Date-stamped : 29 Mar97 - 14:26 28 March 1997 - Dawn Kenya continue to mow down lesser lights KUALA LUMPUR, March 27: Irish bowler Mark Patterson guided his country to a narrow two wicket victory over the United States in the ICC Trophy preliminary round contest here Thursday. Patterson belted two fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 27 to lift his side to an improbable win, coming back from 159 for seven in the 44th over to overhaul USA's 212 with five balls to spare. Patterson came in with Ireland needing 54 in six overs with three wickets left. With fellow tailender Garfield Harrison, he put on a magnificent 47-run partnershp before Harrison was run out in the fifth ball of the penultimate over. Left-arm spinner Greg Molins joined Patterson, who eased the pressure by hitting a boundary to leave Ireland needing three more runs for victory. The final over was bowled by paceman Eyon Grant. His first ball was a no-ball and the next was a full toss which Molins gratefully dispatched to the backward square leg fence. "It was a great match and it was a great feeling to hit the winning runs," said a relieved Molins after. Ireland, coached by former England seamer Mike Hendricks have now taken a huge step forward in their bid to qualify for the next round of the ICC Trophy which will decide which three associate members qualify for the 1999 World Cup. Kenya, the other favourites in group A, continued to mow down the lesser lights with an easy seven wicket win over Gibraltar. Group B favourites Bangladesh hamered Denmark by five wickets to keep continue an unbeaten run. Denmark, who scored a thrilling one wicket win of the last ball over the United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, failed to raise their game again as they were bowled out for 98 with the medium pace combination of Sariful Khan and Hassibul Hussein taking a two wickets each. Bangladesh knocked off the required runs by the 34th over. Defending ICC Trophy champions UAE meanwhile scored a two wicket win over Malaysia whil in the final group B game, West Africa defeated Argentina by five wickets. Source:: Dawn (http://xiber.com/dawn/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)