Irish sides into Europa Conference League third round; Kevin McStay puts his name forward for Mayo job

Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic are both into the third round of the Europa Conference League and €850,000 better off than yesterday morning following last night’s wins. Rovers defeated Scottish Premiership club Motherwell 2-0, with the win at The Showgrounds sealing an impressive 3-0 aggregate victory. St Pat’s beat NŠ Mura after a penalty shoot-out, wherein two misses apiece meant the shoot-out went to sudden death and the Saints finally advanced after Mura substitute Tio Cipot skied his effort over the crossbar.

The United Rugby Championship fixtures have been confirmed, with Munster to host Leinster at Thomond Park over the Christmas period. The first matches take place on the weekend of September 16th-18th which is notable for the first Irish interprovincial derby of the season when Ulster host Connacht at the Kingspan stadium. Johnny Watterson explains why the rugby hemispheres are set on a collision course over the 20-minute red card: “there is little argument that red cards can ruin games. So too that head injuries can ruin lives. To struggle with the choice of which one is more important for the game of rugby seems both ludicrous and shameful.”

Kevin McStay has put his name forward to become the next Mayo manager — with a back room team which includes former manager Stephen Rochford, former Kerry and Mayo trainer Donie Buckley, his coach with Roscommon and St Brigid’s Liam McHale and Damien Mulligan who is a highly rated coach on the Mayo club scene.

Meanwhile, Jockey Liam McKenna enjoyed a fairy-tale return to action when helping Tudor City become the first horse in nearly 40 years to win the Galway Hurdle for a second time. Check out Brian O’Connor’s report on all Thursday’s action at the Galway festival here.