Luke Brennan certainly didn’t expect to be called upon as a first-half substitute during Atlanta United’s 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday.
With Saba Lobjanidze with Georgia’s squad at Euro 2024, Edwin Mosquera received the starting nod at right wing for Atlanta. But after an apparent leg injury forced his exit in the 18th minute, Brennan was inserted into the match by interim head coach Rob Valentino.
And he impressed.
“What Luke did was awesome. He showed bravery, he went at them, he was a nuisance there. I felt like he caused them a lot of problems, and that’s great to see,” Valentino said after the match.
Brennan certainly got under the skin of at least one Dynamo player, receiving a healthy shove in the back from Houston defender Micael in the second half that touched off a brief exchange of tension.
Even so, the 19-year-old homegrown player was a bit deferential in the locker room when asked about the exchange.
“I guess it’s just natural (that I got under their skin),” he said. “I don’t wanna be that type of player, but if it happens, it happens.”
Brennan came close to playing the hero deep in stoppage time, too. A header in the box fell into his path in front of goal, but he wasn’t quite able to get the touch needed for what would have been the match-winner.
“I wasn’t expecting that, but yeah, I wish I could have that back,” he said.
Brennan could get called upon again on Wednesday depending on the prognosis of Mosquera. Should he start, it would be his first in MLS play and his third first-team start overall: he has been in the XI in both of Atlanta’s U.S. Open Cup matches this season.
Regardless, Saturday went a long way in helping Brennan build the trust of the Atlanta coaching staff.
“I told him, go be brave, go at people, do what you normally do. That one for me, being relentless like that, that’s something that is one of his characteristics,” Valentino said.
“He’s not had a lot of opportunities at the first-team level and [I told him] you get put on that stage, don’t shy away from it, be you and take people on, so I felt like he did a good job of that.”
Give him the start Wednesday, he earned it! Not that anyone else is fit to start at winger anyway…
Agree, but I think Luke is more skilled, at least from I’ve seen so far. Hopefully he gets some more time Wednesday. Didn’t he score a goal against the Mexican team last year? Or was it the year before?
Brennan will most definitely start on Wednesday unless they deem Wolff 90 min fit, which is doubtful. Or they push Lennon up to RW and start Hernandez at RB
He scored vs Pachuca last year.
He reminds me a bit of Thomas Müller back when he was a teenager. Not saying that he will become the superstar Müller did, only that Brennan’s read of play and movement off the ball is already phenomenal.