Sports Digest /SCHOOLS' HOCKEY: Loreto Beaufort and Wesley College will meet in the Leinster Schools' Premier League final next Friday after winning their semi-finals at Grange Road yesterday, beating Muckross Park and Alexandra College, respectively, by a single goal, reports Mary Hannigan.
There was nothing to choose between Beaufort and Muckross after the first half of their semi-final, Rachel Maunsell (Beaufort) and Leanne Costello (Muckross) making it one apiece, but further goals from Maunsell and Zara Delany, as well as a penalty-stroke save by Anna Egan, helped Beaufort to a 3-2 victory, with Anna Bowe getting her school's second goal.
The second semi-final was just as close, Alice Ward equalising for Alexandra with a reverse-stick strike two minutes after Maeve Galvin gave Wesley the lead from a short corner in the first half. As extra-time loomed, though, Leigh Pelow produced the match-winning goal for Wesley, eight minutes from time, with a deflected shot from a short corner.
Leinster Schools' Premier League: Semi-finals (at Grange Road): Loreto Beaufort 3 (R Maunsell 2, Z Delany) Muckross Park 2 (L Costello, A Bowe); Wesley College 2 (M Galvin, L Pelow) Alexandra College 1 (A Ward).
Asian Games rider dies
EQUESTRIAN: Korean rider Hyung Chil Kim was killed at the Asian Games in Doha yesterday morning, reports Grania Willis.
Kim (47) suffered fatal skull fractures after being crushed by his horse Bundaberg Black in a fall at the eighth fence on the cross-country course at the Doha Racing and Equestrian Club.
Hyung Chil Kim was 11th out on to the course, in what was described as atrocious weather.
He was attended to by paramedics at the scene but could not be revived. He was declared dead at 10.50 yesterday morning.
Focus now on indoors
ROWING: The junior regional time-trial scheduled for Galway tomorrow has been cancelled because of the weather, reports Liam Gorman.
The trial had been deferred from last weekend, as had the Muckross Head of the River, scheduled for tomorrow, which was also called off yesterday.
The flight indoors for rowers need not be at the expense of competition. The Irish Indoor Championships in UCD on Sunday has an impressive entry of over 330 competitors, including Gerard Ward, the Commercial sculler who landed a place in the Ireland Olympic B squad at last weekend's trials.
O'Sullivan nicks it
SNOOKER: Ronnie O'Sullivan scraped into the third round of the UK Championship in York last night. The former world number one went from 7-4 up to 7-8 down against Welshman Ricky Walden, but then battled back from 56 points behind to force a decider, which he won with a 108 break.
O'Sullivan earned a last-16 clash with the 2004 champion, Stephen Maguire of Scotland, who had edged a final-frame showdown with Joe Swail.
Swail's fellow Northerner Gerard Greene went down 9-7 to Mark Williams.
