FAI Cup Final Player Profile: Anthony Elding

After giving us one of the sporting pictures of the year in the semi-final, who know what Anthony Elding will do if he wins on Sunday?

Yesterday we took a look at Drogheda’s leading scorer this season, Declan O’Brien, so it was only fair that today we examined Sligo’s leading marksman, Anthony Elding. The English striker has settled into life in the League of Ireland very well indeed. After leaving Grimsby in February, Elding scored on his debut and was named Airtricity League Player of the Month for March. Not bad, eh? Since then he has kept up his record, bagging 12 in the League as the Bit o’ Red finished third behind Pat’s and Dundalk. In the Cup Elding was the man too, scoring in the second round win over Waterford and he bagged the third in their 3-0 semi-final win over Shamrock Rovers, a goal he enjoyed very much indeed. At 31, Elding has had a varied career before becoming a Sligo favourite. A former Nottingham Forest Academy player, Elding’s first pro club was his home town side Boston United. From there he went to Stevenage Borough and from 2003 to 2006, Elding scored 50 goals for them. The highest he made it up the football ladder in England was when he joined Leeds in 2008, but his stay at Elland Road was brief. The most interesting stop on his football journey to date is the one at Ferencvaros in Hungary in 2010, where he bagged eight in 15 games before heading to Grimsby. Elding almost joined Preston in the January window but Grimsby failed to agree a deal, opening the way for Sligo to step in. That move has definitely worked out for both sides and a Cup win at Aviva Stadium would be the icing on the cake.