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The Colaiste Na Deise team celebrate their win in the Dr Harty Cup final. ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Early Doors

The Morning Score: Monday

Still groggy after the weekend? Have a coffee, a sit and a good read of the sporting headlines…

EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING,TheScore.ie brings you the stories you need to know before 9am.

1. #RACE TO THE TOP World Match Play champion Hunter Mahan described Rory McIlroy as the “best player in the world right now” after the Northern Irishman fell agonisingly short in his bid to become world number one for the first time.

McIlroy struggled to get going on the front nine and found himself four down through ten holes in last night’s World Match Play Championship final. But despite his best efforts on the back nine — including an eagle at 11 — Mahan held on to win 2&1.

2. #CARLING CUP Liverpool have lifted their first trophy since 2006, winning the Carling Cup after beating Cardiff City on penalties. After Joe Mason and Martin Skrtel traded goals in normal time, Dirk Kuyt thought he had won it.

Then, in the 119th minute, Ben Turner equalised for Cardiff and shootout was the result. Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam both missed their kicks but that didn’t matter, with Anthony Gerrard (Steven’s cousin) shooting the decisive kick wide.

3. #CATS Kilkenny beat bitter rivals Tipperary in both sides’ opening Allianz Hurling League, Division 1A match at Nowlan Park on Sunday. Richie Power was the hero for the Cats, scoring the majority of Kilkenny’s points in a 2-17 to 0-15 victory.

Elsewhere, Anthony Cunningham masterminded an impressive 0-20 to 0-13 for Galway against defending league champions Dublin, while in Division 1B, there were wins for Offaly and Antrim.

4. #SIX NATIONS France showed some signs of rustiness as they laboured to a six-point victory against a valiant Scotland in Murrayfield yesterday afternoon.

Tries for Wesley Fofana and Maxime Medard gave France a 23-17 win and kept their Grand Slam dreams alive ahead of Ireland’s visit to Paris on Sunday.

5. #FAI AWARDS Richard Dunne took home the top prize from last night’s FAI International Football Awards. Dunne’s won Senior International Player of the Year for his defensive performances in green last year, not least his heroics in the 0-0 draw against Russia in Moscow.

Darren O’Dea won Young International Player while Manchester United’s Robbie Brady won the U21 award.

Wow: Look at what Cristiano Ronaldo just did…

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