Brigade's second Irish Senior Cup cricket win denied Limavady their second treble in three years when they beat the favourites by four wickets at Beechgrove yesterday. Chasing a total of 162, Brigade lost openers Willie Wilson (2) and Brian Sturgeon (12) before they reached 30. However, a 78-run stand in 23 overs by man of the match Stephen Smyth and David Cooke took them to 107 before the former departed for 55, having hit six boundaries and two sixes in his 73-ball stay. Solid batting by the Cooke brothers, David (32) and Gordon (20 not out), saw Brigade reach the required total in only 43.2 overs.
Athletics: Peter Coghlan was once again within inches of breaking his own Irish record when he finished fifth in the 110 metre hurdles at the IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels last evening.
His time of 13.36 seconds was just 0.6 short of his record in a race won by the Mark Crear of the US in a time of 13.15, with World Championship silver medalist Anier Garcia of Cuba just sneaking ahead of Coghlan in fourth in 13.35.
Victory in the 800 metres went to Wilson Kipketer of Denmark in 1:42.27 and ensured he stays in the running for the $1 million jackpot with just Berlin to follow on Tuesday.
The only other contender, Gabriela Szabo of Romania, also kept her hand on the money with another clear win in the 3,000 metres in 8:25.82. Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco fell less than two seconds short of the 3,000 metres world record when he came home in 7:23.09 - still the second fastest time in history.
Hockey: Russia recovered from their 7-1 opening defeat by England to beat Poland 4-3 in the European Nations Cup in Padova yesterday, writes Dermot Ashmore. The Poles now find themselves bottom of the Pool A table with Ireland.
While Nigel Henderson may be fit enough to make his first appearance in goal, there is little chance of Ireland holding the strong, attacking English side today. With strikers of the calibre of Mark Pearn and Calum Giles, England seem set to join Holland in the semi-finals. Yet, there will still be hope in the Irish camp of staying in the running for the fifth to eighth place play-off. This can be achieved next week by salvaging fourth spot in the pool at the expense of the Poles or Russians or even France, who made the most of a below-par Irish effort in the first match of the tournament.
In yesterday's most prestigious match in Pool B, Germany, the European title holders, were held to a scoreless draw by Spain who, however, are in jeopardy of losing a semi-final berth to Belgium.
Canoeing: The second biggest marathon canoe race in the world, the Liffey Descent, is set to hit the water today. The event starts at Straffan at 2 p.m. and finishes at Islandbridge.
The entry includes paddlers from such far-flung places as New Zealand, South Africa and the US and Italy, as well as Ireland, Britain and France. The South Africans are expected to sell off their boats at the end - a welcome boost to other competitors, who can acquire crafts at knock-down prices.
