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Gareth Fullerton

Elliott Morris picks his Glentoran Dream Team ahead of tribute match

All the plaudits will be reserved for Elliott Morris on Sunday when an appreciation match is held in his honour.

The 40-year-old Irish League legend called time on his career at the end of last season.

His time at Glentoran spanned two decades, taking in an incredible 743 games which saw Elliott claim 14 major trophies including three league titles and four Irish Cups.

Read more: Roy Coyle hails retiring Elliott Morris as 'one of my best signings'

The Glens were never a one-man team, however, and Elliott played with some proper Irish League legends along the way.

After breaking news of his retirement last season, we asked Elliott to name his ultimate Glentoran Dream Team, based on players he once played alongside.

And it's fair to say it is a stellar line-up.

Elliott has opted for a 4-3-3 formation and naturally he starts in nets.

Here's the Best XI he played with...

Defence

"I would have Nicky (Colin Nixon) at right-back and Leeper (Paul Leeman) at centre half.

"The other centre half was a tough one, and I had to think about Gary Smyth and Chris Walker. Big Chris was a character. I loved big Chris. He had some left leg on him and he was a smart player. He was calm and collected.

"But I will put big Smicker in there. I used to call him the big gazelle because of the height he got on his jumps for headers was frightening.

"And then obviously Mark Glendinning at left-back."

Midfield

"I would have Darren Lockhart in there to start with. Anyone who asks me who was the best player I played with, Locky is the name that comes up. He just had everything.

"Locky had that wee thing about him. He would be all, 'How's things today? Are you okay? How's the family?'. And then he would smash a forearm on the side of your head. He just had that about him. We called him 'The Devil'. He was the devil.

"He didn't get the praise he deserved at that time. You had Andy Smith scoring 38-39 goals, you had Michael Halliday scoring 30-odd, then you had Darren Armour scoring 25. And you had wee Scotty (Young) chipping in.

"Locky maybe didn't score that many goals but he did chip in now and again. And he could play anywhere. He ended up playing centre half for Ballymena later in the latter stages of his career.

"He could play left wing, centre mid. He could play anywhere. Great player.

"I'd put Scotty (Scott Young) in there as well. He was a great player. Again, his career was cut short. I think he had a couple of leg breaks. He was a smashing players, scored goals and was tricky. A classy midfielder.

"Stephen Carson is another one I would have in there. He was frightening. Two-footed. I used to hate playing against him. Hated it. You didn't know where he was going. Was he going down the byline or cutting inside onto his right foot?

"He was so good at it. And he is a great lad too. Always mentions how he played with Gazza at Rangers."

Attackers

"Probably one you won't be surprised by is Gary Hamilton. He was so classy, a great player who could score all types of goals. He was a smart player, too.

"The other two were quite tricky. One current player who is doing so well at the minute is Jay Donnelly who I am putting in there.

"He is frightening, flying at the minute. I still get involved in training and I am just like 'I am going to stop it now' because he is frightening. He is a smashing player. He is great in the air and can go both feet, and a smart player.

"We are just happy to have him and hopefully he can push us on to win something this season.

"I saw the quality of jay when we played against him when he was at Cliftonville. Even his brother Rory was there at the same time.

"You could see the edge Jay had in terms of goalscoring, even though Rory was flying at the time. I thought Jay was a wee bit more classy. A great player.

"The last one was tough. I could have put Andy Smith, Chris Morgan or Darren Armour in. But I am going to go with Michael Halliday. He was there for a long period of time and performed for long periods.

"He scored goals consistently over long periods and is still scoring for Bangor at the minute.

"So I will put Michael in there because he scored a lot of important goals for us and did it consistently."

Former teammates will join Elliott for the tribute match on Sunday, June 11 at Harland and Wolff Welders' Blanchflower Stadium (12.30pm kick-off).

Billed as 'The Last Dance', the game will see Oval legends including Colin Nixon, Paul Leeman, Mark Glendenning, Gary Smyth, Tim McCann, Marty Hunter and Chris Morgan don their boots.

Other names confirmed include Michael Halliday, Sean Ward, Marty Hunter, Damian McLaughlin, Darren Fitzgerald, David Rainey and Darren Lockhart take part.

Read more: Northern Ireland boss likens surprise debutant Paddy Lane to one of his senior stars

Read more: Ballymena United boss David Jeffrey signs two year contract extension at the Showgrounds

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