Prior to kick off in Friday night’s home game against Newry City, the club made a presentation to Elliott Morris in recognition of him reaching the incredible milestone of 700 first team appearances for Glentoran in our recent match at Mourneview Park. Elliott is now in his seventeenth season at Glentoran, a remarkable statistic in these days when such a high level of loyalty to one club is an increasingly rare commodity.
To mark the achievement, Elliott was presented with an inscribed crystal trophy on behalf of the Glentoran Board of Directors. This was presented to Elliott on the pitch by his illustrious predecessor in the Glentoran goal, Alan Paterson who made 517 appearances between 1972 and 1994. Prior to Elliott, “Paddy” held the record for most appearances by a Glentoran goalkeeper. Elliott will now have the Glentoran all time appearance record of 794 in his sights. We have no doubt the Glentoran support is all behind Elliott as he makes his next century of appearances.
To put Elliott’s longevity at the Oval into context, when Elliott made his debut his fellow first team squad member James McCarthy had yet to celebrate his 2nd birthday! A Northern Ireland Under 21 and B international, Elliott arrived at the Oval from West Bromwich Albion as a 21 year old and made his debut at the Oval in our opening League game of the 2002-03 season, a 4-1 victory over Institute. However he really came to the attention of Glentoran fans in his second game when he gave an outstanding performance in a 2-0 defeat against Wisla Krakow at the Oval in the old UEFA Cup.
Elliott has experienced the highs and lows with Glentoran, but can boast three League Championships, three Irish Cup winner’s medals and three League Cup winner’s medals plus two County Antrim Shields and a Charity Shield from his time at the Oval. He captained the club to our most recent trophy wins in the Irish Cup Finals of 2013 and 2015.
Did You Know?
- Elliott has 248 clean sheets in his 700 appearances.
- From 3rd May, 2003 until 10th September, 2005 he played in 111 consecutive first team games.
- He has been sent off four times! Against Cliftonville in 2009, Renova in 2011, Portadown in 2012 and Crusaders in 2015.
- Eight goalkeepers have deputised for Elliott in his 17 seasons; Neil Armstrong, Ian Mannus, Michael Dougherty, Wayne Drummond, Chris Keenan, James Taylor, Aaron Hogg and Dwayne Nelson.
- He has come on as a substitute for Glentoran just once, replacing Jonathan Smith in a game at Ballinamallard in 2016 after Aaron Hogg was sent off.
Photograph by Thomas Sewell
Congratulations Elliott: A True Legend!
