D Friday, February 12, 2010 SPORT 23 WEEKEND FIXTURES today SoCCER (7.45) Coca-Cola League two Burton Albion v Crewe ..................... Northampton v Aldershot................. HoRSE RaCING Bangor-On-Dee, Kempton Park, Southwell, Wolverhampton MotoR RaCING (until Sunday) FIa World Rally Chship: Swedish Rally (Karlstad, Sweden) oLyMPICS Winter olympic Games (Vancouver) SatuRday SoCCER (3.00 unless stated) the Fa Cup Fifth Round Chelsea v Cardiff .................12.00TV Setanta Ireland Derby v Birmingham......................... Man City v Stoke..................5.15 TV UTV Reading v West Brom...................TV Setanta Ireland Southampton v Portsmouth.12.30 TV UTV/Setanta Ireland Coca-Cola Championship Barnsley v Plymouth......................... Coventry v QPR................................ Doncaster v Nottm Forest ................ Leicester v Scunthorpe .................... Middlesbrough v Peterborough........ Preston v Blackpool .................. 1.00 Sheff Utd v Bristol City..................... Swansea v Newcastle ........12.45 TV Sky Sports 1 Coca-Cola League one Brentford v Wycombe ...................... Brighton v Norwich........................... Carlisle v Milton Keynes Dons.......... Huddersfield v Swindon ................... Leyton Orient v Leeds ...................... Millwall v Exeter................................ Oldham v Walsall.............................. Southend v Tranmere ....................... Stockport v Colchester..................... Yeovil v Gillingham ........................... Coca-Cola League two Barnet v Cheltenham........................ Bradford v Grimsby .......................... Chesterfield v Bury........................... Dag & Red v Bournemouth .............. Lincoln City v Rotherham................. Macclesfield v Accrington Stanley ... Morecambe v Darlington.................. Shrewsbury v Hereford..................... Torquay v Port Vale........................... Clydesdale Bank Premier League Aberdeen v Celtic...............12.30 TV ESPN Hamilton v Motherwell...................... Hearts v Falkirk................................. Kilmarnock v St Johnstone .............. St Mirren v Dundee Utd.................... Gaa (7.30) allianz NFL division 1 Kerry v Cork.........TV Setanta Ireland Dublin v Derry.............. TV Setanta 1 allianz NFL division 2 Down v Meath .................................. Tipperary v Kildare ........................... allianz NFL division 3 Fermanagh v Roscommon............... Cavan v Antrim................................. allianz NFL division 4 Limerick v Carlow............................. HoRSE RaCING Ayr, Warwick, Lingfield, Newbury Newbury, Gowran Park RuGBy uNIoN RBS Six Nations: France v Ireland (4.30), Wales v Scotland (2.00) British & Irish Cup - Pool a: Exeter v Leinster (3.00). Pool B: Munster v Nottingham (3.00) Pool C: Llanelli v Ulster (3.00) a I B League division one - Section B: Ballynahinch v Dungannon (2.30) SuNday SoCCER the Fa Cup Fifth Round Bolton v Tottenham .............1.30 TV UTV/Setanta Ireland Fulham v Notts County.............. 3.00 Crystal Palace v Aston Villa..3.45 TV UTV/Setanta Ireland Clydesdale Bank Premier League Rangers v Hibernian.............1.30 TV Sky Sports 1 Gaa (2.30 unless stated) allianz NFL division 1 Galway v Monaghan......................... Tyrone v Mayo .................................. allianz NFL division 2 Donegal v Laois......................... 2.00 Armagh v Westmeath ....................... allianz NFL division 3 Wexford v Offaly ............................... Sligo v Louth..................................... allianz NFL division 4 Wicklow v Leitrim ............................. Kilkenny v Clare................................ Waterford v London................... 1.00 all-Ireland Club SHC semi-finals Ballyhale v Newtownshandrum........ Portumna v Dunloy........................... HoRSE RaCING Hereford, Exeter, Kempton, Navan RuGBy uNIoN RBS Six Nations: Italy v England (2.30) Swing fix Siems to work for Marcel GOLF: Marcel Siem is hoping a change of approach to his golf could pay dividends this weekend after the German shot a superb eight-under-par 64 to take a one- stroke lead in the opening round of the inaugural Avantha Masters in New Delhi. The 29-year-old is seeking his second victory on the European Tour after winning the Dunhill Championshipin 2004. Siem got his challenge off to a solid start in India with eight birdies before an eagle on the ninth his last moved him ahead of Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei. Siem said: Ive gone back to my old swing and have been working harder than ever. Gareth Maybins 70 was the best Irish score, one better than Darren Clarke and Shane Lowry. Ireland progress by beating Scots CRICKEt: Ireland stayed on course to reach the ICC World twenty20 as they eliminated Scotland