A round-up of today's other Sports news in brief...
Leinster hang on to beat Ospreys
RUGBY:Leinster 'A' 32 The Ospreys 28. Leinster 'A' showed the benefit of more matches together this season by moving out to a solid lead and just about defending it against The Ospreys at The Belfield Bowl yesterday.
Scrum-half Chris Keane's slick break and superb 30-metre pass enabled Gary Brown to cut inside the cover for the opening try. Prop Cian Healy escaped the clutches of Jamie Nutbrown for the next and Brown got his second for a 22-0 lead at the break.
The Ospreys brought on All Black Marty Holah and three others at the break. Wing Leigh Bevan crossed for a converted try. Then, Simon Keogh raced in fro a Leinster try.
It looked over until replacement Niall Morris conceded a penalty try and was sent to the bin and Holah and Sonny Parker grabbed The Ospreys their third and fourth seven-pointers to leave a single point between them until a McFadden penalty at the death.
Lopez draws Spain level in final
TENNIS:Spain drew level 1-1 with Argentina in the Davis Cup final last night when Feliciano Lopez beat the injured Juan Martin del Potro in four sets.
Del Potro, ranked ninth in the world, swept through the first set in 38 minutes after breaking serve in the fifth game.
Lopez won the next two sets on tiebreaks before Del Potro, already struggling with a toe injury, suffered what appeared to be a pulled muscle in his right leg in the sixth game of the fourth.
Del Potro soldiered on but the Spaniard won 4-6 7-6 7-6 6-3 to level the final after David Nalbandian had earlier raced to a straight-sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-3) victory over David Ferrer, who continued a poor recent run of form.
Mervue earn their promotion in style
Promotion/relegation play-off
Kildare County 0
Mervue Utd 3
(Mervue win 5-2 on aggregate)
PENDING their receiving a First Division licence, Mervue United were last night promoted to the League of Ireland First Division after David Goldbey scored twice to bring Kildare's seven seasons as a league club to a sad end at Station Road last night.
Galway side Mervue United took the lead on 15 minutes when right-back Dave O'Brien's clever, angled free-kick beat the one-man wall to sneak in off the near post.
Philly Hughes, Craig Mooney and, in particular, Ciarán Kilduff spurned chances of an equaliser before Mervue struck for their killer second goal on 63 minutes.
Ollie Keogh put Goldbey in over the top and the striker shot past Austin O'Neill.
Goldbey added a third with a delightful chip over O'Neill on 81 minutes after Kenny Farrell played him in on goal.
Taylor to make it a double celebration for Ireland
BOXING:The Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) will celebrate an historic double if Katie Taylor retains her World lightweight title in China over the next seven days. Taylor finished her training camp at the Ningbo Sports Centre yesterday ahead of the Fifth AIBA Women's World Championships which begin in Ningbo City, China today.
The 21-year-old reigning World, European and European Union lightweight champion, who claimed her first World title in New Delhi in November 2006, could be involved in preliminary round action this morning.
If the Leinster woman retains her crown in Ningbo City then Irish boxers will have won two World 60Kg titles in the space of six weeks as Westport teenager Ray Moylett claimed lightweight gold at the World Youth Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico earlier this month.
All five continents represented by 237 boxers from 42 countries will be competing in Ningbo City
Kürten wins speed class in Stuttgart
EQUESTRIAN:Jessica Kürten won yesterday evening's speed class at the five-star show in Stuttgart on Lady Georgina Forbes's Quibell. Second last to jump, the Cullybackey rider stopped the clock on 62.34 to take the €6,250 first prize with France's Eugenie Angot placing second on Ilostra Dark in a time of 62.48.
Meanwhile, Brian Mangan, chairman of Horse Sport Ireland's eventing high performance management committee, was yesterday elected to the FEI audit and compliance committee at the organisation's general assembly in Buenos Aires. He will serve for four years, reports Margie McLoone.
Earlier news from the Argentine capital concerned the resignation of the chairman of the FEI dressage committee, Mariette Withages. On Tuesday, the FEI voted to discuss the chairman's removal yesterday but Withages pre-empted this.
Sorenstam's farewell
GOLF:Annika Sorenstam's LPGA Tour farewell ended on day-two of the ADT Championship, in Florida after she slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club. The Swede languished in a tie for 21st place with a five-over tally of 149. A four-times winner of the event, Sorenstam announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.
