Latest news with #ConorHazard
Belfast Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
New Larne investor reveals the NI international who educated him on club
Larne's new shareholder Nick Giannotti says he has spoken about the club's journey with Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Conor Hazard and expressed a desire to see the Invermen return to the Champions League.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Northern Ireland's goalkeepers 'testing each other'
Northern Ireland's Conor Hazard says the goalkeepers in Michael O'Neill's squad are "all improving each other" as they contend for selection for their upcoming matches with Switzerland and Plymouth Argyle stopper has been number one choice for the Championship club this season and impressed against Premier League opponents Liverpool and Manchester City during the Pilgrims' FA Cup 27-year-old has had to be patient throughout his international career, winning just eight caps since his debut against Costa Rica in 48-times capped Bailey Peacock-Farrell left out of the squad for the two upcoming friendlies, and Pierce Charles not featuring regularly for Sheffield Wednesday, Hazard will be hopeful of adding to his international appearances. Bolton's Luke Southwood is also in the group for the forthcoming double-header."At international level you're always going to be performing against the best and luckily we have three or four top goalkeepers in Northern Ireland at the moment and we're all here to try and get that number one spot," the former Celtic goalkeeper told BBC Sport NI. "It's been an up and down season for me, getting injured at the start of the season and after coming back fit we've had a number of huge fixtures that I've been involved in."Plymouth defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup but lost 3-0 to Man City in round five."I'm always delighted to be back playing and performing. As a professional athlete you want to test yourself against the best and we were doing that against Liverpool and City."It's something I want to do for the rest of my career."Hazard says the squad are looking forward to testing themselves against quality opposition in the form of the Swiss and the Swedes over the coming week as preparation for their World Cup qualifiers which kick off in September."We're all very motivated and we all can see the talent we have in the group and the hard working group we have."We're striving towards something special. Not many people get to perform in the World Cup qualifiers and it's definitely our aim to qualify."This is a team in the top 20 in the world coming on Friday and we know what they're going to bring. But we also know what we can do and what we believe in so we're looking forward to testing ourselves."
BBC News
11-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bradley and Ballard out as Hale named in NI squad
Conor Bradley and Daniel Ballard will miss Northern Ireland's friendlies with Switzerland and Sweden, while there is a first call-up for striker Ronan County's Hale has been included after his international clearance came through in January after switching his allegiance from the Republic of Ireland host Switzerland at Windsor Park on Friday, 21 March before Michael O'Neill's side face Sweden in Stockholm four days later - with both matches available to watch on BBC Sport and BBC Northern O'Neill has made a number of changes to his squad from November's Nations League defenders Bradley and Ballard are left out through injury, while goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and striker Josh Magennis drop to the standby Boyd-Munce, Ross McCausland, Jamie Reid and Jamal Lewis miss out on O'Neill's 25-man Magennis' omission, Paddy McNair is the sole remaining player from the Euro 2016 squad as he returns from injury, while goalkeeper Conor Hazard, defenders Eoin Toal and Aaron Donnelly and forward Dale Taylor have also been Terry Devlin, who can play at right back or in midfield, is the only uncapped player in O'Neill's squad. Defender Bradley has not featured for Liverpool since injuring his hamstring in February's 2-2 with Aston Villa in the Premier League, while Ballard has been sidelined for Hale , who is Ross County's top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions, became eligible for Northern Ireland in January after representing the Republic of Ireland at underage Conor Hazard missed NI's Nations League campaign after ankle surgery but has impressed for Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup against Premier League sides Liverpool and Manchester Palace midfielder Justin Devenney and defender Ruairi McConville, who joined Norwhich City from Brighton in January, have retained their places in the squad after making their international debuts in friendlies will be preparation for the start of Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign in September, where O'Neill's side will face Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of the Nations League play-off between Germany and Italy. Northern Ireland squad Goalkeepers: Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday), Conor Hazard (Plymouth Argyle), Luke Southwood (Bolton Wanderers).Defenders: Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Brodie Spencer (Huddersfield Town), Eoin Toal (Bolton Wanderers), Ruairi McConville (Norwich City), Paddy McNair (San Diego FC), Terry Devlin (Portsmouth), Aaron Donnelly (Dundee).Midfielders: George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Alistair McCann (Preston North End), Shea Charles (Sheffield Wednesday - on loan from Southampton), Isaac Price (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Ethan Galbraith (Leyton Orient), Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock), Justin Devenny (Crystal Palace).Forwards: Dion Charles (Bolton Wanderers), Callum Marshall (Huddersfield Town, on loan from West Ham United), Lee Bonis (ADO Den Haag), Dale Taylor (Wigan Athletic - on loan from Nottingham Forest), Ronan Hale (Ross County).
