Gareth Southgate focused on England’s important point and a valuable learning experience after admitting his side did not “quite click” in attack in the Euro 2024 qualifying draw against Ukraine.

Having won their first four Group C matches on the road to next summer’s tournament in Germany, Saturday saw them fail to win a European Championship qualifier for just the second time in 23 attempts.

Ukraine, playing on the road due to the ongoing Russian invasion in their homeland, took the lead through skipper Oleksandr Zinchenko to the delight of the partisan crowd in Wroclaw, Poland.

England levelled before half-time through Kyle Walker’s first international goal on his 77th appearance for the national team, but Southgate’s side could not find a winner as they struggled for attacking fluidity and a cutting edge.

“The reality is we’re not going to win every game by fours and sevens as we’ve done in this qualifying campaign,” the England boss said after Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

“That was a really good test – away from home, very passionate atmosphere, quite a few changes forced from the last game.

“For people like Marc Guehi, for instance, his first experience of the game like that with England, which he came through really strongly.

“So, sometimes, especially with attacking play, it doesn’t quite click. We know that the patterns that we worked during the week are what we always do, so it’s not that we approach the game in a different way.

“We tried to refresh things to give them a different sort of problem but today our forward play bar the goal and probably Bukayo’s effort that hit the bar wasn’t at the level that it has been in our previous games.”

The Bukayo Saka attempt that was tipped onto the bar by Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan was the closest England came to a winner on a night where they were often passive in possession and toothless in attack.

“I think what I liked was the control of the game that we had when you come into an intense atmosphere like there was,” Southgate said in the bowels of the Tarczynski Arena.

“I thought we played with real composure up until the final third and then I think by the time we scored the goal we’d had over 70 per cent of the ball but that was our first attempt on target.

“So clearly, most of our attacking play wasn’t at the level that we would have hoped it to be. But I thought given the circumstances and the importance of the point in terms of qualification and coming from behind when the crowd are full and the opposition have something to hang on to.

“It’s a very important point for us and we’ve now played the two best ranked teams away from home and we’ve got four points from those two games.”

Despite the frustrating draw, it still remains a case of when rather than if England qualify for the Euros.

Southgate’s men now turn their attention to their friendly away to old foes Scotland on Tuesday, when Ukraine travel to Italy for a key clash in the fight for qualification.

Ukraine head coach Sergey Rebrov said: “The atmosphere was really great – simply amazing. A big thank you to our fans. I thanked my players for their performance, especially in defence.

“It is very difficult to stop such good attacking players as England have, but we did it on many occasions. This is a satisfactory result – another step towards reaching the finals.”

Andy Farrell was delighted to have Johnny Sexton back “firing on all cylinders” following the Ireland captain’s record-breaking return in a 12-try demolition of Romania.

Influential fly-half Sexton shrugged off an absence of almost six months by registering two tries and seven conversions as his side launched their Rugby World Cup campaign with a thumping 82-8 win.

The 38-year-old’s impressive 24-point haul in the blistering heat of Bordeaux moved him on to a total of 102 in the competition, surpassing the 93 registered by former team-mate Ronan O’Gara.

Sexton, who is playing at his fourth World Cup, is now only nine points shy of O’Gara’s national record tally of 1,083, while he also took the title of Ireland’s oldest international from retired prop John Hayes.

Head coach Farrell could not resist poking fun at his veteran skipper as he backed him to make more history in the coming weeks against Tonga, South Africa and Scotland.

“I heard he broke a few records today,” said Farrell. “What was the record, Johnny? The oldest player to play at the tournament, that’s the first one.

“And what was the other one, points scored? Twenty-four points, puts him nine points behind the record for the most points scored for any Irish player.

“So you would think if selected that he’d be able to get that record.

“But the most pleasing point for us was definitely 60-odd minutes under the belt and firing on all cylinders and fit and healthy and ready to go for the rest of the competition.”

An expectant sea of green flooded the stands of Stade de Bordeaux in sweltering conditions before the world’s top-ranked nation delivered in emphatic fashion.

Ireland’s 74-point victory was their biggest in a World Cup fixture and their second greatest in a Test match, behind a 83-3 success over the United States in 2000.

Peter O’Mahony, Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne also claimed doubles in a clinical Pool B opener, with further scores coming from Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, Rob Herring and Joe McCarthy.

Sexton was available for the first time since sustaining a groin issue in helping Ireland clinch the Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam against England on March 18.

He missed his country’s three warm-up matches through suspension following “confrontational and aggressive” behaviour towards referee Jaco Peyper.

“(I had) six months thinking about it, obviously part of that was self-inflicted with my mistake,” Sexton, who received a standing ovation when he was replaced 15 minutes from time, said of his long-awaited comeback.

“I’m obviously delighted to be back. I didn’t expect conditions to be like that, it was incredibly hot, in the warm-up in particular.

“I’m delighted to get through some minutes, we got through some good stuff.

“But there’s lots to improve on, both individually and as a team, and we know the challenge next week (Tonga in Nantes) is going to be up a couple of levels.

“We’re very, very happy with five points and a good points difference as well, which could matter at the end of the pool.”

England hit a rare bump on the road to next year’s European Championship as Kyle Walker’s first international goal secured Gareth Southgate’s side a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Poland.

Having opened Group C with four wins from as many matches, it has long looked a case of when rather than if the Euro 2020 runners-up seal their place at next summer’s tournament in Germany.

England had won 21 of their previous 22 Euros qualifiers but had to make do with a point on Saturday evening having failed to build on Walker brilliantly cancelling out Oleksandr Zinchenko’s opener.

Daniil Medvedev knows he will have to be the “best-ever version” of himself if he is to win a second US Open title.

Medvedev rated himself a 12 out of 10 for his surprise semi-final victory over world number one and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Presumably the Russian third seed will have to crank that up to at least 13 if he is to deny Novak Djokovic a 24th grand-slam title.

“Against Novak, it’s always the same. He is always better than the previous time he plays,” said Medvedev.

“For example, I beat him in the US Open final, then he beat me in Bercy in a great match. Carlos beat him at Wimbledon, he beat him in Cincinnati.

“Novak is going to be his best version on Sunday, and I have to be the best-ever version of myself if I want to try to beat him.”

Medvedev’s only grand-slam title to date came in that 2021 Flushing Meadows final, a straight-sets win over Djokovic.

He said: “I think the only way I can do that is, as I say, thinking that Novak, when he loses, he’s never the same after. So he’s different. It’s just a different mentality.

“That’s why he has 23 grand slams, (however many) Masters 1000s, weeks at number one. So I have to use it knowing that he’s going to be 10 times better than he was that day.

“And I have to be, if I want to still beat him, 10 times better than I was that day. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Djokovic is bidding to become the oldest New York champion in the Open era, surpassing 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970.

“The fact is that at 36, every grand-slam final could be the last one,” he said.

“So I think that I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another slam more than maybe 10 years ago, because 10 years ago I felt like I still have quite a few years ahead of me.

“I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now, or I don’t know how many of the years where I play four slams in the whole season I have in front of me.

“So of course I am aware of the occasion. But I try to approach Sunday’s match as basically any other match with intention to win, and I’ll play my opponent.

“Knowing that it’s going to be the toughest challenge, without a doubt, not just because it’s a final but also because of who I’m playing, the last time I faced him in a grand-slam final I lost.”

Virgil van Dijk has revealed he has learned “a hard and expensive lesson” after receiving an extended ban and a £100,000 fine following his dismissal at Newcastle.

The 32-year-old Liverpool defender was this week hit with the punishment after admitting a Football Association charge of acting in an improper manner and using insulting words to a match official after calling referee John Brooks’ decision to send him off for a challenge on Alexander Isak “a f****** joke”.

Van Dijk, who initially refused to leave the pitch at St James’ Park during last month’s Premier League game, said: “It has been a hard and expensive lesson. I can’t really say more about it. I have accepted it and I am happy that there is an end to it.

“I have been punished for it and I don’t think I have been set as an example. Hopefully the money goes to the right people. A good cause is always better.”

Van Dijk sat out last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa but will also miss Saturday’s trip to Wolves as a result of his additional one-match suspension.

