This Friday night’s FFA Cup match against Melbourne Knights will be Andy Brennan’s 16th and final appearance for South Melbourne this season. While there have been many to have played more games in the club’s famous blue and white jersey, few have made as much of an immediate impact as Brennan has.
Following Friday night’s game, the Tasmanian will travel north to join up with the club he signed for in April, A-League side Newcastle Jets.
Brennan joined South Melbourne from PS4 Victory League side South Hobart last November. During his time at Lakeside Stadium, the rangy winger has constantly wowed the supporters with his blistering pace and power.
The 21 year old has scored seven goals for South at time of print, although this total is a very real possibility of being added to on Friday night given Brennan’s penchant for scoring against Melbourne Knights.
He memorably scored with his first touch as a South player against South’s old rivals, equalizing in torrential conditions in the 2-1 Community Shield victory at Somers Street back in February.
A goal and man-of-the-match display in the 2-1 league victory over Knights in April was enough to convince the Jets officials in attendance at that game of Brennan’s worth.
A quietly spoken character, Brennan highlighted the two previous Knights games as favourites of his time at South, whilst also noting his improvement under head coach Chris Taylor.
“CT’s been such a massive help, and had such an impact on me in a short period of time” Brennan said ahead of his final game.
“I’ve looked of videos of myself, and I’ve seen a really big improvement. Before in my crossing, I never used to look to get the ball in the box that much and now, that’s pretty much my first thought, how I can get the ball into a dangerous area. That’s pretty much all down to Chris. He had a chat to me and I started doing what he said, and I can remember the training where it all initially clicked. He’s certainly someone I’ll keep looking back to if I need any guidance.”
Along with South striker Milos Lujic, Brennan has formed one of the deadliest partnerships seen at South Melbourne in recent years.
On countless occasions this season, Lujic has found the back of the net following a pinpoint cross from Brennan, with the pair developing a unique and prolific understanding.
While Lujic will no doubt miss his partner in crime, Brennan says he is just as disappointed he won’t have the big striker with him at Newcastle.
“I suppose training together you learn the way each other moves, and Milos knows when I’m going to put the ball in the box. He’s a pretty good target to hit, you know he’s going to finish most of the time when you put one in. I think I I’ll be just as disappointed to lose him, where if we stayed together longer we’d probably only get better, but unfortunately that’s the way football is sometimes.”
Given the importance of the FFA Cup clash with the Knights, head coach Taylor demanded a stipulation of Brennan’s move to Newcastle be that he still remained available for this fixture.
Whereas one might expect a player’s form to decrease after joining a club at a higher level, it must be said that Brennan’s form has only gone from strength to strength since he signed with the Jets.
It says much about the character of the man, who described his time at South as ‘amazing’.
“Overall it’s been really enjoyable. It’s a pretty formidable club. Everything from the players at the club, the training facilities, coaching staff, the people behind the scenes, guys like (team manager) Frank Piccone, Nick Maikousis, CT, the media people. The whole experience has been amazing and its one that I definitely won’t forget.”
South Melbourne would like to thank Andy Brennan for his service to the club this season, and wishes him all the best for the rest of his career, where one day we hope to see him wearing our famous shirt again.