CARSON, Calif. – Sunday’s friendly with Manchester City, part of the World Football Challenge, wasn’t so much about winning or losing but about opportunity.
The Galaxy fell to the English Premier League powerhouse 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 tie in regulation in front of 24,897 at The Home Depot Center, but the game was invaluable in giving a trio of newcomers their first significant playing time of the season.
WATCH: Full Match Highlights
Hector Jimenez, a rookie from UC Berkeley, made his first career start in midfield. Dan Keat, another first-year player out of Dartmouth, played the entire second half and was part of the combination that resulted in Mike Magee’s game-tying goal. Jack McBean, who has been away from the team most of the season with the U.S. Under-17 National Team, played 24 impressive minutes.
“It was a good afternoon, constructive for both teams,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “We had the opportunity to play 22 players, of which some were young players that haven’t had a whole lot of playing time this year. I think that was a real positive.
“A number of players get on the field and showed us what they can do.”
The match was only seven minutes old when Jimenez made his presence felt. He went up for a high ball and clashed heads with Manchester City’s Gael Clichy. A wobbly Clichy had to be helped to his feet and off the field, although he did return.
“He got the worst of it,” grinned Jimenez, who had played in six reserve matches prior to Sunday. The 22-year-old from Bell Gardens said he barely could contain his excitement when Arena told him Saturday he would play against Manchester City.
“It’s great to get the first one under my belt,” he said. “Now it’s just to keep going forward from here and learn from that experience.
Hopefully I’ll see more time.”
WATCH: Galaxy vs Manchester City Recap
The same goes for Keat, who has spent much of the season recovering from a fractured left heel. The first round pick in this year’s MLS Supplemental Draft said it had been somewhat frustrating not getting much of a chance, and he wasn’t about to waste his opportunity to show what he can do.
“It was all about going out there and showing I can play at that level,” he said. “Each little thing you do well you gain confidence.
"And I think that was a huge positive for me today.
“It’s always frustrating not being on the field, but to a certain extent, you’ve got to do what you can and keep working hard and take your chance when you get it. It’s the nature of the game and the nature of being on a club like this.
“We’ve all got to keep pushing each other hard and take our chance when we get it.”
McBean, who replaced Miguel Lopez in the 66th minute, was signed as a Homegrown player in January but hasn’t been around much because of his time with the U.S. Under-17 National Team, including an appearance at the U-17 World Cup in Mexico earlier this month.
“It was awesome,” he said of Sunday’s playing time. “It’s been kind of a long way, and I had been gone most of the time. To finally get in and play with the guys was a lot of fun.”
His veteran teammates were impressed with not only his performance, but that of the other newcomers as well.
“They all looked great,” said Magee, who tied the game with an impressive, left-footed volley from 25 yards. “We’ve known in practices as well that these guys are stepping up. The problem with the league games is we have so many proven veteran players it’s hard to break in. But these guys are showing themselves well.
“They’re definitely making a case that if need be, especially with all these games coming up, we’re going to have confidence in them.”
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