Irish League Football

Lauren McCann
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Pacemaker

Linfield manager David Healy said reports linking him to the Shelbourne job was "people putting two and two together and coming up with any number they want".

Shelbourne announced on Monday that Sligo Rovers manager John Russell has signed a long-term contract to become their new head coach.

That news followed reports that Healy, who has been at the helm at the Blues since 2015, had reportedly held talks with the League of Ireland club, something which he refuted.

"I've huge respect for Shelbourne as a football club, I've been down to Shelbourne with Ross [Oliver, assistant manager] and Willie [McKeown, head of recruitment] a few weeks ago in preparation of us getting through this round [of the Conference League] and it was important to see them. That's what it was," he told BBC Sport NI.

"When you go down you sit with associates and club members, scouts and agents, but it doesn't mean you're sitting chatting about other things.

"There wasn't any communication club to club, it was people putting two and two together and coming up with any number they want."

Linfield could face Shelbourne in the second round of Conference League qualifying if they can progress past Nomme Kalju.

The Estonians have a slender 1-0 advantage heading into the second leg in Belfast on Thursday, but Healy is confident his team can turn around that deficit at Windsor Park and set up a third European meeting with Shels in the space of a year.

"Looking at last week, probably still tinged with a little bit of disappointment and frustration because I thought we were good value for at least a draw in the game," Healy added.

"We had good opportunities which we passed up and in European games they're crucial. There's still the belief in how we can play and make Windsor hard for them."

Image source, Getty Images

Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson says he is "not surprised" Linfield boss David Healy has been linked with the vacant Shelbourne job.

Healy has been at the helm at the Blues since 2015, winning six league titles, two Irish Cups and four League Cups over his decade in charge, but has reportedly held talks , externalwith the League of Ireland club about replacing Joey O'Brien, who was sacked in June.

The former Northern Ireland striker did not speak to the media after Linfield's 2-0 friendly defeat against the Dons at Windsor Park, but Robinson believes Healy is ready for the next step following his trophy-laden spell at the Blues should he decide to move onto pastures new.

"Linfield fans won't thank me for saying this but I'm not surprised he's linked with jobs," Robinson told BBC Sport NI.

"He has had a terrific career here, won trophies every single year he has been here. The money in Irish football now is big and it's hard for them to keep competing, but you look at his teams and the players he is developing and there's absolutely no surprise to me that he is linked with options."

Shelbourne begin their European campaign with a Uefa Conference League tie on Thursday 23 July and ironically, they will play against either Nomme Kalju or Healy's Linfield.

The Estonians have a slender 1-0 advantage heading into the second leg in Belfast on Thursday.

Image source, Press Eye

Lisburn Rangers scored a 90th-minute winner to beat Cliftonville 4-3 at Solitude, while Linfield and Glentoran drew 2-2 in the Premiership.

Caoimhe Gleston opened the scoring after just five minutes in sunny north Belfast before Hannah Doherty levelled the game.

The away side restored their lead in the 27th minute, but Doherty equalised once again and Caitlin McGuinness then fired the Reds in front.

However, an own goal from stopper Maddy Harvey Clifford levelled the end-to-end match on 58 minutes.

Both sides continued to push for another goal with Grace Murray grabbing the late winner to secure the three points for Lisburn Rangers and inflict a first defeat of the league campaign on Cliftonville less than a week after they won a fourth consecutive Women's League Cup.

Elsewhere, at Midgley Park, defending Premiership champions Glentoran are now without a win in their last three games after they drew with rivals Linfield, who remain top of the table.

The result comes after Glens manager Kim Turner said that 'scheduling of fixtures was really poor and unfair' for her side.

Megan Bell gave the Blues an early lead with Sophie McKnight doubling their advantage from close range before Demi Vance halved their lead before the break.

On 65 minutes, Linfield failed to clear a free-kick into the box with Mia Moore producing a lovely finish to split the points.

Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI journalist

Image source, Inpho

Glentoran manager Declan Devine said his side will "take huge confidence" into the second leg of their Conference League first round qualifier against RFS.

The Glens were narrowly defeated 2-1 by RFS during a tight first leg at the Oval with debutant Zeno Rossi breaking the deadlock before Martins Kigurs netted twice for the away side.

Devine's side will now attempt to overturn the one-goal deficit when they travel to Latvia for the second leg on 16 July.

"All in all, a positive night, nobody wants to lose, it's only half-time," Devine told BBC Sport NI.

"I was super proud of the players and the effort that they've put in. Their two goals are huge slices of good luck in it. I thought we defended brilliantly and I thought hit them on the counter-attack. I thought our game plan worked really well.

"We were solid, we needed to be solid. We asked questions of them, especially late in the half, the second half. All the boys should take huge credit and confidence going into Latvia."

It was a whirlwind day for Rossi, who it was announced had joined the east Belfast club just hours before the first leg.

The defender made a superb start to his debut and gave the Glens the lead in the tie after seven minutes.

"I think Zeno coming in for his debut, having trained with the team once, and scoring on his debut and putting on the performance that he put on, deserves huge credit," Devine continued.

"He was the only one in our whole squad that has 90 minutes under their belts since probably the end of March.

"We've got to recover well. We've got to take confidence that they're holding on for dear life at the end, trying to kill time. We have a huge travelling support when we're going to Riga. Game on."

Image source, Glentoran FC

Glentoran have bolstered their squad by completing the signings of Zeno Ibsen Rossi and Rhys Walsh on long-term contracts.

Central defender Ibsen Rossi joins following his departure from Cambridge United, while winger Walsh returns to the east Belfast side after a spell with Sunderland.

Ibsen Rossi, 25, came through the Brentford, Southampton and Bournemouth academies before signing his first professional deal with the latter in 2019.

He made four Championship appearances in the 2021-22 season as the Cherries earned promotion back to the Premier League.

Ibsen Rossi also had loan spells with Kilmarnock and Dundee before joining Cambridge in 2022.

The Englishman moves to the Oval following a loan stint at League of Ireland Premier Division side Shelbourne earlier this year.

"I've reached a stage in my career where I want to keep pushing myself and taking on new challenges," he said.

"I feel I've developed a lot over the last few years playing in England, Scotland and Ireland, and now I'm looking forward to bringing that experience here and doing everything I can to help the team be successful."

Walsh, 19, came through Glentoran's academy before joining Sunderland in 2024.

On his return, the Northern Ireland Under-21 international said: "So much has changed since I was last here.

"The set-up is extremely professional and it's clear how much the club has progressed over the last couple of years.

"I've trained with the squad for most of pre-season and it's been brilliant. There are some top players here and the lads have been excellent with me from day one. It's a great group and they've made settling back in really easy."

Glentoran, who have also signed midfielder Greg Sloggett this summer, finished second in the 2025-26 Irish Premiership and lost the Bet McLean Cup final to Linfield.

Declan Devine's side are in European action on Thursday evening, welcoming Latvia's RFS to the Oval in Uefa Conference League qualifying (19:30 BST).

Image source, Pacemaker

Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic have signed Crusaders goalkeeper Musa Dibaga on a two-year deal for an undisclosed feel.

The 26-year-old made 22 appearances during his sole season with the Crues after arriving from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Dibaga played a key role in helping Declan Caddell's side preserve their Irish Premiership status, saving penalties in both normal time and in the shootout victory over Annagh United in the second leg of their promotion/relegation play-off at Seaview.

The Gambian shot stopper previously had spells with Spanish side Robres, Whitehill Welfare and Bo'ness United.

Image source, Pacemaker

Cliftonville captain Kelsie Burrows said that their emphatic Women's League Cup win against Glentoran "is a real good start" in their quest to win a domestic treble.

The Reds won the trophy for a fourth year in a row courtesy of a 4-0 victory over the Glens at Seaview.

Caitlin McGuinness scored twice with sister Kirsty and substitute Danielle Maxwell also finding the net as Brendan Lynch's side sent out a signal of intent against the Women's Premiership champions.

"Everyone is delighted. We wanted to come out here and press Glentoran as much as we could and we knew where their weaknesses were and the quality players that we have," Burrows said.

"We get the ball into Caitlin and she knows where the net is. Her pace and quality on the ball is brilliant.

"The League Cup was another one we wanted to tick off this year. We still have two more cups we want to be fighting for, but it's a real good start for us to push on for the rest."

Cliftonville won the League Cup and Irish Cup last season, but were pipped to the league title on the final day by the Glens.

The Reds are currently second behind Glentoran in the league on goal difference with both having won their first five games of the season.

Burrows hopes their impressive performance in north Belfast in which they stopped the Glens playing out from the back, can be the blueprint in how to beat Kim Turner's side in the league in August.

"This was the first time we faced Glentoran this season and we were a bit unsure what we would come up against but we studied them quite well during the week and we really worked on our press to see how they would get out," Burrows added.

"We knew when we won the ball high we would end up winning."