The first games of the LA Galaxy Academy’s England tour are in the books as both the U-16 and U-18 teams lost to Academy teams from Blackburn Rovers on Monday afternoon at the club's training ground in Brockhall. The U-16s fell 7-4 playing an 80 minute game with two 40-minute halves, while the U-18s fell 6-1 in a 90 minute game with three 30 periods.
One of the nation's top academy programs, having developed players such as David Dunn, Shay Given, Damian Duff, James Beattie and many more, and after seeing their squad up close, I'm sure that a few of the lads that played today will soon become household names as well.
In cold and blustery conditions that they are unaccustomed to, the Galaxy players battled throughout their games despite Blackburn's pedigree and in many cases, sheer physical strength. The U-16s even took an early lead in the game with Neil Ignacio scoring just minutes into the U-16 match. After setting up Ignacio's opener, Dyllan Stevens would add a pair for the U-16's and Nathaniel Schnitman grabbed a fourth while Ruben Valencia would score the only goal for the U-18's.
Next up, the Galaxy Academy teams will train at the Manchester City Academy at Platt Lane today before taking on their academy teams on Wednesday.
