Liam Lawrence’s stunning free kick handed the Republic of Ireland victory and consigned World Cup hosts South Africa to their sixth consecutive defeat on Tuesday.
The Stoke City midfielder’s wonderfully struck first-half effort was the difference between the sides in a competitive friendly at Thomond Park.
While South Africa dominated possession and played some of the more attractive soccer, they were toothless in front of goal, and couldn’t avoid another defeat in their preparations for next summer’s World Cup.
Coach Joel Santana made only one change from the team that lost 2-0 to Germany on Saturday night with Elrio van Heerden replacing Bevan Fransmann.
For the hosts, however, it was all change, with Giovanni Trapattoni making an untypical eight changes to the side that defeated Cyprus in their Group 8 World Cup qualifier on Saturday night.
Gone were the likes of Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Richard Dunne and the injured John O’Shea, with Keiren Westwood, Andy Keogh, Eddie Nolan and goalscorer Lawrence given the opportunity to impress ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifier against group leaders Italy.
South Africa began the brighter when Morgan Gould flashed a volley over Westwood’s bar.
Katlego Mphela fired wildly over soon after while Bernard Parker also had a chance, but mishit when the ball from Steven Pienaar found him free in the Irish box, with the Everton man finding.
Ireland were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty shout on 13 minutes, when Gould sent Caleb Folan to the ground.
South Africa continued to dominate possession but failed to create a clear cut opportunity, and that frustration was shown by Mphela’s effort to win a penalty after a good ball from Pienaar.
The Everton man was in the thick of things once again when he was booked for handling Lawrence’s free kick on the edge of the box — but he could do nothing about the Stoke player’s re-taken effort, and neither could Rowen Fernandez as the ball found the top corner.
Neither side made a change at the break but Ireland looked more comfortable as the second half began. Trapattoni’s men passed more convincingly than in the opening period and contained South Africa’s attacks more easily.
Neither side created much until the hour mark, when Ireland burst into life in front of goal, with Leon Best, Folan and then Lawrence all seeing efforts blocked.
South Africa had their first attempt of the half after a cross by Siboniso Gaxa found substitute Siphiwe Tshabalala, but he diverted his volley wide from close range.
Sean St Ledger and Darren O’Dea then combined to halt a double attack from the visitors as they pushed for a leveler, but the well drilled Irish defense held firm.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB