The Galaxy had a little bit of everything on display in Saturday’s victory over Sporting Kansas City.
From first-team debuts for Tucker Lepley and Ruben Ramos Jr. to a second-half sub playing less than 20 minutes and having to be subbed off to a reconfigured midfield, through it all, the Galaxy kicked off their three-game week with a win.
“This group has a great mentality, really kind of understands systematically what we’re trying to do,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We had a week to really prepare for this game and understand that we probably wouldn’t have (midfielder) Riqui (Puig) and I think we settled right into the system, quite well.
“Guys fulfilled all their roles and responsibilities, they played to the level of what’s expected and the mentality is really good. They like each other, they work really hard together, they believe in themselves and they’re some wonderful pieces that fit together. I’m really proud of them because sometimes when you’re missing a few guys, you could skip a beat and we didn’t. We kept going, but in a slightly different way, but it was smooth.”
The Galaxy were without Gaston Brugman (knee) and Puig (groin). In all likelihood, both will be unavailable for the remaining games this week, Brugman for likely much longer.
The new-look midfield saw Diego Fagundez move into the middle and Jonathan Perez start out wide. Then at halftime, the Galaxy had to make another change when Perez starting feeling some hamstring discomfort and in stepped Mauricio Cuevas for 20 minutes.
“I thought Jonny (Jonathan Perez) was doing great,” Vanney said. “He felt at about 40 minutes, he felt the hamstring kind of bite on him a little bit. So then it was super precautionary to be honest. We wanted Jonny to get us to the point that we were safe to get Joseph (Paintsil) on to the field. So then we ended up with a gap because we didn’t want to push Johnny and we didn’t want to run Paintsil too long. It was a little bit of a sacrifice but to be fair to Mauricio (Cuevas), he was fantastic in the 15 minutes, and I told him, ‘You were incredible.’ …He sacrificed a little bit for the team and I’m proud of him.”
Paintsil, who came on the 65th minute, had missed a month due to a hamstring issue. He scored in the 75th minute. He will get longer run Wednesday as New York City FC visits Dignity Health Sports Park.
“Jonny stepped up, the next guy that’s been called upon and stepped up for this team, Diego, who had to come into the middle, played excellent,” Vanney said. “Guys are learning, guys are growing, guys are growing together and I think we’re building in the right direction.”
The Galaxy will be tested again Wednesday, with Perez (hamstring) added to the unavailable list, along with Brugman and Puig.
Lepley and Ramos Jr. step up
Lepley, a third-round draft pick from UCLA, and 17-year-old Ruben Ramos Jr. entered Saturday’s game as late substitutions for their first-team debuts.
Both players were with the first team in preseason and Lepley trains with the first team during the week, but both have played only with Galaxy 2/Ventura County FC in game action before Saturday.
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“Both those guys have been excellent with the second team,” Vanney said. “Ruben has been kind of the center of that team, when it comes to the attacking side, really good spots, playing the 10 and Tucker has been really tidy and clean and understanding … (VCFC coach) Matt (Taylor) is doing a great job setting up the system there too, so guys are just plug and play when they come to us (first team). When they’ve been good there, then they deserve opportunities here. I think that’s the natural evolution of that needs to happen – as guys do well, we need to bring them in.
“We’re a little short in midfield too, let’s be honest, losing Gaston, Riqui and Danny (Daniel Aguirre) moving out (to Chivas), so that opens the door too for these guys to come in and show that they’re ready and step into roles and opportunities.”
NEW YORK CITY FC at GALAXY
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
How to watch: Apple TV (season pass)
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