WHITLOCK IS GOOD AS GOLD AGAIN
Watts turns up the heat and says Rovers will start to close gap now
GYMNASTICS
OLYMPIC champion Max Whitlock took pommel horse gold at the British Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool yesterday.
The 31-year-old (below), who returned to action last year after retaining his Olympic pommel horse title in Tokyo in 2021, won with a score of 15.250 at the M&S Bank Arena.
Whitlock is building up to what would be his fourth Olympic Games this summer in Paris, and he said: “It feels good. It feels good to be back.
“Since after Tokyo it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster for me with a year out of the sport, coming back in, and it’s crazy that we’re in the Olympic year now.
“So 2024 has really started... and I’m really pleased with that.”
Next up for Whitock is the European Championships in Rimini in April.
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F Shelbourne ......... 6 5 1 0 9 Derry City ........... 6 3 2 1 10 Waterford ............ 6 2 2 2 9 Galway United .... 6 2 1 3 4 Bohemians .......... 5 2 1 2 6 Sligo Rovers ........ 6 2 3 1 10 Shamrock R . ....... 5 1 3 1 5 St Patrick’s .......... 6 2 0 4 5 Drogheda United 5 1 1 2 5 Dundalk ............... 5 0 2 3 1
A 3 6 8 4 7 4 5 8 10 9
Pts 16 11 8 7
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DYLAN WATTS believes Shamrock Rovers are well placed to start reeling in table toppers Shelbourne.
The champions belatedly got their first win of the season in Friday’s 1-0 victory away to Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park.
Watts was a standout performer in midfield and set the wheels in motion for the winning goal with six minutes remaining.
He clipped a wide ball over the Galway cover for Darragh Burns who in turn whipped in a low cross for super sub Johnny Kenny
(inset) to slot home.
It was the Hoops first win at the fifth time of asking and while they are 10 points behind
Shels, they have a game in hand and Watts feels the Galway win will focus minds.
“Performances this season have been quite good but we haven’t always been putting the ball in the back of the net and games have been tough,” he told Mirror Sport.
“We lost to Shels with a good performance and we drew in Sligo on another tricky pitch. But we won’t lose focus.
“I believe we will come good and when we do, we’re capable of going on a long run of winning games.”
When Rovers started winning league trophies under Stephen Bradley, they developed a knack of scoring late winners.
And Watts insists it is no fluke that the Hoops keep sticking to their task in games without desperation creeping into their play.
“It’s instilled into us by the coaching staff not to get too impatient,” said the midfielder as the league goes into an international break.
“We have scored a lot of late goals over the last few years and there’s a reason for that – we stay patient and don’t get impatient in the final third.
“We go into every game trying to win it, but we know we’ve got points to catch up on. It’s a first win but we’re not getting carried away with anything.
“We have to knuckle down and hopefully get a little bit sharper and win some matches.”
Damien Duff ’s Shels have made a stunning start to the season and have 16 points from their six games – including a 2-1 win over the Hoops at Tolka Park last month. And Watts added: “They’ve had a fantastic start and are unbeaten and got another big three points on Friday.
“Even from playing against them, they looked a really good side and it’s going to be a tough league.
“There are other teams that are going to be good but we’re confident in the group that we have the players to do it.
“We have a lot of injuries with six or seven lads out at the moment – players like Aaron Mceneff and Jack Byrne.
“There’s a lot of quality to come back, so we’ll use the break to get more into them and hopefully we’ll come back with nearly a full squad.”