New-look Irish too strong for Scots

Ireland got their Celtic Cup defence off to an efficient start in Le Touquet, France yesterday, extending their winning streak over Scotland to 13 with a 3-1 victory. An overhaul in midfield saw Andy McConnell, David Ames and Geoff McCabe initially involved in a battle before finding the right strings to pull and when they did, Ireland had too much for the Scots. Chris Cargo connected with Alan Sothern’s reverse-stick cross for a 19th-minute lead, which was doubled four minutes before the break by Conor Harte’s first international goal, his corner flick beating GB netminder Ali McGregor. Kenny Bain pulled one back early in the second half for the Scots — who last defeated Ireland in 2006 — but Timmy Cockram’s switch-flick six mintues from time settled it.

Wales beat France 1-0 in the other game, thanks to a corner strike from the extravagantly-named Rufus McNaught-Barrington. Meanwhile, Irish women’s coach Gene Muller was happy with the improvement in his side’s recent performance levelss, despite losing 4-0 to Australia at the Four Nations tournament in Essen, Germany. Nikki Evans claimed her first cap, while skipper Eimear Cregan equalled Rachael Kohler’s all-time appearances record of 166, which she looks set to overtake today. Two goals either side of half-time did the damage for Australia, while Cregan and Niamh Small had opportunities that went begging. Muller said: ” It was a more open match than in Chile and we performed much better technically. We created good scoring chances but we were sloppy with crucial turnovers which cost us in both circles.” Elsewhere, Cork Church of Ireland’s Nick Burns was one of five players on target for Ireland U18s as they proved far too good for their Scottish counterparts at Hillsborough, Co Down last night. Burns opened the scoring with William Edgar and Shane O’Donoghue also on target before half-time, before Richard Sykes and Andy Williamson did likewise after the break. IRELAND Men: I Walker, R Gormley, J Jackson, C Harte, P Gleghorne, G McCabe, D Ames, A McConnell, E Magee, T Cockram, M Darling Subs: J Brennan, A Giles, A Sothern, P Maguire, C Cargo Senior Men’s Celtic Cup (Le Touquet, France) results: Ireland 3 (C Cargo, C Harte, T Cockram) Scotland 1 (K Bain); Wales 1 (R McNaught-Barrington) France 0 Celtic Cup standings (points/goal difference): 1.Ireland 3pts (+2) 2. Wales 3pts (+1) 3. France 0pts (-1) 4. Scotland 0pts (-2)