His comments came as he appeared at the Netherlands’ pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

The game is a must-win affair for Ireland, who trail the Dutch by three points having played a game more, and their hopes of emerging from Group B were dealt a fresh blow this week when 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson was ruled out of the games against France and the Netherlands by a knee injury just days after scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle.

Asked about the teenager’s absence, Van Dijk said: “If you score a hat-trick just before the international break, then he was definitely going to be in a good shape and full of confidence.

“He looks like he’s a promising striker for Ireland for now and the future, and that’s definitely a big blow for them. But whoever is going to play tomorrow for them, we have to be ready to fight

“I know at home with their fans and their position and the situation that they are in, they will do everything in their power to hopefully make it difficult for us, but we have to be ready and I will be ready.”

Dutch manager Ronald Koeman, who has a doubt over Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, has history with Ireland, having played against them in narrow wins at the 1988 European Championships and the 1994 World Cup finals and a 1-1 draw at Italia ’90, although he admits times have changed since.

Koeman said: “At that time, they were really strong with good strikers – (John) Aldridge, (Frank) Stapleton, I think – and the coach was famous, Jack Charlton.

“That has changed, of course. They have now more younger players – they need time – they don’t have a lot I heard of Irish players playing in the Premier League and that makes it really difficult for the coach.”

However, he added: “Ireland may have its last chance tomorrow. They play with great enthusiasm despite having inferior players. That doesn’t mean it’s easier.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell felt his side got what they deserved as they were knocked off the top of the table in a 2-1 home defeat by Leyton Orient, whose winner came in stoppage time.

With seven players out through injury or on international duty, it was a lacklustre performance form a very young Exeter team, who went in front against the run of play through Demetri Mitchell’s spectacular strike four minutes after half-time.

But Joe Pigott levelled for the Os before Ruel Sotiriou’s long-range strike went over the hands of Exeter goalkeeper Gary Woods gave the Londoners a deserved victory.

“It was a really disappointing result and a disappointing performance overall,” Caldwell said. “We didn’t get going at any point in the match and we got what we deserved really.

“Leyton Orient deserved to win the game and we could have been a few goals down in the first half. It was a disappointing performance, but I said to the players I am not going to get overly cross with them.

“They have been fantastic and given so much, but this was a game where we dropped below the level and the standards we’ve set and we have to take that bump in the road and do something about it next week.

“We had eight players out today, but that’s not an excuse – that’s the reality and what it does is give opportunities to others.

“With the drinks break, half-time and the goal, there were plenty of opportunities for us to spark into life, but we never got going at any stage. The goal was a special moment and even after that, we still looked second best.”

Orient boss Richie Wellens felt his side were well worth the win at St James Park.

He said: “We were totally dominant in the first half. We hit the crossbar twice, we had three or four situations where we could have scored and, apart from one breakaway from Demetri Mitchell, there was no threat at all.

“We came out after half-time to build on that performance and their lad hits an absolute worldie and you are thinking maybe that’s our luck.

“But we never felt sorry for ourselves and we kept doing the basics right. That was a big thing today. Set-plays were good for and against, and even when we got it back to 1-1, I thought we were the dominant team.

“I thought Joe Pigott had his best game. He was a real handful and won his fair share of duels with the centre-halves. When you play really well, strikers want to see their names on the scoresheet, so it was a really good finish.

“Forget his goalscoring, I want a platform, something to play off especially when you are away from home. We needed to make sure we gave ourselves a platform and Joe was that.

“We could have scored a lot of goals today, so that was really pleasing.”

Steve Evans hit out at the “shambolic” defending which cost Stevenage victory in their 2-2 draw with Carlisle.

Jamie Reid’s double looked set to give Boro three points, but Joe Garner’s last-gasp header rescued a point for the Cumbrians, for whom goalkeeper Jokull Andresson was in inspired form.

The result was enough to take Evans’ newly-promoted side a point clear at the summit, albeit having played a game more than the majority of the division, but the Boro boss was not in the mood to revel in the lofty position.

“I’ve got no interest in being top of League One,” he said. “We played really well, but we’ve given away two of the worst goals a team can concede and a team deserving of nothing get a share of the spoils.

