JOEY O’BRIEN declared in his low key appointment as new Shelbourne boss he wanted the players to take all the focus.
And Harry Wood would as he inspired Shels to a victory over ten-man Cork City at Tolka Park.
Wood – the man who scored the title winner for the Reds last year – scored after two minutes and made one for Mipo Odubeko after six minutes as the O’Brien era started at speed.
Damien Duff’s former assistant only took charge full-time 24 hours earlier – he was in charge for two draws previously when Wood and Odubeko also scored – with a low key statement.
There was no fanfare with just a statement realised on the Shelbourne website where O’Brien declared: “It’s not about me, it’s all about the players. This is a proud moment for me, but the focus is on them and what we do together from here.”
And that is what happened as Shelbourne started quickly, stayed cool when they wobbled midway through the game, and then won it late as JJ Lunney scored a fortuitous goal.
It was far from a perfect win.
Bottom club City were still let back in the game before half-time when Kitt Nelson scored and it may have been a different outcome had Charlie Lyons not been sent off after 50 minutes.
But after a tough few weeks at Tolka following Duff’s shock resignation, a win ahead of going into Champions League action against Linfield next week was a huge boost for confidence.
And the foundations were laid by Wood as Cork City debut goalkeeper Conor Brann was beaten twice inside the opening six minutes.
City were the masters of their own downfall with the concession of the first goal after just 88 seconds being self-inflicted.
They were in comfortable possession moving the ball around midfield and defence when centre half Lyons was closed down by Wood.
He tried to pass the ball out to Matthew Kiernan but Wood intercepted and raced in to scoop over the advancing Brann into the empty net.
O’Brien punched the air in celebration, and was doing so again on six minutes with a goal that was all about Shelbourne’s passing and movement.
They moved the ball quickly through midfield before Wood and Evan Caffrey played a one-two on the right and crossed low for Odubeko to fire home from close range.
Shels fans were in dreamland as their team produced the good expected of champions and it could have got even better for them.
Brann did well to save a shot from Coote later on while Odubeko fizzed a shot narrowly wide when he took advantage of a loose Cork pass in defence on 20 minutes.
Yet Shels’ bad old habits were still there too, and the visitors were never out of it as the mistakes totted up on both sides.
Darragh Crowley was only inches away from turning in a Freddie Anderson looping header when the defender was unmarked from an Alex Nolan free kick a minute later.
And two minutes from half-time, Shels’ defensive lapses finally cost them when Kitt Nelson pulled a goal back that his side scarcely deserved.
It came off a set-piece as Nolan swung it in from the right and it was returned across goal by Lyons to Anderson to teed up Nelson to fire through a thicket of legs into the net.
But whatever chance the visitors had was virtually extinguished three minutes later when Lyons was shown a straight red card for a challenge on McInroy.
And Shelbourne kept getting chances with Dan Kelly, Wood and Norris all going close before Lunney settled in seven minutes from time.
Again, it was a goal that City’s defence will not want to see back as he chased an over hit corner from the left out to the right flank.
And while there is not doubt that he was crossing the ball, no City man reacted as it bounced in the six yard box and into the net.
Sun Star Man – Harry Wood
Shelbourne: Kearns 7; Coyle 7, Barrett 7, Ledwidge 7; Caffrey 7 (Boyd 60, 6), McInroy 7 (Kelly 60, 6), Lunney 7, Norris 7; Wood 9 (O’Sullivan 79, 6), Coote 7 (Chapman 60, 6); Odubeko 7 (Martin 71, 6).
Cork City: Brann 5; Mbeng 5, Crowley 5, Anderson 5 (Lutz 76, 6), Lyons 4, Kiernan 5; Murray 5 (McLaughlin ht, 6), Bolger 6; Nelson 6 (O’Sullivan 56, 6), Nolan 6 (Kelleher 56, 6); Maguire 5 (Dijksteel ht, 6).
Referee: R Harvey (Dublin) 6.
LOVE Island fans were left shocked tonight after Conor decided to recouple with Yasmin over Billykiss.
But some fans think the surprise move was actually motivated by another girl.
Earlier in tonight’s episode, Conor encouraged Shakira to end her romance with Harry after being mugged up over the past few days.
Shakira then pulled Harry for a chat and told him that they were over, paving the way for Conor to make his move.
Shortly after a recoupling was called, with Conor deciding to couple up with Yasmin, and ultimately dumping Billykiss.
During Conor’s speech he said: “The last couple of days have been interesting, I’ve obviously been getting to know one person, we have loads to talk about.
