30 MALAHIDE GAZETTE 19 July 2012
GazetteSport Sport FastSport
FOOTBALL: MALAHIDE’S ELBOUZEDI CALLED INTO IRISH U-14 SIDE
Malahide end 17-year wait for Whelan Cup DESPITE losing twice to Leinster in the league, Malahide IV bounced back to claim the Whelan Cup with a spectacular seven wicket win in Park Avenue last Sunday. The customary new ball pair of Howard Askew and Conor Gibbons got them off to a solid start with a couple of early wickets but Keyzer Khan was unleashing havoc, firing a series of sixes toward the bowling green. Gibbons impressive spell of 1-24 and Askew’s 1-40 from four overs each preluded a short rain break before Mark Duffy picked off another wicket, stumped by Alan Quinn – the wicketkeeper ended up with four victims. Wickets kept falling with the Duffy-Quinn axis accounting for Rob Kenealy with another stumping, but it was Keyzer who was the key man. Duffy picked up a third wicket (finishing with 3-21) and then, in the last over, Inderjit Singh denied Keyzer what would have been a deserved century when he snicked behind to give Quinn a fourth victim. Still, his 90 out of a final total of 154 for 7 looked like being the key contribution of the final. The first ball of the Malahide reply did not increase confidence when Desmond Horstmann mistimed a drive to be caught at point. Needing to score at ten an over, Inderjit and Herbert scored briskly, putting on 46 in four eight-ball overs. When Herbert (23) skied one into the covers to give Chaudhary his first wicket, Malahide had forged a foothold in the game. John Brogan took up where Herbert left off. With the score at 67, Inderjit holed out for 27, which brought Oisin Taylor to the crease. He helped dramatically increase the run race with Brogan, treating the Malahide fans to an exhibition of clean hitting, mostly down the ground. The Leinster attack could not stop the Malahide juggernaut and it only remained for a few scampered ones and twos and a boundary through the legside to bring up Brogan’s half century off the last ball of the 13th over. It ended the 17-year wait for another Whelan Cup glory in some style. Taylor (48 not out) took the man of the match award just ahead of Brogan who ended on 50 not out, chasing down the target with seven wickets and two overs to spare.
Malahide United’s U-15 NDSL players Brian Gillan, Zach Elbouzedi, Barry Lougheed, Jay Jay Fitzpatrick, Brian Foley and Reagan Sekendi
Elbouzedi answers Irish call I PETER CARROLL sport@gazettegroup.com
ZACHARY Elbouzedi of Malahide United Athletic Football Club has been selected to represent the FAI Emerging Talent Squad, for a weekend tournament that will take place in Pearse Park from Friday, August 17 to Sunday, August 19 To add to this, the Malahide side have also been represented by Andrew Browne who was the captain of the U-16 FAI Emerging Talent Squad who took third at the Coca-Cola Irish Cup when they saw off Dutch affiliate, Ajax Hellias, 3-0
at the AUL Complex last Sunday. Colin Deasy and Robert Duggan have also represented Malahide for different U-16 Emerging Talent side, with Deasy as captain, which could lead to a few call ups for United ahead of John Morley’s Republic of Ireland U-16 clash with Estonia that is set for autumn. Elbouzedi has shown a great aptitude for the game. He can either play on the right or left wing but has found a home in Brian Kenny’s NDSL Premier side in the middle of the park. Despite playing for an age group higher than
Double triumph: Morrow adds Euro win to Irish title PORTMARNOCK man Adrian Morrow shows
off the pair of trophies he won in the past month as he added the European Seniors Individual Championship to the Irish Open amateur title. He was the only Irish entrant competing at Achensee Golf Club, Austria but he claimed the win with a stunning closing round of twounder-par 69, the lowest score. Morrow was one stroke behind going into the final round but overhauled his rival to eventually triumph by one shot, with an aggregate of 212.
he needs to, the promising midfielder has caught the attention of Middlesbrough, who are keen to bring the Malahide dynamo to the Riverside on trial. Such attention has not surprised U-15 manager Kenny: “The club are thrilled with Zach’s call up to the Hibernia Cup squad. He’s an outstanding talent, he has great feet, fantastic distribution and the ability to beat anybody who marks him. “We have had six players with representative call-ups recently and it really shows how Malahide have come on as
a club over the last few years. “For years we have seen our best talent leaving for bigger clubs, but now we have really stabilised ourselves and we are as big as any club in the Dublin area, with a lot of our age groups holding two premier sides between the DDSL and the NDSL. “At Malahide, we’re all about seeing the kids improve and if Middlesbrough can offer Zach something, I’d be very pleased to see him heading off to play for such a prestigious club. “ B e t we e n my s e l f , Kevin Craven and Mitch Whitty, we’ve put a lot
of work in with this age group and seeing clubs from England expressing interest in lads that we’ve worked closely with is really rewarding. “Zach is one of many players at the club who could go on to great things in football, but it really has a lot to do with luck as well as talent in these situations,” said Kenny. Zachary Elbouzedi will be relishing the thought of playing against powerhouses such as Glasgow Celtic, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Linfield Football Club in the group stages of the tournament.