Latest news with #SkyBlues
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Ballymena United sign highly-rated Glenavon fullback: ‘He's an exceptional talent'
Glenavon have lost talented defender David Toure to fellow Sports Direct Premiership club Ballymena United. The Sky Blues fought off interested from several other clubs – including Scottish sides – to snap up the full-back.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Aisling Maher warns Derry ‘will punish us' if Dublin ‘don't have our heads right' as they look to avoid All-Ireland drop
AISLING MAHER and her Dublin team-mates know they must keep a tight leash on Derry tomorrow after their male counterparts proved that every underdog has its day. Last weekend's defeat to Championship quarter-finals. Advertisement But the campaign is not yet over for the Sky Blues, who know that losing the basement battle against the Oak Leafers would condemn them to a relegation play-off against Maher admitted: 'Look, it's hard. Nobody ever wants to be playing Championship matches knowing that you can't progress and get to where you want to be. 'Ultimately that's the knockout stages and going on from there, so I guess it's a difficult one to keep the focus and to keep the mood right in the camp. 'But the reality is obviously we have a huge game ahead of us on Saturday and Advertisement Read More on Camogie 'They're in the same position we are — they need a win to keep themselves in a good position and to avoid going towards the bottom of the table and relegation and all the rest. 'We've no doubt that they're going to bring a stiff challenge. 'If we don't have our heads right and if we're not in the right space going into it, they'll punish us for it. 'You've no option to kind of sit down and lick your wounds. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling 'You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself and reset pretty quickly to just try and start righting some of the wrongs from last weekend.' While the hosts are strongly fancied to overcome Derry at Parnell Park, the seismic upset pulled off by the GAA legend TJ Reid's wife Niamh and daughter wear shorts in support of camogie stars Speaking as 'Anything can happen on any given day when you have 15 against 15. Advertisement 'Derry have a lot of good players as well. And I guess the Dublin hurlers getting that big win as underdogs does have us acutely aware of how quickly an upset can happen or how quickly any Championship team can be beaten if anybody's not fully prepared going into it on the day.' Having reached the 2024 All-Ireland semi-finals, Maher had high hopes for Dublin this season. However, their absence from the business end of the Championship demonstrates just how competitive things are at the top. The 2017 All-Star said: 'I think it's a great thing for camogie, even though it's not a great thing for Dublin camogie this year. Advertisement 'It probably shows just how little there is between a lot of those top and mid-table teams. There's not huge gaps between anyone. 'Obviously Waterford will play 'I think either of those two teams could also have not made quarter-finals in our group. 'It's really positive that there's so little between teams. Advertisement 'Obviously for ourselves in Dublin last year, getting to the semi-final was a huge step in the right direction. 'To build on that, we would have wanted to make sure that we got that far again, if not further. 'Unfortunately it hasn't happened that way but the path forward is rarely smooth. You'll have ups and downs along the way. 'What's probably more important for us is how we respond to this in the short term, hopefully getting a win at the weekend, and in the longer term trying to get ourselves back into the knockout stages next year.' Advertisement 1 Pictured pitch side in Croke Park at todays launch of Toyota Ireland as the new Official Car Partner to The Camogie Association is Dublin Camogie captain and Toyota ambassador Aisling Maher with the Toyota C-HR Hybrid Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How's the fixtures looking, Oggy?
It's been confirmed that Coventry's opening game of the season will be against last season's relegation-strugglers Hull City. The Tigers just avoided the drop to League One by goal difference last season - but Sky Blues commentator and former goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic believes it's not guaranteed to be an easy start. Advertisement "Hull are underachievers, I think, they tend to buy in foreign markets. I thought they would have had a better season last year than what they did," Ogrizovic told BBC Radio CWR. "New manager, doubtless number of new players as well. It's an unknown quantity. "But on the face of it, it looks a nice start." Coventry will not face any team that made the top 14 last season in August however, the following month will see them take a short trip to freshly relegated Leicester City before hosting newly promoted Birmingham City in a West Midlands derby. They open September by hosting Norwich City, a team who beat them in both fixtures last season. Advertisement "Coventry can do themselves a lot of good in August if they start well," Ogrizovic added. "But then in September, it really hits you because Norwich are always a difficult fixture. We struggle against them for some reason. "By that time, players are starting to get into the season, they've found their feet. That'll be a truer test of what kind of side we are and what we are going to do that particular year." Listen to Ogrizovic's full thoughts and more on BBC Sounds.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
How's the fixtures looking, Oggy?
It's been confirmed that Coventry's opening game of the season will be against last season's relegation-strugglers Hull Tigers just avoided the drop to League One by goal difference last season - but Sky Blues commentator and former goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic believes it's not guaranteed to be an easy start."Hull are underachievers, I think, they tend to buy in foreign markets. I thought they would have had a better season last year than what they did," Ogrizovic told BBC Radio CWR."New manager, doubtless number of new players as well. It's an unknown quantity."But on the face of it, it looks a nice start."Coventry will not face any team that made the top 14 last season in August however, the following month will see them take a short trip to freshly relegated Leicester City before hosting newly promoted Birmingham City in a West Midlands open September by hosting Norwich City, a team who beat them in both fixtures last season."Coventry can do themselves a lot of good in August if they start well," Ogrizovic added."But then in September, it really hits you because Norwich are always a difficult fixture. We struggle against them for some reason."By that time, players are starting to get into the season, they've found their feet. That'll be a truer test of what kind of side we are and what we are going to do that particular year."Listen to Ogrizovic's full thoughts and more on BBC Sounds.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Not the toughest of starts for Sky Blues'
Hull City at home at 12:30 BST on the opening day of the season won't have been on many Sky Blues' fans wish given that Hull only survived relegation on goal difference last season, and they're under the management of Championship newbie, Bosnian Sergej Jakirovic, it could well present an opportunity to start the 2025-26 campaign with all three to Derby and Oxford with QPR - also under new management - at home, doesn't seem to represent the toughest of to back derbies in September, away to Leicester, and Birmingham at the CBS Arena, are a bit more mouthwatering, with a first competitive visit to Wrexham since a League Cup tie way back in 1994, also catching the eye at the beginning of home matches over Christmas, Swansea on Boxing Day, and Ipswich on December 29th, are followed by welcoming in 2026 with a trip to south London to face derby returns away to Birmingham and Leicester at the CBS give the start to the New Year a slightly tricky look, but the all important run-in looks a lot more friendly, on paper at Sky Blues face Blackburn away and Portsmouth at home over Easter – Wrexham at the Arena is the last home game, and Vicarage Road, Watford, is where the Sky Blues finish the campaign, hopefully celebrating automatic promotion to the Premier League, but if not that, at the very least, another play-off we all know, though, an awful lot of water has got to flow under the bridge between now and then.
