Sports Digest - Celtic to face Chelsea in New York

“I spoke to Richard and he assured me that he will be ready for the last two games of the season. Also the doctor said that Richard should be ready before the end of the season,” said the Italian.

League Results

SHAMROCK Rovers came from a goal down to beat Monaghan United 3-1 at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night. Cork City suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Drogheda while Derry were impressive in a 4-0 win at Bray.

Dundalk were upset 2-0 at home by St. Patrick’s Athletic, while Shelbourne won the Dublin derby 2-0 at Bohs and Sligo left it late to beat UCD 2-1 at the Showgrounds.
 
Soccer Shorts

IRISH international midfielder Keith Andrews is close to signing a two year deal with West Brom after his recent move from Blackburn Rovers . . .

IRISH goalkeeper Stephen Henderson has left cash strapped Portsmouth and signed for Championship promotion contenders West Ham . . .

IRELAND boss Giovanni Trapattoni has laughed off interest from Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk . . .

WEST Brom’s former Irish international Steven Reid is to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

Rory Ready

Rory McIlroy can’t wait for the Masters at Augusta next month after a whirlwind finish to the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Ulsterman maintained his place at the top of the world ratings with a brilliant final 18 holes to finish third behind England’s Justin Rose.

He is now top of the $10 million FedEx standings as well, and in flying form ahead of his return to Augusta for the first time since last year’s epic collapse on the last day of the tournament.

With injury doubts surrounding Tiger Woods and his participation in the Masters, McIlroy will be favorite in many people’s eyes to win the first major of the year.

McIlroy said on Sunday, “Even when I don’t feel like I am playing my best, the biggest improvement in my game is being able to turn those 71s and 72s into 69s or 68s and keep yourself in a tournament.”

With three wins and 12 top five finishes from his last 13 starts, McIlroy deserves to be on top of the world rankings as he prepares for a week’s work on the range with coach Michael Bannon ahead of Augusta.

“You learn a lot from previous experiences.  Last year’s Masters was a big one for me,” added McIlroy.

“I think the U.S. Open gave me the confidence to know that I was doing the right things and that I could win the biggest tournaments.

“And confidence, it can do massive things for your game.  Even if you’re not playing that great, if you still have confidence in yourself it makes a big difference.”

The Irishman also hopes to see a fit Woods at the Masters.

“I really hope he’s healthy for the Masters, because obviously it would be a great week with him there.

Tiger Woods has been the face of golf for the last 15 years.  It feels like he’s coming back to his best or something near his best, so it’s great for the game,” said McIlroy.

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Nster.com