Tactical Tidbits: Josh Penn shows pedigree in Indy Eleven debut

The show Josh Penn put on in the Indy Eleven’s 2-1 loss to Saint Louis FC on Saturday was so enthralling that the only thing missing was Teller.

The U-19 U.S. men’s national team member and Indiana Hoosiers commit regularly diced up opponents on the left flank and showed an exceptional feel for the game. He was the most dangerous player on the pitch for the first 45 minutes, eviscerated the ankles of a solid veteran defender in Matt Bahner and showed a special type of creativity — a willingness to take players on in space that’s not often exhibited by young American footballers.

Penn also nearly helped open the scoring a few times. The 18-year-old fired a shot on target after putting Bahner on skates in the 19th minute that would’ve found twine were it not for a save by well-positioned St. Louis goalkeeper Jake Fenlason.

Penn’s short, lofted pass to a wide-open Dane Kelly at the far post in the 35th minute created a savory header opportunity that Fenlason denied. Later, in the 48th, Penn burned up the left side and found Kelly’s noggin again — this time at the near post — that led to a header off the woodwork.

“Josh is a fast, dynamic player who can beat people on the dribble and is scoring threat,” said Indy Eleven head coach Martin Rennie in the release announcing Penn’s signing.

But it wasn’t all puppies and flowers in Penn’s debut. For one, his team didn’t leave with a win, albeit through perhaps no fault of his own.

He showed his inexperience on occasion, which is expected of a player his age. A couple times he took a heavy first touch and conceded possession. At others, he was a tad optimistic about playing a long ball across the field, or forced a short- or -mid-distance pass in traffic.

Penn also quieted down when the defense paid more attention to him as the match wore on. He flashed his ability significantly more in the first half and wasn’t able to impact the game as much after the intermission.

His defensive contributions were pretty nonexistent as well. He officially recorded nary a tackle, clearance, blocked shot or interception. With a three-back system behind him, he’ll definitely need to improve on that side of the ball.

But on the whole, the final numbers were as impressive as the eye test. In his 80-minute shift, Penn completed 76.7 percent of his passes, 30 successful in total, of which four were long passes. His aforementioned shot on target was his lone on the day, and he was credited with two successful crosses and two chances created for his connections with Kelly. He won four of six duels, drew two fouls while committing zero and avoided going into the referee’s book.

His heat map — from right to left — also revealed a lengthy tenure in the final third, a trait Rennie will surely grow to appreciate.

Penn has very soft feet for a player his size. Standing 6-2 with a smooth left foot to boot, his physicality presents almost as much of a challenge to opponents as his technical ability does. His field vision seems quite advanced for his age, as some of the passes he attempted Saturday that didn’t connect showed the ambition of a confident player who’s aware of where his teammates are at or headed.

Penn is able to suit up for the Eleven while maintaining his amateur status via a partnership with Chicago-based Sockers FC. He intends to head off to Indiana University this fall to play for Todd Yeagley after choosing the school in January.

It looks like both the Eleven and Hoosiers have themselves a special talent at their disposal. In fact, his career with both might end up getting cut short because of his astronomical potential.

But having a guy who’ll likely be too talented to stick around in the future is a dandy problem to have in the short term. And it sounds like Rennie won’t run out of ideas as far as how to deploy Penn.

“He can play multiple positions,” Rennie told Soc Takes following his team’s nil-nil preseason draw with Nashville SC on March 2. “He’s a really talented young kid as you could see today. He’s a very, very good player. He can play a few positions for us, but today he played out (left).”

Indy has an away date at the Charlotte Independence tonight with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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