D Friday, October 16, 2009 METROSPORT 23 TOday SOCCER (7.45 unless stated) Coca-Cola League Two Cheltenham v Macclesfield .............. League of Ireland Premier division Cork v Bohemians............................ Dundalk v Sligo ................................ Galway Utd v Derry City................... St Patricks v Bray............................. League of Ireland First division Limerick FC v Waterford Utd............ Monaghan Utd v Kildare C ....... 8.00 Shelbourne v Athlone Town....... 8.00 HORSE RaCING Cheltenham, Newmarket, Redcar, Wolverhampton, Dundalk RUGBy UNION Heineken Cup Pool 1: Perpignan v Northampton (8.00) Pool 2: Newpt- Gwent Dgons v Glasgow (7.30) Pool 5: Sale v Cardiff Blues (8.00) amlin Challenge Cup Pool 2: Montpellier v Connacht (7.00) SaTURday SOCCER (3.00 unless stated) Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Birmingham ...................... Aston Villa v Chelsea............... 12.45 Everton v Wolverhampton ................ Man Utd v Bolton ............................. Portsmouth v Tottenham.................. Stoke v West Ham............................ Sunderland v Liverpool..................... Coca-Cola Championship Blackpool v Plymouth....................... Bristol City v Peterborough .............. Cardiff v Crystal Palace.................... Doncaster v Barnsley ....................... Ipswich v Swansea........................... Leicester v Derby.............................. Middlesbrough v Watford................. Nottm Forest v Newcastle......... 5.20 QPR v Preston.................................. Scunthorpe v Sheff Utd........... 12.00 Sheff Wed v Coventry....................... West Brom v Reading....................... Coca-Cola League One Charlton v Huddersfield.................... Leyton Orient v Brentford................. Milton Keynes Dons v Gillingham..... Oldham v Southampton ................... Southend v Bristol Rovers................ Stockport v Millwall .......................... Swindon v Hartlepool....................... Tranmere v Brighton ......................... Walsall v Exeter ................................ Wycombe v Colchester .................... Yeovil v Carlisle................................. Coca-Cola League Two Accrington Stanley v Bournemouth . Aldershot v Bury............................... Burton Albion v Barnet..................... Crewe v Port Vale............................. Dag & Red v Bradford ...................... Darlington v Shrewsbury .................. Grimsby v Rochdale......................... Hereford v Chesterfield .................... Northampton v Lincoln City.............. Rotherham v Notts County............... Torquay v Morecambe...................... Clydesdale Bank Premier League Aberdeen v Hearts............................ Celtic v Motherwell........................... Dundee Utd v Hamilton.................... Falkirk v St Mirren............................. Hibernian v Kilmarnock .................... St Johnstone v Rangers.......... 12.30 League of Ireland Premier division Shamrock Rovers v Drogheda U.. 7.00 League of Ireland First division Longford T v Sporting Fingal..... 7.30 Mervue Utd v UCD .................... 7.00 Wexford Youths v Finn Harps.... 8.00 HORSE RaCING Catterick, Cheltenham, Kelso, Newmatket, Wolverhampton RUGBy UNION Heineken Cup Pool 1: Munster v Treviso (1.35) Pool 2: Biarritz v Gloucester (1.35) Pool 3: Viadana v Leicester (1.30) Pool 4: Edinburgh v Ulster (3.45) Pool 5: Harlequins v Toulouse (6.00) Pool 6: Brive v Leinster (3.45), London Irish v Scarlets (3.00) SUNday SOCCER Barclays Premier League Blackburn v Burnley .................. 1.00 Wigan v Man City ...................... 4.00 HORSE RaCING Fontwell Park, Kempton, Southwell MOTOR CyCLING MotoGP Australian Grand Prix (Phillip Island) MOTOR RaCING FIa Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo) RUGBy UNION Heineken Cup Pool 3: Ospreys v Clermont Auvergne (12.45) Pool 4: Bath v Stade Francais (3.00) weekend fixtures premier league Fergusons write move for Defour SIR ALEx Ferguson has confirmed his interest in Steven Defour, writing to the Standard Liege star to say he is still on Manchester Uniteds radar. Defour (pictured), 21, is out of action with a broken foot, ending any chance of a move to England in January. But Ferguson wrote: Dear Steven, I have just heard about your injury and, in the name of Manchester United, I would like to wish you a full and speedy recovery. Im going to follow your progress and will remain in contact with your club for news of your recovery. Everton had a 9million bid for the Belgium midfielder rejected this summer. Fellaini cleared to face Wolves MaROUaNE Fellaini will play for Everton against Wolves tomorrow after Fifa threw out the Belgian Fas appeal. Belgium sought to invoke the five-day ruling against the midfielder, who missed Wednesdays match in Estonia following an operation to have a wisdom tooth removed. The world governing body can ban a player from club action but Fifa told the Toffees they had no case to answer. Harry: Spurs my biggest gamble TOTTENHAM Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp admits leaving Portsmouth for White Hart Lane was the biggest gamble of his career. The clubs meet at Fratton Park tomorrow and Redknapp (pictured) said: Spurs were bottom of the league and had I failed to turn things around, it would probably have been the end of my career. People thought I was also mad to return to Portsmouth when they were bottom. I really put my career on the line there, as I did when I joined Tottenham. PETE MAHON expects the kitchen sink to be thrown at his St Patricks Athletic side in their battle with rock