“That dressing room is flat and they will stay flat because we need to learn. Individuals have to take responsibility when we praise them and also when we criticise because it’s two shambolic bits of defending.”

Reid gave the hosts the a 15th-minute lead, firing home after Carl Piergianni flicked on Dan Butler’s free-kick.

Parity was restored four minutes later when Sean Maguire tucked the ball home via a deflection and in the aftermath, Stevenage assistant Paul Raynor was booked for dissent.

Andresson produced fine saves from Jordan Roberts, Charlie McNeill and Reid before the break and the first chance of the second half saw Piergianni hit the bar.

Reid doubled his tally with 16 minutes to go before being denied a hat-trick by the Icelandic goalkeeper, whose saves proved vital as Garner struck at the death.

“Jamie Reid will take the plaudits because he’s scored two, but he could have had five or six,” Evans said. “That’s not the standards you need at this level to win the game.

“There will be no plaudits from me about being top of the league when people around us have games in hand, that means nothing to me that nonsense.”

Carlisle came up alongside Stevenage in League Two last season and United boss Paul Simpson hailed goalkeeper Andresson for his part in earning his side a hard-fought point.

“Jokull is outstanding,” he said. “He’s made some excellent saves and that’s why we’ve brought him in because he’s a shot-stopper.

“He hasn’t got the height of Tomas Holy and his kicking might not be as good, but the players have got confidence in him.

“When he makes saves like that, they have more confidence in him and you need to be confident in your goalkeeper.

“It’s important to have a group who are ready and prepared to do the ugly stuff. I think if we do the ugly stuff throughout the game, then we could be taking away three points.”

Rory McIlroy overcame a broken club and more drama on the 16th hole to surge into contention for a second Horizon Irish Open title at The K Club.

Eight shots behind at the halfway stage, McIlroy took full advantage of a stuttering display from the leaders to post a third round of 66 to reach 11 under par, two shots behind Germany’s Hurly Long.

Long, who is ranked 252nd in the world and without a top-25 finish this season, recorded a 70 to end the day 13 under, a shot ahead of England’s Jordan Smith.

The final group of Smith, Shubhankar Sharma and Ross Fisher were a combined nine over par for the front nine and six over par at the finish, Sharma and Fisher dropping into a six-way tie for fourth on 10 under.

McIlroy was already five under for the day when he stood over his second shot to the par-five 16th, where he holed out from 116 yards for an eagle on Friday and which he birdied in 2016 to kickstart his victory push.

It was a completely different story on Saturday, however, the four-time major winner pushing his second shot into the water and seeing his fourth from the drop zone hit a rock on the edge of the hazard but luckily bounce on to the putting surface.

McIlroy narrowly missed the long par attempt but responded superbly with birdies on the 17th and 18th, the latter courtesy of a 346-yard drive and nine-iron approach to the 548-yard par-five.

“To bounce back with the two birdies on 17 and 18 after putting the ball in the water on 16 was huge, so overall a great day’s play,” McIlroy said.

“I didn’t feel like I did anything very special, but it added up to a great score and I’ve gotten myself a lot closer to the lead when last night (Friday) I thought I was maybe a little bit too far behind and out of it.

“It’s hard to try to win your national Open and try to get over the line. I’m excited to have another opportunity.

“I was fortunate enough to do it a few years ago here and having those memories is going to be nice, and also having the support of the crowd out there as well is going to be incredibly helpful.”

Asked about the 16th, McIlroy added: “It’s one of those holes – just because of the design of it and with my length being able to go for it, it provides a lot of drama.

“I was frustrated that I made bogey and then walking off the green I thought I should be pretty grateful after the fourth shot from the drop zone.

“I didn’t play for as much wind as I should have and got incredibly fortunate hitting the rock and going on the green.”

McIlroy also revealed he had broken his 3-wood after hitting a poor tee shot on the sixth, admitting: “I went to hit the top of that tee-marker and I caught the corner with the bottom of the shaft.

“It was just a flick. I’ve done it a couple of times before this week and everything went okay, but that one didn’t.”