“I would like to couple up with this girl because I don’t really know her as well as I probably should and I this will be a good opportunity to get to know her.
“Obviously I find this girl attractive and over the last while she’s really changed my opinion on her and I never really got the chance.”
The move left Billykiss surprised and was forced to couple up with only single lad Gio.
But some fans think Conor is secretly using Yasmin as a placeholder until he can get with Shakira.
One wrote: “Okay but Ben should’ve went last cause Conor would’ve chosen Shakira then.”
A second posted: “The couple that would make the most sense is Conor and Shakira.”
A third said: “I think Conor is just using Yasmin and really wants Shakira,” while a fourth added: “Conor doesn’t want Billykiss or Yasmin, he’s got his eye on Shakira.”
Later that evening, Conor and Yasmin headed to the terrace and enjoyed a kiss.
Elsewhere, Harry recoupled with Helena and Ben picked Shakira.
LEWIS Capaldi made his second concert comeback in a week tonight as he joined a chart-topping star on stage as a special guest.
The Someone You Loved singer played a surprise set at Glastonbury last weekend, his first gig in two years.
Lewis, 28, had taken a break from his music career in 2023 to focus on his health, and was delighted and emotional in equal measure as he received a huge welcome from the Worthy Farm crowd.
Following the gig – which saw him perform new track Survive – Lewis confirmed he is hitting the road on a brand new tour in September.
But before that, he delighted fans on Friday night when he took to the stage at BST Hyde Park Festival alongside headliner Noah Kahan.
American singer Noah, 28, put on a cracking show for the crowd before bringing Lewis on for the encore.
The pair then performed Noah’s hit 2022 single, Northern Attitude, together.
The appearance comes after Lewis spoke out about his Glastonbury performance, which came two years after his final performance at the festival before stepping away from the spotlight.
In a heart-warming video posted on his social media, he revealed his true feelings surrounding the burn-out.
Speaking from the heart, he told fans: “One word to describe how I’m feeling now is… spectacular.”
Looking back over his Glastonbury experience in 2023, he admitted: “This should be like, a really happy moment, and it isn’t.
“I’m like, achieving my dream here. If there was a film about being a singer, and starting as a kid, and they’d be like, Oh, I’d love to be a singer one day and perform in front people, I’ve done it.
“I’ve got to the end of the film and it’s not how I thought it was going to be.
“And all these people are singing at me and I feel 1,000 miles away there, and I watch it back and actually feel sad.
“Second song in, I was probably just thinking, this has to be it, like… I can’t keep doing this to myself.
“As far as I was concerned, it was like, I’m done. I didn’t take a break to just focus on getting better.
“I took a break because I needed a break and to sort of release the pressure valve a little bit.”
Thank you so much for still being here.”
Lewis Capaldi
Within the montage, Lewis added pictures and home-filmed clips of himself performing as a youngster, full of hopes and dreams.
He captioned the tear-jerking montage: “Been mad looking back at it all. Thank you so much for still being here.”
A STRESSED mum has revealed her landlord has given her just two months to move out after the pair had an argument.
The mum, who simply goes by The Maiden on social media, took to TikTok for some advice after she explained she didn’t have enough money to move.
However, after sharing her story some cruel trolls expressed little sympathy for the mum, who was facing uprooting her entire life.
She claimed she received the two months notice because of an argument with her “idiot” landlord.
“The landlord didn’t fix some sockets in our kitchen in reported in March, he turned up in June and wondered why I was angry,” she explained in the viral clip.
According to Citizen’s Advice, after formally notifying your landlord of issues they should respond in a reasonable timeframe, so it’s no wonder the mum wasn’t happy with how slow things were moving.
Not only that, the mum said she’s been living in the home with her son for seven years, so she’d well and truly settled in.
“I’ve just got the boy into a school right by this house and now he’s given me two months to move,” she added.
According to the mum, during her seven years in the home she’d never been late with rent and had in fact always paid three days early.
But none of that mattered to the harsh landlord, who decided to chuck the mum and her son out.
Things went from bad to worse for the mum because she admitted she wouldn’t be able to gather enough money for a deposit for another rented house in the timeframe given, leaving her in limbo.
Luckily, many people offered support in the comment section, with one urging the mum to take the landlord to court.
“Don’t leave before the bailiffs come,” one person commented.
“This is a revenge eviction and unlawful,” a second said.
“That’s no good reason, truly. Go to Citizens Advice,” someone else suggested.