yesterday. the Irish secured their place in the Super- Fours with a 37-run win at dubai Stadium after bowling Scotland out for just 99, taking four wickets in the first two overs with only six runs on the board. Scotland initially did well to restrict Ireland, who had needed a victory after their opening defeat by afghanistan, to 136 for seven thanks to a disciplined bowling display. Gary Wilson and andrew White both top scored with 19. Kimis new start RALLYING: Kimi Raikkonen insists he is relishing the opening race of his first full World Championship season in Sweden this weekend. The 30-year-old has joined the Red Bull Citron team after making the switch from Formula One, where he drove for Ferrari. The Finn said: Im looking forward to it. Its still very new to me, so its all about gaining experience, but well get there. sportdigestEuans not sorry he sits on Sunday Euan Murray has no regrets about his decision to stop playing rugby on Sundays as he prepares to ride to Scotlands rescue once again in the rBS 6 nations. Prop Murray, a Christian for more than four years, caused controversy in December when he decided he would no longer play on a Sunday. It was a difficult decision. It took me about three years after I became a Christian, Murray said ahead of tomorrows visit to Wales. But Im happy with my decision and I had a good Sunday, a good Lords Day. WALES lock Jonathan Thomas has revealed he has become a nerd this week as he revises the line-out calls of Six Nations rivals Scotland. Wales weakness in that area was a major factor in their 30-17 defeat by England at Twickenham. Coach Warren Gatland has made just one change up-front as Thomas replaces giant Luke Charteris for Scotlands Millennium Stadium visit tomorrow. And Thomas said: You have to become a nerd when it comes to line-outs. If you dont, youll come unstuck. It isnt the most exciting thing, studying opposition line-outs, but you have to do it. DELon arMItagE has vowed never to let his team-mates down again as he offered a brutally honest assessment of his performance in Englands 30-17 victory over Wales. the full- back feared he would be dropped for Sundays clash with Italy after his least impressive game in an England jersey. I was very disappointed about the Welsh game. We won but on a personal level it was my worst game for England, said armitage. I felt I let the boys down. I put my hand up in the meeting and said I let you down, I will be better next week for you guys. Delon promises to raise his game Thomas swots up on Scotland RUGBY RBS 6 NATIONS By John Donnelly OConnell determined to tick Paris off to-do list High hopes: oConnell believes Ireland have never gone to Paris with so much confidence Picture: Sportsfile PAuL OCONNELL is convinced Irelands status as Grand Slam champions will finally enable him to real- ise one of his greatest ambitions. The Irish collide with tournament favourites France tomorrow in a match that could ultimately decide the destination of the 2010 RBS 6 Nations title. History is heavily weighted against Ireland, who have prevailed in Paris on just two occasions since 1952 with the most recent win claimed a decade ago. OConnell had to wait until last years 30-21 triumph at Croke Park in the opening match of the champion- ship for his first taste of glory against France in eight attempts. Ireland prospered after toppling their peren- nial nemesis, marching to the Grand Slam and con- cluding the year with a precious win against world champions South Africa. But while previous Irish teams have suffered in Paris, OConnell believes the cloak of success will embolden the latest assault on the Stade de France. The history of the fixture gives us motivation, said the Munster lock and Lions captain. If we beat France away from home it will be an incredible feeling and a good box ticked. It would be a highlight in my career. Irish teams sometimes went to Paris with high hopes, sometimes not, but always came off second best. Weve always taken talented teams to Paris but now were going there with a Grand Slam. You cant argue with that. We had an okay autumn, the results were good, so were going over there in a better position than ever before. France continue to be erratic under head coach Marc Lievremont, capable of transforming from unstoppa- ble world-beaters to a rabble in the space of a week. OConnell believes it is their refusal to be restricted by a precise gameplan that makes them so unpredictable. France are very hard to defend against when they get into a rhythm, offloading and keeping the ball off the ground, he said. Defences these days are very prepared for what opponents are going to do, but Frances off- loading game makes them incredibly hard to contain. You must expect the unexpected and then react to it. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html