Wales centre George North will join an elite Rugby World Cup club when he runs out against opening opponents Fiji on Sunday.

It will be North’s fourth tournament, a feat achieved by only four other Welshmen in Gethin Jenkins, Alun Wyn Jones, Gareth Thomas and Stephen Jones.

And, at 31, he is showing no sign of slowing down, remaining a pivotal figure in head coach Warren Gatland’s plans.

With 114 caps, North is the most experienced Wales player on show at France 2023, underlining his consistency, durability and quality.

“I hoped that I would get to one (World Cup), for sure. To represent your country is huge, but to play at a World Cup is wicked,” he said.

“I am still fighting and competing, and find myself at number four.

“I guess it’s just a kudos to myself and shows all the work you put in is worth it to get to a fourth. I am still enjoying it.”

North is enthused by Wales’ current World Cup crop, with the squad featuring 16 tournament debutants, including co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake.

He also has three other cap centurions for company in Dan Biggar, Taulupe Faletau and Leigh Halfpenny as Wales look to make an impact in France.

It will be Gatland’s fourth World Cup at the Wales helm, having previously masterminded two semi-final appearances, and North has been there every step of the way.

He also believes Gatland has firmly put his stamp on the squad, nine months back into his second stint as Wales boss and following a difficult Six Nations campaign last season.

“The vibe has been really good,” North added. “For a lot of the boys it is their first World Cup, so they are going into the unknown and they are excited.

“I think everyone has just bought into it straight off, and I think that comes from ‘Gats’ when he set the tone with his last message from the Six Nations to the first day in World Cup camp – ‘this is how we are going to do it, this is how I want to do it. You either want to be in, or you don’t’.

“Some of the (training) sessions in Switzerland were brutal, probably some of the hardest I have ever done. The same in Turkey.

“We came off the paddock and we had knocked lumps out of each other for 40-odd minutes in 46 degrees. It’s all about his way of building that resilience, building that robustness into the squad.

“He pretty much said to us after we played France in the last round of the Six Nations that the World Cup was going to be the hardest thing you will ever do. He was not lying.”

Wales find themselves in a World Cup pool alongside three of their opponents from Japan four years ago – Fiji, Australia and Georgia – with North underlining the importance of a strong start.

“We need to start with a win on Sunday, pure and simple,” he said.

“The squad is in a really good place. Everyone understands where we are, everyone is well drilled on how we want to go about our work.

“The training camps we have been on have been brutal, absolutely brutal. The default setting is never give in, keep moving, keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Liam Livingstone is eyeing “genuine all-rounder” status and does not have to look far for inspiration after admitting he feels galvanised by Andrew Flintoff linking up with England.

Flintoff, whose displays with bat and ball in the seminal 2005 Ashes triumph saw him become a national treasure, was back in the public eye on Friday for the first time since being hospitalised with facial injuries and broken ribs after his Top Gear crash last December.

He has unofficially joined England’s backroom team in an unpaid capacity for four ODIs against New Zealand this month, conducting fielding drills ahead of the Black Caps’ eight-wicket win in Cardiff.

The 45-year-old was also seen on the home dressing room balcony wearing a bucket hat popularised by England’s Test side during this summer’s Ashes, and his sheer presences greatly enthuses Livingstone.

The pair played together in two T20s for Lancashire’s Second XI during Flintoff’s short-lived comeback in 2014 and the wisdom he can pass on is something Livingstone wants to tap into in the next week.

“It’s incredible to have him,” Livingstone said. “He’s obviously been one of my heroes growing up. To have someone of his experience lingering around the dressing room is great for all the lads.

“When you see someone like Fred around, it’s always good to chat. Especially while you’re batting: there’s three and a half hours to pick the brains of someone who’s been there and done it.

“He’s probably a national hero, everybody loves that Fred’s joining us and I’m sure he’ll enjoy it as much himself. Over the next week or so, I’m sure he’ll have plenty of laughs inside there.”

Flintoff is not expected to continue with England beyond a series which is a dress rehearsal for the defence of their World Cup crown, with the teams kicking off the tournament in Ahmedabad on October 5.

