SPORTSPORT 24 METROSPORT Monday, November 30, 2009 D Certified Distribution October 5 to November 1, 2009: 60,200 Published by Fortunegreen Ltd, Embassy House, Herbert Park Lane, Dublin 4 Printed by The Irish Times at Citywest in Dublin Editorial: (01) 637 5900 Advertising: (01) 637 5989 Classified: (01) 637 5979 Distribution: (01) 637 5901 McIlroy and McDowell fall short at World Cup Ice cool Sexton impresses DArcy Calm under pressure: Sexton Gordon dArcy has hailed Ireland matchwinner Jonathan Sextons nerveless display in Saturdays 15-10 victory over South Africa. Sexton justified his selection ahead of veteran fly-half ronan oGara by booting five penalties to topple the world champions at croke Park. The 24-year-old, playing only his second Test, was physical and composed throughout and dArcy is impressed by the calm he shows at critical moments. Jonny is a brilliant striker of the ball, very natural, said the Lions centre of his Leinster team-mate. Its a mark of a good player that when the pressure comes on he wants the ball. He always wants it it was the same during the Heineken cup semi-finals and final last season. When those pressure kicks are on or when hes going for that extra ten yards into touch, he doesnt flinch at all. He asks for the ball because he wants it every time. dArcy was also full of praise for another Leinster colleague after full-back rob Kearney snared the man-of-the-match award with yet another imperious display of high fielding and counter-attacking breaks. Following a summer of faultless catching for the Lions in South Africa, Kearney was again subjected to aerial bombardment by the Springboks but held firm. Kearns, taking those balls and catching them on the run, thats a huge thing for our pack to look back and see Kearney taking the ball on the run and carrying iot straight back, said dArcy. youve got to question why a teams game plan would be to kick balls to him. Flannery hails progress: P20 Drogba is just two good for Gunners By Mark CurtiS Jav a go: Mascheranos effort was deflected in for Liverpools opener Page 19 CHELsEA sent out another ominous note of warning to their Premier League rivals with an impressive three-goal demolition of Arsene Wengers Arsenal yesterday. Didier Drogba netted a stunning double, first guiding Ashley Coles pacy cross into the top corner before beating Gunners Manuel Almunia with a powerful free- kick as the Blues went five points clear of Manchester United at the top. Thomas Vermaelen also found his own net on a dismal day for the hosts at the Emirates stadium, and Wenger was livid at refereeAndre Marriner for making what he believes was a massive mistake in rul- ing out an Andrey Arshavin goal when the score was 2-0. Wenger said Marriner had told him he gave the foul because Eduardo kicked the ball out of Chelsea keeper Petr Cechs hands as both players went for a cross be- fore Arshavin tapped in and the French- man believes his side could have gained a vital foothold back into the match if the Russians goal had been allowed to stand. The turning point was the referees de- cision [to disallow the goal], Wenger said. How can he see Eduardo kicking Cech when it was a Chelsea player who stops him from controlling the ball? It would have been a very important goal in this kind of game. When you start the second half of the game 2-0 down instead of 2-1, its psychologically completely dif- ferent for the security of Chelsea. Blues skipper John Terry, meanwhile, urged his side to keep their focus as league leaders. Weve been there before and thrown it away, he said. Were playing really well, have great confidence and great team spirit. In the days other big game, Liverpool beat Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside derby to rise to fifth in the table. Everton domi- nated much of the game but a JosephYobo deflection from a Javier Mascherano shot and a Dirk Kuyt tap-in gave Liverpool a much-needed three points. And boss Rafael Benitez believes the win could prove to be a turning point in Liverpools season. I think it was really important for us. We won against Debre- cen midweek [in the Champions League] and we knew we had to keep winning, said the spaniard. A derby is always very difficult and also very important so a win could set us up for the rest of the season. Blues five clear again Derby win lifts Benitez Leap of faith: Didier Drogba celebrates his second, and Chelseas third goal Picture: PA Match reports: Pages 22-23 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html