out
Ryan Baird and James Lowe have both emerged as doubts for Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse later this month. Baird is set to be out for ‘a couple of weeks’ with a shoulder injury, while Lowe’s calf problem will be monitored this week. Leinster travel to South Africa this week for their United Rugby Championship meeting with the Lions on Saturday.
More on our sports website, scoreline.ie.
