Saturday, June 21, 1997

A first for Dan (The Malay Mail)


ENGLAND'S Daniel Murphy has played more than 150 League matches but he
fired his first hat-trick only yesterday in his team's 5-0 demolition of
United Arab Emirates at the Larkin Stadium.
It was also the current World Youth Cup's first hat-trick.
England are in the second round with their second win. They beat Ivory
Coast 2-1 in their opening match.
Murphy, who has been with Second Division Crewe Alexandra the last two
seasons, is being sought by the Premier League's Newcastle and Tottenham
Hotspurs.
Newcastle are apparently willing to pay STG1.5 million for him.
Murphy, who turned 20 on March 18, had teammates Michael Owens and
Kieron Dyer to thank for his feat.
After putting his team in the lead in the 5th minute, Murphy scored his
second in the 39th minute and his third through a penalty in the 50th
minute.
The penalty was earned by Dyer who was brought down by UAE's Mohamaed Al
Baloushi.
Owens is England's designated penalty kicker but he allowed Murphy to go
for the hat-trick.
Owens scored England's fourth goal a minute after Murphy had scored his
hattrick. UAE's Abdulla Ahmed Abdulla scored an own goal to complete the
score for England.
Murphy, a regular with the England Under-18 side, is enjoying his new
role as a back-up striker to Owens.
Murphy said the news about him being sought by Newscastle and Tottenham
has affected his performance lately.
Powell had talked to Murphy twice on his future and urged him to
concentrate on this tournament first before thinking of anything else.
Murphy's feat earned him the official match ball from Fifa last night.
(END)

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