The Guardian
28-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Plymouth's daunting task and conquering bears
In a 2021 study, 1,700 people were asked which animal they could beat in an unarmed fight. The results were alarming, with 9% of men believing they could conquer both an elephant (who regularly uproot trees to eat their leaves) and a gorilla (who have, on average, about six times more upper-body strength than the average human). Football Daily is not in the business (or any business, come to think of it) on how many men out of 100 would actually survive an unarmed scrap against an elephant or a gorilla, but this tea-timely email has been pondering if it really would be nine. But whether you're signing up for a fight-to-the-death tussle against a wild animal or casually attempting to boot a stray football (first time) back over the playground wall in front of your partner, their parents and a small crowd of expectant teenagers, what people think they can do versus what they can actually do doesn't always match up. Confidence is essential in elite sport, we're told, but – just like those four pint glasses Football Daily dropped on the pub floor after refusing the offer of a tray – it also remains an incredibly fragile and dangerous commodity. All of which is, of course, an incredibly laborious way of setting up Plymouth Argyle's FA Cup trip to Manchester City on Saturday. How must those plucky Pilgrims be feeling, given their recent history of knocking out Premier League Brentford in the third round and their giant-killing of champions-elect Liverpool in the fourth round? Perhaps very confident of repeating the trick! Hurray for the Magic of the Cup! Hurray for Plymouth! Or, given that City seem to have finally got their act together, are playing Argyle in the final competition in which they can actually win any silverware this season, still have around a billion pounds' worth of elite talent and arguably the greatest manager ever … perhaps not very confident. Conor Hazard, Plymouth goalkeeper and presumably one of those nine men in the YouGov poll who ticked 'Yep!', certainly believes his side can cause an upset at City. 'There's every chance a game like this could go to penalties – we'll definitely do some preparation on that,' he cheered. 'We've got 8,000 people going up there to support us so we don't want to let anyone down. We did such a good job against Liverpool and hopefully we can do the same at the Etihad. We're all really up for it. We know the task ahead and what we need to do to try and get a result there. That's our aim.' You simply cannot argue, we're told, with that sort of confidence. Gloomy bookmakers, at the time of publishing, are giving the Devon club around a 3% chance of victory in Manchester. And while that sounds low, remember that 7% of (unarmed) men in that poll thought they could beat a grizzly bear and 10% thought they could get the better of a crocodile. So, you know, there is that. Join Simon Burnton at 8pm GMT for updates on Aston Villa 0-0 Cardiff (aet; 1-0 on penalties) in the FA Cup fifth round. Premier League content is so valuable because it's so widely demanded. How many global platforms are there? Probably just Netflix. If you're thinking about how do I launch a global product, you do it in partnership with content like this' – Todd Boehly overlooks the huge global reach of yours truly while also failing to acknowledge that it's no longer 1992 – and the Premier League is doing all right, Jack. With regard to the nomenclature bandwagon (Football Daily letters passim), can I suggest that Old Trafford henceforth be known as the Theatre of Memes?' – Callum Taylor. Since Football Daily/Weekly are obsessed with the phrase 'Farmers' League', I suggest having a look at the table of the Swiss Super League, where the top eight teams are within six points and the top four are tied with only goal difference separating them. That's what a true Farmers' League looks like. Also, the standout player of the season so far has been the former Liverpool and Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri with eight goals and 11 assists. I thought you might find this amusing' – Florian Schönmann. Can I ask why Jess Park has a smart phone in her hand (photo in yesterday's News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition? Does she not believe in VAR confirming her goal?' – Michael Dawson. Send letters to Today's letter o' the day winner is … Callum Taylor, who gets some Football Weekly merch. We'll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. No, we don't go south of the river at this time of the morning. Yes, Football Daily's FA Cup odyssey takes us to a Sarf Lahn derby, and Saturday's 12.15pm kick-off between Crystal Palace and Millwall. For various reasons, the Met police have decided that's the best time for proceedings to start. Millwall, or Eeeeaaaaawaaagggghhhhlllll, as some fans prefer to pronounce themselves, are under the management of Alex Neil, who has been helming the Lions since replacing former hero Neil Harris, who quit after labelling some of their fans 'thickos' . 'The pressure is more on Palace than on us,' roared the Scot. Oliver Glasner is eyeing an Eagles cup run now that safety is all but secured, perhaps looking to emulate Alan Pardew's legendary dance moves should a Wembley final be reached. Given their recent good form, we fear our Millwall allegiance may be short-lived. José Mourinho has been banned for four matches and fined £35,194 for 'derogatory and offensive statements' against a Turkish referee – and the Turkish game – after Fenerbahce's fiery derby with Galatasaray on Monday. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce have launched a legal case against Galatasaray for accusing their manager of making 'racist statements'. Ruud van Nistelrooy reckons his meek Leicester players invited West Ham to scoop up three easy points. 'When you are passive and hope the opponent doesn't score, you call it upon yourself,' he sighed after the 2-0 away defeat. 'The easy goals we conceded are a part of it.' Crystal Palace have sacked head coach Laura Kaminski with the team bottom of the WSL. Liverpool shed £57m fat ones last season after missing out on Bigger Cup while wages and costs increased, their latest accounts have revealed. We've a feeling beancounters may be feeling a bit happier this time next season, mind. Manchester United and Fulham fans will join forces to protest against Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe's ticket pricing before Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round clash, where away prices are between £52 and £61 for fans this weekend. Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho will buy dinner for his Manchester United teammates to make up for his bad reaction to being substituted against Ipswich. It probably won't be from the staff canteen, though. And trials allowing goalkeepers to hold the ball for eight seconds instead of six are progressing positively towards a law change in the future, according to Ifab, despite the fact that no referee appears to have given a flying one about this rule for the best part of three decades. Ed Aarons investigates the Arsenal production line for the next generation beyond Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly before the night's FA Youth Cup tie with Manchester United. Aston Villa forward Kirsty Hanson is campaigning to help fight dementia. 'It affects so many people,' she tells Suzanne Wrack. The things to look out for in the Premier League FA Cup this weekend. And Tom Finney and Bob Lord, Preston and Burnley: John Brewin heads down a Lancastrian time tunnel before a hotpot of a fifth-round tie. Liverpool's Phil Neal and Everton's Andy Gray visit the set of Brookside in March 1984, where the players met Paul Usher (who played Barry Grant) and Simon O'Brien (Damon Grant). The visit came before the League Cup final between the two clubs, a 0-0 draw at Wembley, with Liverpool winning 1-0 at Maine Road in the replay.
