Dundalk are one game away from repeating their feat of 2016-17 and qualifying for the Europa League group stages, after their penalty shootout win over Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol last night. Filippo Giovagnoli's side went a goal down early on but equalised through Seán Murray on the stroke of half-time. After a goalless second half the game went to extra-time and then a shootout, with the Lilywhites scoring all five of their penalties and Gary Rogers making a crucial save. Dundalk's reward is €300,000 and a further qualifier against Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag of the Faroe Islands at the Aviva Stadium next Thursday, where a place in the group stages and €3 million will be at stake. Elsewhere in the League Cup last night Manchester City progressed to the fourth round after a 2-1 win over Bournemouth; Aston Villa won 3-0 at Bristol City and Liverpool thrashed Lincoln City 7-2. In the Uefa Super Cup European champions Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 after extra-time.
The 2020 Irish Open got underway yesterday with the marquee name in the field - British Open winner Shane Lowry - getting off to a slow start at Galgorm Castle. Lowry posted a five over par opening round of 75 at the Ballymena venue, meaning he is 10 strokes off the lead and facing a battle to make the cut. South Africa's Dean Burmester set the early pace with a fine round of 65, while English duo Jordan Smith and Aaron Rai share the lead on five under par. Amateur James Sugrue leads the Irish challenge after his opening round of 67. You can follow all of today's action via the Irish Times liveblog, with Lowry back underway at the later time of 1pm.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was stunned by an 18-year-old from Cork last night, as rookie Aaron Hill beat the defending world champion 5-4 in the opening round of the European Masters. Hill - in his first year as a professional - took a 3-1 lead before O'Sullivan rallied to take three frames on the spin. However Hill held his nerve to secure the biggest victory of his fledgling career, and afterwards he said: "I am almost speechless. He has always been my hero, but I wasn't out there just happy to be in the same arena. I wanted to win. . . His comment about there being no good young players coming through was in my mind, and hopefully I have shown him there is some talent there."
Ireland and Leinster great Rob Kearney looks set to see out his stellar career in the sun down under, with the 34-year-old close to agreeing a deal with Perth side Western Force for 2021. The former Lions fullback confirmed his departure from Irish rugby yesterday in an open letter published on the Leinster website, he said: "I have lived the dream of every five-year-old boy or girl out there that dreams of pulling on a Leinster jersey, an Ireland jersey, a Lions jersey." Meanwhile this morning Johnny Watterson has suggested Leinster could benefit from bringing in some overseas talent: "History would tend to suggest that one or two strong external voices is the difference between a very good team and a Champions Cup-winning side."
And Dublin's Jonny Cooper is raring to go ahead of the 2020 All-Ireland Championships, and believes this year's sudden death format will bring an extra edge to proceedings: "What I like about it is there's no safety net. You've often seen any championship or any sport in general when it's all on the line, you know, you tend to get a little bit more of a rawness to it sometimes."