Meanwhile, other renters said they found themselves in similar situations with their own dodgy landlords.
“Ours hiked our rent over 40% because we pushed for repairs to damp and mould,” one said.
“We went through the same last year and had been in the house eight years,” another revealed.
But others weren’t so kind to the struggling mum, as some said she had no reason to complain, since the house isn’t technically hers.
“There’s two sides to every story,” one person slammed.
“I would like to know why you renters think it’s ok for your landlord to be out of pocket,” a second wrote.
“It’s not your house, to be fair,” another chimed in.
If you think your landlord is responsible for a repair, you can ask them to fix it.
You should get evidence of the problem, for example:
Keep any evidence you’ve got – you might need it later if you have to take further action to get repairs done.
Unless it’s an emergency, your landlord should give you at least 24 hours’ written notice if they want to visit your home to see the damage or do repairs.
Source: Citizens Advice
HOW do you follow up a miracle? What next, after pulling off mission impossible?
Well, you attempt to do something more miraculous, more fantastical still.
And here at a volcanic Centre Court – under the roof, after dark and close to Friday-night drinking-up time – Emma Raducanu tried just that. How she tried.
There have been plenty of failures for Raducanu since her extraordinary US Open triumph of 2021 – but none as glorious as this one.
Against world No1 Aryna Sabalenka – the grunting Belarusian wallop merchant who has been the dominant force in the women’s game for the past 18 months – Raducanu bowed out of Wimbledon in the third round.
But for a player who has never beaten anyone in the world’s top three, this was the feistiest of defeats.
That Sabalenka prevailed 7-6 6-4 doesn’t even scratch the surface.
Raducanu was a break up in both sets, she saved seven set points and had one of her own in the epic 74-minute opener and was a point away from a 5-1 lead in the second.
But it was Sabalenka who clinched a last-16 clash with Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
This three-time Major champion has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last ten Major appearances and it will be a shock if she doesn’t win her first Wimbledon title next weekend.
Sabalenka hits a tennis ball with extraordinary power and she roars at every point like Godzilla with a flesh wound. She is a phenomenal opponent for any woman.
Yet Raducanu went toe-to-toe for two hours, only wilting at the very last.
It is easy to forget that when Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title at Flushing Meadows, she did not drop a set but did not face any top-ten player.
This was an entirely different test to anything she faced in the Big Apple and she had a very good go at passing it.
Raducanu said Wednesday’s defeat of 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova had been her best performance “in a long time” – and it was probably her most significant result since her 2021 fairytale of New York.
This, however, was a major step up in class – Sabalenka has been the dominant force in the women’s game for the past 18 months, a powerful, aggressive shotmaker who can intimidate the best of them.
Still, Raducanu forced a break point in the opening game with a belting forehand return winner – only for Sabalenka to save it with three mighty serves.
The Centre Court roof had been closed before the 8pm start after Raducanu’s friend and mixed doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz had made heavy weather of winning his third-round match immediately before it.
Raducanu’s serve was firing early on, she was thumping aces of her own and relishing some high-quality exchanges.
In the fifth game, Raducanu crowbarred out another opportunity – with a stinging winner down the line – again Sabalenka thwarted her with another huge ace.
But the Brit stuck at her task, forced two more break points – and then repelled another fierce serve before Sabalenka netted.
The crowd, subdued at first, erupted as Raducanu edged in front. Soon, they would be roaring every point she won.
There was zero evidence of any stage fright. We knew full well that this is a young woman capable of seizing the biggest moments, of conjuring impossibilities from the heavens.
Her serves had been like guided missiles in the opening three games – locating chalkdust at high velocity.
Then that service spluttered, her forehand went wonky and Sabalenka, in predatory fashion, broke her to love.
Soon, Raducanu was serving to stay in the opening set, the anxiety in the crowd palpable, and the Brit’s forehand continually clearing the baseline.
But at set-point down she found another ace – then she survived six more, fingernails on the cliff-edge, before a wonderful cross-court winner earned her one of her own.
Finally, on the eighth deuce of the game, Raducanu held.
Sabalenka’s vain cries became bloodcurdling as the momentum shifted towards the Brit.
Raducanu cracked successive winners down the line, then slipped at the net and paused to ice her right thigh, before she forced two break-points of her own – taking the second to an ear-splitting din.
As the Brit served for the set, Sabalenka roared back, seized three break points and took the third to earn a tie-break.
The breaker was tight – and loud – Raducanu forced the first set-point but Sabalenka rescued it with a drop shot before she clinched an extraordinary set with a deft volley.
