At 6’5”, it makes sense that Jack Elliott is a force on set plays; all three of the big defender’s goals have come off dead ball situations this year.
And… all three have been scored with his feet. Wait, what?
Elliott’s brace on Saturday followed up his early goal in the US Open Cup against Richmond Kickers. After the lanky Englishman played a big role in his team’s important 3-2 road win, Union head coach Jim Curtin talked about how the team used its size to create mismatches in the box.
“For the first time we had CJ [Sapong] and Cory [Burke] out there as well,” Curtin began, “So now you think what that does to a team, and when you’re going through the matchups and who’s going to mark who, usually you have to put your top two headers on Auston [Trusty], on Cory, on CJ, and now Jack maybe gets maybe a fourth or fifth option marking, and he’s 6’5”. So it’s an advantage, because just by sheer numbers and size that we have out there.”
The Revs stuck sizable midfielder Wilfried Zahibo on Elliott, and the Union’s big man promptly shook off the Frenchman like a stretched out JJ Redick drop-stepping them popping open in the corner.
Just over 10 minutes later, Elliott used a ghost-pick to roll off Zahibo again and follow-up Fafa Picault’s shot for his second goal. Zahibo dropped to one knee, prostrating before a player he clearly could not defend.
There was also work to be done on the defensive end, and Elliott chipped in with four (!) blocks, two clearances, two tackles (both successful), a pair of an assists and an interception. Philly needed every defensive action; the Revs were determined to get points at home and were pinning the Union back at every opportunity. But they could not get the better of Elliott, a player that lost his starting job to Mark McKenzie but has stepped back into the lineup with a point to prove and the total trust of his teammates.
When Jim Curtin says that everybody needs to step up and contribute down the back stretch of the season, he means guys like Elliott. And when the final standings reveal the six teams in the Eastern Conference that make the playoffs, performances like the one Philly’s defender put in Saturday may be remembered as the ones that lifted the Union into the postseason.