bottom Bray Wanderers tonight. Sligo Rovers victory over Bray in midweek saw Saints drop into the play-off zone, piling the pressure on Mahon and his players. This is a crucial game for both teams, said Mahon, who is without banned midfielder Stuart Byrne while central defender Jason Gavin is an injury doubt. Bray have now come within two points of Drogheda, theyve only three games left after this one, so theyll be throwing everything at us. It was a tough game out at Bray two weeks ago and we can expect more of the same. At this stage in the season its all about winning. People wont remember the performance. We want to go out and play well in every game, but we have to ensure we get the right result at the end of it. Bray boss Eddie Gormley said: If we play like we did in the second half on Tuesday we will give ourselves a great chance of getting something from the game. But he admitted: It will be tough as they are fighting for their lives as well. Mahon prepared for a Bray dogfight league of ireland soCCer WORLd CUP qUaLIFIERS St Ledger sure Ireland can silence the criticsBy davId kENNEdySEAN St LEdgEr is confident the republic of Ireland can deliver the perfect response to their critics by reaching the World Cup finals. giovanni trapattonis side ended their group Eight qualifying cam- paign in disappointing style on Wednesday night when they could only draw 0-0 with Montenegro at Croke Park. the result was largely immaterial with Ireland having already secured their place in next months play-offs, and with the manager having made six changes to the side which fell just short of a famous victory over reign- ing champions Italy on Saturday, there was a sense of anti-climax about the whole affair. However, the point at least saw the Irish end the group stage unbeaten in their ten games at the end of a week when trapattonis detractors were at their most vociferous. rt pundit Eamon dunphy this week withdrew his controversial de- scription of the performance against the Italians as shameful, but the managers pragmatism remains not universally celebrated. However, St Ledger insists that he and his team-mates can answer all the criticism when they meet up again next month for two crucial games against either France, russia, Portu- gal or greece. He said: I would say we are in the play-offs thats the best way to an- swer it. When we were seeded for this group, we were not seeded second, so we have over-achieved, really. If we won the World Cup and didnt play very well, would people moan? I dont think they would. Some of the press has been a little bit negative, but such is life. to call our performance shameful on Sat- urday was a little bit harsh, but every- one has the right to an opinion and that was his [dunphys]. However, Middlesbrough defender St Ledger, who has enjoyed a mete- oric rise since his first cap against Ni- geria in May, knows there will be lit- tle margin for error when the republic run out on November 14 and 18. He said: We are going to be coming up against a very good team, so we are going to have to step up another level. Whoever we get is going to be tough, but we can beat anybody. Confident: St Ledger believes Ireland can defeat anybody Picture: Sportsfile ARGENTINA coach Diego Maradona took a swipe at critics who treated him like dirt following his sides last-ditch World Cup qualifying success. Maradonas team sealed their place at the finals in South Africa with a 1-0 win in Uruguay on Wednesday night. Midfielder Mario Bolatti, winning just his third cap, fired home with six minutes remaining in Montevideo. Argentina have belatedly qualified but Maradona insisted he felt let down by the media, whom he said invented a row with team manager Carlos Bilardo. Thank you to the Argentinian people who had faith, said the 48-year-old. This is for those who did not believe in the national team and treated me like dirt they will now have to accept this. I want to thank the players and fans no-one but them. [The press] invented I was fighting with Bilardo. They gave wrong information. Maradona lashes out at doubters after Argentina qualify IRELANDS POTENTIAL PLAY-OFF OPPONENTS RayMONd domenechs side were beaten to top spot in Group Seven by Serbia after a dismal qualifying campaign marred by reports of a bust-up between the coach and his players among them Thierry Henry. Still have formidable talent and are punching well below their weight. France THE lowest ranked of the play- off seeds, Portugal recovered after a poor start to Group One to win their last three matches and pip Sweden to second place. They have struggled to gel as a unit and score goals, despite their glittering array of talent including world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal THE only side Republic boss Giovanni Trapattoni singled out when considering his play-off rivals because of their artificial pitch Russia are the highest ranked team in the draw. Coached by Guus Hiddink, two defeats by Germany saw them finish second in Group Four. Russia THE surprise winners of the 2004 European Championships sealed their play-off place with a 2-1 victory over Luxembourg in the final round. Started qualifying strongly but finished second behind Switzerland, despite being in a weak group. An experienced, well-drilled team that can be hard to beat. Greece Ronaldo Hart has no fear PORTSMOUTH boss Paul Hart says he has no fears for his job at the Premier Leagues bottom club following new director of football avram Grants arrival. He said: I have bigger things to get on with and whether Im being lined up for the chop or whatever isnt one of them. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html