The feeling was that having fallen so agonisingly short in the opener, Raducanu might crumble.
She did not, breaking Sabalenka for 3-1, when the current U.S Open champion netted.
Then Sabalenka had to save two more break points to avoid a 5-1 deficit but once she held, the final, decisive momentum shift arrived and the Belarussian reeled off five successive games to reach round four.
Wimbledon 2025 LIVE – follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19
BOHEMIANS were sporting their new Oasis shirt but their old Dublin Bus kit would have been more appropriate.
Because having waited ages for one draw, two came along at once. A case of win or bussed?
Bohs did not share the spoils once in their first 21 games of the season, coming out on top 12 times and being defeated in the other nine.
But, just as winning and losing can become habits, so, too, it seems, can drawing.
A week ago, an injury-time equaliser from Jamie Clarke saw them take a point against Sligo Rovers.
There were no goals here which was remarkable given St Pat’s hit the woodwork, had a goal for Simon Power scrubbed for offside when he was on and had an effort cleared off the line.
But they could also have lost it because, after all that, Dayle Rooney shaved the outside of the upright and both James Clarke and Colm Whelan went close at the death.
It is now six games without a win for St Pat’s, hardly ideal ahead of their Conference League clash against Hegelmann Litauen here on Thursday but, then again, Europe sparked an upturn in domestic form last year.
The last time these sides met, at Dalymount Park 10 weeks ago, St Pat’s were leading in the final minute and contrived to lose 2-1.
The man who scored the stoppage-time winner that night, Sean Grehan, has since left but Bohs handed a debut here to an arrival earlier this week, Douglas James-Taylor.
The Englishman arrived on a free transfer from Walsall after a successful year-long loan with the Saddlers’ sister club Drogheda United.
And, although he did not see much of the ball in the first half, he did have one opportunity to instantly endear himself to the Gypsies’ faithful.
From Liam Smith’s throw-in, James Clarke outmuscled Barry Baggley, allowing him to lay the ball off to the striker but his first-time effort was just over the bar.
That came at a time when St Pat’s had the upper hand, although it was the visitors who had started the brighter of the two teams in the opening exchanges.
Ross Tierney was picked out after getting beyond the St Pat’s defence from a free-kick but – when he drilled the ball across the face of goal – it was knocked behind for a corner.
St Pat’s weathered that early storm and began to get a grip on the game and, for a moment, it looked as though Aidan Keena had gotten away from Rob Cornwall to set himself up for a one-v-one with Kacper Chorazka.
But the centre-half did enough to put his opponent off with the ball spinning loose to Niall Morahan to clear as the striker appealed more in hope than expectation for a penalty.
Later, Keena picked out Kian Leavy with a clever clipped pass but he was quickly crowded out in the box.
Jake Mulraney had one effort comfortably saved by Chorazka but Bohs needed the woodwork to save them in stoppage time following a move involving Mulraney.
As some St Pat’s fans berated him for not trying to get past his man he instead pulled the ball back to Ryan McLaughlin.
The full-back’s deep cross was only partially cleared by Smith with the ball falling to Jason McClelland with a shot which rattled the crossbar.
Soon after the restart, Power fired home but after the whistle had sounded when he had been incorrectly flagged for offside.
Then, Leavy skipped his way through the Bohs defence and fired towards the far corner before Flores made a timely intervention.
At the other end, the underworked Joseph Anang was happy to see Rooney’s curler glance the outside rather than the inside of the post.
And he was even more relieved when a free out was awarded when Clarke nicked the ball from his grasp, although Axel Sjoberg had reacted well to clear up before Whelan was just off target with a header from Tierney’s cross.
SUN STAR MAN: Kian Leavy (St Pat’s)
ST PAT’S: Anang 6; McLaughlin 7 (Sjoberg 75, 6), Redmond 7, Grivosti 7, McClelland 7; Baggley 6 (Forrester 81, 4), Lennon 7; Mulraney 6 (Elbouzedi 81, 4), Leavy 7 (Kavanagh 75, 4), Power 6; Keena 6 (Melia 61, 5).
BOHS: Chorazka 7; Smith 6 (Mountney 71, 5), Morahan 6, Cornwall 6, Flores 7; McDonnell 6 (Buckley 71, 5), Devoy 7; Clarke 7, Tierney 7, Rooney; 7 James-Taylor 6 (Whelan 71,6).
REFEREE: R Hennessy (Clare) 6