SNOOKER: KIDDERMINSTER'S Terry Murphy and his Northern Ireland team-mates reached the semi-finals of the televised Nations Cup at Reading.

World number 30 Murphy joined captain Joe Swail and Gerard Greene in upsetting the odds by winning their four-team group.

They beat old rivals Republic of Ireland and earned a shock win over England after a similarly surprising defeat to underdogs China.

But Murphy's men were whitewashed 5-0 by a rampant Scotland in the semi-finals and the Scots went on to win the competition against the Republic.

He said: "We were outclassed in the last match but we did well to get to the semi-finals.

"Everyone got their act together and played their part but it was a shame to go out in the way we did. The Scots would have beaten anyone on the day.

"The Republic of Ireland really wanted us to win and we wanted them to make the final. It would have been the party to end all parties!"

Murphy, 28, now aims to concentrate on individual efforts, starting with a qualifying match for the Asian Masters in Newport next month, and stay among the world's top 32 players.

Meanwhile, Bewdley professional Richard King faces Wayne Jones in the same competition.

King must win a further four games to make the competition proper in Bangkok.