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Mary Hannigan: From his early days at Bohs, Evan Ferguson was always ahead of the game

The beginnings of the Brighton phenom; the road to recovery for cyclist Imogen Cotter after being hit by a car; and the GAA go carbon neutral

Evan Ferguson is blossoming now at Brighton but his early days with Bohs gave a clear indication of his potential. Photograph: Tom Dulat/Getty Images

Mary Hannigan's face
Mary Hannigan
Fri Nov 3 2023 - 10:04

Rob Cornwall probably came close enough to demanding to see the birth certificate of the young fella he had to mark in training with Bohemians a few years back. “The size of him when he was 14…. he was the same size as me, 6ft, but a little bit skinnier. He was a man even when he was 14.” His movement and finishing left Cornwall gobsmacked too.

“Left foot, right foot, everything was a snapshot, always challenging the goalkeeper by going bottom corner. I was just shocked by how developed he was at that age.” You mightn’t have known the lad back then, but you do now: Evan Ferguson, “one of the Premier League’s most exciting prospects”, having joined Brighton when he was 16.

Bohs could have done with him this season. They’re sixth in the league going in to tonight’s final round of fixtures, 14 points adrift of champions Shamrock Rovers who will be presented with the trophy, for a record-equalling fourth season in a row, after their game against Sligo Rovers. Below them, there’s a scramble for European places, Shelbourne among those in the hunt. “If you had offered anyone involved with Shels this at the start of the season …. Holy Mother of God, that’s what dreams are made of,” said their gaffer, Damien Duff.

An injury-free year would be Imogen Cotter’s ultimate dream, the Clare cyclist having endured a horrendous run of bad luck on that front, not least when she suffered multiple fractures last year when she was hit by a car while training in Spain. Shane Stokes talks to her about her hopes for next year now that she’s signed for a new British team, her enthusiasm for the sport renewed having contemplated giving it up.

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Seán Moran, meanwhile, brings us the rather quirky news that the GAA is applying for planning permission to open a solar farm in north Dublin with a view to supplying all of Croke Park’s energy needs, all part of their effort to conform early to rising EU sustainability reporting standards.

Joanne O’Riordan reflects on this week’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, to which she awards the prize for tokenism towards women, and we have the story of Ramla Ali, the boxer who fled war-torn Somalia with her family when she was a child and has since built a remarkable life, inside and outside the ring.

In horse racing, Brian O’Connor takes a look at the status of two of the sport’s biggest international meetings, the Breeders’ Cup and the Melbourne Cup. Shockingly, he reminds us that it’s a whole 30 years since Dermot Weld’s Vintage Crop became the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win “Australia’s most coveted sporting prize and the race that famously stops a nation”. Thirty!

TV Watch: Formula One fans can tune in to practice and qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix today (Sky Sports F1 from 2pm), while horse racing devotees have day one of the Breeders’ Cup meeting to look forward to (Virgin Media Three, 8pm-midnight and Sky Sports Racing, 7pm-midnight). And the Shamrock Rovers faithful can see their team raise the league trophy for the fourth successive year following their final game of the campaign against Sligo Rovers (RTÉ2, kick-off 7.45pm).