CARSON, Calif. – Sigi Schmid is trying to “mold” a new team out of the 2017 LA Galaxy squad, and by all intents and purposes, Bradford Jamieson IV is showing that he belongs on the roster in the coming season.
Jamieson scored his second goal in as many games in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake.
Across his 76 minutes of action, Jamieson was an off-the-ball threat as his probing runs caused issues for Salt Lake defenders, despite the attacker only touching the ball just 28 times. The finish was a world-class effort as he confidently bodied a defender and slotted an off-balance effort past Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando for the team’s lone goal of the evening.
When asked what changed from the early half of the season to now, Jamieson provided a simple response.
“Confidence. I think also just preparation, kind of lining up with some opportunities. The training pitch is being put to use so I think a lot of that work is starting to show. I’ve been given chances so I think they’re starting to accumulate, so I think that’s all it is.”
The 20-year-old’s success has come amid a positional switch as Schmid has pushed the Homegrown player into a second striker role behind Giovani dos Santos. Jamieson’s pace and positioning has allowed him to flourish in the role while also pulling away defenders from Giovani dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini.
Schmid has taken note of the youngster’s success and is quite pleased with his progression.
“Bradford has done well. I’ve played him in different places. I know a lot of people thought that Sigi is pretty stupid for putting him in the midfield, he’s not a midfielder. But he’s really playing as sort of a second forward,” Schmid said. “I know he can make those runs. He’s got good feet, he can connect passes, he’s got good pace and he’s buying into what we’re asking him to do. I think if you look at his progression over the next month and a half, I think it’s been pretty good.”
The Galaxy boss isn’t the only one pleased with Jamieson’s ascent either.
“BJ is a great player, but I think he needs confidence. He is a young player so I think he needs a lot of training and a lot of games with the players:,” Romain Alessandrini said postgame. “We have a lot of experience so we can bring BJ to the top because he has a lot of qualities. He’s fast, he has technique. He’s a very good player so I think next season, he’ll play a lot of game.”
After scoring back-to-back goals for the first time in his senior career, Jamieson has no plans to rest on his laurels in the final two games of the year— or in the offseason.
“[I’m] going full steam ahead every match. I don’t think slowing down is a goal this season,” Jamieson said. “As a player, I’m trying to go 110% through the offseason, through the offseason, through next year, just keeping match fit and just keep a form about me and improve the things I’m working on.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
