Galaxy fans curious about the identity of the starting XI come the MLS opener March 4 against Dallas in Carson, given the club’s wholesale changes in the offseason, received a partial answer this week in the first game of the young year against Tijuana.
Despite missing five likely starters — Robbie Rogers and Gyasi Zardes (injuries), Giovani dos Santos (international duty with Mexico, which was scheduled to play Wednesday night in Las Vegas against Iceland), new designated player Romain Alessandrini and Portuguese midfielder Joao Pedro (both awaiting visas) — the basic framework of what will be a young, unproven team with a marked lack of depth was on display Tuesday in a 1-1 tie at rain-swept StubHub Center.
The starting forwards against the Xolos, for example, were Galaxy II graduates Jack McBean — now a strapping 6-footer for those fans who remember the willowy teenager whose mom used to drop him off at practice when he initially signed for LA — and Ariel Lassiter.
Despite being prolific at lower levels, the pair remain unproven in MLS.
Conventional wisdom dictates both will largely come off the bench with Zardes perhaps a lone frontrunner despite not generally being the most high-scoring of strikers and dos Santos a combination of withdrawn forward and playmaker.
In truth, there wasn’t a whole lot to learn from the preseason opener that saw the Galaxy feature two completely different units in each half in what was more glorified workout than competitive exercise.
“It’s just another training exercise getting us ready for the season,” coach Curt Onalfo said. “Overall I thought it was a good exercise in the first 45 minutes. And in the second half, we saw some youth out there and scored a really good goal early on.”
There were a few flashes of what is to come.
In the absence of dos Santos, the deep-lying Jermaine Jones was probably the Galaxy’s best player offensively in the first half, supplying several penetrating passes that troubled the Xolos back line. After the disappointment of the veteran likes of Steven Gerrard, the Galaxy desperately need a big, leadership year from an experienced midfielder on a young team.
Onalfo succinctly summed up Jones’ contribution in one word: “Excellent.”
And Lassiter sounded as if he was positively licking his lips at the prospect of those Jones long balls helping him find space in the opposition half.
“It’s going to take a little time, but I can kind of read him when he’s going to play me the ball,” Lassiter said. “I’m not just running to run. But once he does find me in those spots, I think the goals will come even more.”
Even with Alessandrini and Sebastian Lletget penciled in as starting wingers, live-wire wide player Emmanuel Boateng served notice in the second half he should not be forgotten, particularly in beating two Xolos defenders en route to setting up the Jose Villarreal goal.
Flashes he showed increasingly last year as the season wore on suggest he will again sow panic by running at speed at opposing defenders, presumably largely coming of the bench.
“We have a young squad, but even the young guys did well,” defender Jelle Van Damme said. “We can only improve. It’s only been two weeks and it’s a whole new team, a younger team.”
Etc.
The Galaxy play their second preseason exhibition against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cashman Field in Las Vegas. The game is not expected to be streamed live.
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