New Zealand laid down an early marker in the Welsh capital but England decided not to risk Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood because of varying niggles while Moeen Ali and Sam Curran were rested.

Compounding matters was premier leg-spinner Adil Rashid struggling with cramp after bowling three overs, which allowed unbeaten centurions Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell to settle into their stride.

Rashid’s absence increased the workload of Livingstone, who followed up a cameo 52 off 40 balls by conceding just 13 runs from four overs before seeing a tough chance off Mitchell go down in his fifth.

Livingstone finished with unflattering figures of 7.4-0-47-0 but is seeking more involvement with the ball, having recently decided to make a technical tweak to his mix-and-match spin.

“I feel like I work on my bowling to become a genuine all-rounder,” the 30-year-old said. “It doesn’t come as naturally to me as batting does but it was nice that the first few overs came out really well.

“I’ve changed a few things with my bowling, it sounds weird but I’m in more of a development phase. I only made the change about three weeks ago so hopefully I’ll keep getting better and better.

“It’s a technical thing I’ve been working on to try and get a bit more shape on the ball, to ultimately try and get more wickets and become a bigger threat.”

Having greater prominence with the ball as well as bat enhances his hopes of a starting berth at the World Cup, as well as staving off the threat of Harry Brook, looking to gatecrash the provisional squad.

Livingstone felt his outing on Friday was a “big stepping stone” after a diet of T20s and The Hundred matches since a long ankle injury lay-off last winter although he was spotted holding his back, which puts his involvement in the second ODI at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday in doubt.

“I don’t know what it is, to be honest,” Livingstone added. “I was worried that it was my side at first, but I wouldn’t have been able to bowl again if it was.

“I’ve tried to play as much cricket as I can – I’ve not always been at full fitness – and I feel like I’m finally getting back to my best, and hopefully these games will help me get closer to that.

“I’m just enjoying being back playing. Whatever happens in India happens in India and to wake up every morning and to be able to put an England shirt on is pretty special. It would be stupid of me to look past that.”

Flight Plan provided Danny Tudhope with another winner on Irish Champions Festival weekend when making all the running in the Dullingham Park Stakes.

Tudhope had won what used to be run as the Boomerang Stakes in 2017 on David O’Meara’s Suedois and prior to that in 2015 on Custom Cut. This time he teamed up with Karl Burke.

Flight Plan (15-2) ran in the Guineas earlier in the season and had been set some stiff tasks, but he dominated throughout in the Group Two and had the race won over a furlong out, easily keeping 2-1 favourite Buckaroo at bay by a length and a quarter.

Tudhope said: “We have finally found the way to ride him.

“We have always loved this horse and it has just taken us a bit of time to figure him out, that’s the way to do it on him.

“I was surprised at that actually (getting a relatively easy lead), I had to get a good start as he didn’t break very well the last day in York. That was my main aim today, just get out and get on with it.

“He’s got a beautiful action on him and he strides out, and he’s a lovely horse with a big engine.”

Adelaide River enjoyed his day in the sun, as Ryan Moore shone from the front in the Paddy Power Stakes.

Second in the Irish Derby to stablemate Auguste Rodin and in the Grand Prix de Paris to Feed The Flame, he was the 11-8 favourite for the Group Three event.

As proved the case all day, being in the front rank was the place to be and Moore dictated it to a nicety.

In contrast, Jim Crowley had to come from the back on Al Aasy and while he made relentless ground in the final furlong, he went down by half a length.

“I’m delighted. Ryan said if he had a choice of 10 or 14 (furlongs) he’d definitely go 10 on him because he relaxes but he does quicken,” said winning trainer Aidan O’Brien.

“He’s a lovely big horse and we’ve always viewed him as a ‘next-year horse’.

“We always thought he was kind of like Duke Of Marmalade, as he’s after competing in big ones and getting very close in them but he’s such a big horse that he’s definitely going to have to be a way better horse next year.”

Or whether he could be a horse for Australia’ he added: “It might be a bit soon for him this year, he could go next year. He’s a big horse and if we had the choice we’d probably wait until next year.

“He’s after having a few tough races in second so it was nice for him to come here, and Ryan was able to dictate his own pace on him.

