When Erin Brennan arrived at Heidelberg United, the club had gone through a rough start to the season and was sitting 9th on the table.
Since then, the indefatigable midfielder has become a mainstay in the starting eleven and has helped propel the Bergers back into the playoff reckoning.
On the weekend, Heidelberg came up against a Bundoora side fresh from trashing Altona City 8-2.
With Caitlin Friend in hot form since returning from injury, as well as the presence of players such as Bri Davey, Enza Barilla and Gulcan Koca, the Bergers certainly had a match on their hands.
It was not surprising then that Bundoora had more of the possession in the match.
Heidelberg began the match with a different outlook to usual, with Brennan sitting deeper in a 4-3-3 while American counterpart Leigh Gray lined up in front of her with Julia Nicolaci. This meant her usual midfield partner Elise Kyrgios was pushed up front.
It was a different role for Brennan who had been used as a box to box midfielder thus far by Heidelberg.
Perhaps the quality of opposition dictated her new role, as Heidelberg sought to use her engine to try and disrupt Bundoora United playing the ball close to their final third.
Whatever the case, she started the match well, aiding Heidelberg’s counterattacking moves with some neat passing.
As Bundoora asserted more pressure on Heidelberg however, the defence began to show cracks and when Stephanie Galea had space to shoot in the 16th minute, Brennan produced an excellent last ditch tackle to deflect the ball over the bar.
Without being able to get on the ball as often as she would’ve liked, Brennan’s key contributions generally came in defensive situations, heading balls clear and intercepting passes.
Her positioning became vital in clearing dangerous balls from the box, and on one occasion her clearance led to a direct counter attack which ended up with Belinda Panella who found her shot blocked.
In the second half, with usual midfield partner Kyrgios back alongside her, she was afforded the time to contribute more to the attacking phases of Heidelberg’s play.
Brennan’s passes in the second half came about as Heidelberg set up their attacks, and the she even found herself whipping in a couple of crosses.
When called upon defensively she still did her job however, as evidenced by a brilliant blocked on a goal bound effort from Caitlin Friend.
Towards the end of the match, she was moved back to the holding role as Heidelberg attacked with what looked like a 3-3-1-3 formation, trying desperately to find a goal.
The result for the home side was a disappointing one, but Brennan’s key contributions to the match ensured that the scoreline only read 0-2.
After the contest, head coach John Kyrgios was quick to praise her work ethic, but also indicated there was still improvement ahead for the hard working midfielder.
“Erin is probably one of the hardest working players in the league. She’s got an incredible engine [and she] never ever stops,” Kyrgios said.
“We just got to get her to do effective running in the effective areas that she needs to be and that’s what we’ve been working on. Again, fantastic athlete there’s no doubt about that.”