“He said he did quicken very well but just got a bit lonely in the last half a furlong. He was very happy.”

Kitty Rose (3-1) emerged as a possible contender for next year’s 1000 Guineas with a striking performance in the Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes for Natalia Lupini.

Billy Lee’s mount took over early in the straight and won by two and a half lengths from the favourite Content.

“We always thought we had a nice filly on our hands. Obviously, first time out you hope everything goes well, we were hoping for a nice run but she won impressively at Naas,” said Lupini.

“Today she was very impressive again, when she picks up she just keeps galloping and she’s very honest.

“The lads are looking at the Guineas with her, next year she’ll be a stronger filly. She won’t have any problems over a mile as well.

Leyton Orient came from behind to record a deserved 2-1 win at League One leaders Exeter, with Ruel Sotiriou firing home a stoppage-time winner.

Orient started well, with Omar Beckles striking the crossbar inside the first seven minutes and then Sotiriou side-footed wide from six yards when an Exeter clearance fell right at his feet.

Idris El Mizouni forced Grecians keeper Gary Woods into a smart save as Exeter, missing several players through injury and international duty, failed to assert themselves.

However, the home side broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion in the 49th minute when 16-year-old debutant Jake Richards lobbed the ball forwards and Demi Mitchell allowed it to bounce before lashing a stunning 20-yard half volley over the head of Sol Bryan which went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Orient  levelled six minutes later, though, as Joe Pigott was allowed to chest down a cross and fire a shot into the bottom corner from 10 yards.

Os defender Brandon Cooper forced Woods into a flying save with a shot from 20 yards, while Mitchell headed a good chance wide for Exeter.

But, Orient won it two minutes into stoppage time when Sotiriou was afforded too much space 25 yards out and his low shot flew past Woods into the bottom corner.

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is targeting his best victory yet as he prepares for a must-win Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands.

The game in Dublin appears to be a make-or break affair for Ireland, who have collected just three points from their first four Group B fixtures and will effectively be out of the race for qualification if they lose to the Dutch.

Memories of a famous Irish victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 have inevitably come to the fore in recent days, but Kenny is reluctant to compare his team to the one in which Shay Given, Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane played.

Kenny said: “We’re not comparing ourselves to the team of 2001, they had some of the best players to ever play for Ireland.

“We’re an emerging team. We’ve shown a capacity to raise our game in front of our own support, our impassioned support and we’ve put in some very good performances at home there.

“It’s a game that will challenge us. Holland have players of the highest calibre, players with the top clubs.

“We’ve gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams and we must raise our game and get our best victory yet as a team. That’s what we’d have to do and that’s the challenge for us.

“We’ll need the supporters to help us do that, we need that energy in the ground. We need that high-octane support to be really passionate and get behind the team and give the players energy.

“All their physical stats are very high after Paris in the heat, a tough game, so to go again, we’ll need everyone to really fire.”

Ireland finalised their preparations at a sunny Abbotstown on Saturday after recovering from Thursday night’s energy-sapping 2-0 defeat in France.

Defender Enda Stevens and forward Will Keane are out of the game through injury and strikers Sinclair Armstrong and Jonathan Afolabi have been drafted into the squad.

Whatever team Kenny picks, the players will know the stakes could hardly be higher with failure simply not an option.

Kenny said: “We know a victory is important for us, we know how important it is, that’s where it is. We’ll prepare well – as well as we can after just coming back on Thursday night – and make sure we’re ready.

“The players are clear on how we’re going to play and we’ll certainly be tested against this team. We’ll have to match them and we are capable of doing that and we have to show the belief and conviction to try to get the win that we need.”

Defender Shane Duffy, who made his first international appearance since June last year in the game at the Parc des Princes, is a veteran of the 1-0 Euro 2016 victory over Italy and knows he and his team-mates need to summon up a similar spirit to get what they need against the Dutch.

Duffy said: “It’s a huge game. Something we’ve to all thrive off and make it another special night as it’s more memories we can create.

“I think personally the games, they’re memories that I talk about to my children, big nights for your country. It’s another chance for us to make it another special night at the Aviva and make more memories.”