After an exciting win over an entirely unexciting New York Red Bulls side, we're being faced with our next hurdle in our quest for the Desert Diamond Cup. It's probably the case that as Los Angeles won't have another friendly the next day (one in which they're more inclined to play first-team players,) we're likely to see players who, you know, actually play for the club or have a chance to play, at the very least.
First up for Jason Kreis's side will be integrating some of the new boys into the setup. We've been told we're set to see more of a mix of youth and experience tonight, which would seem to indicate that he's close to having decisions made on the remaining trialists. As I discussed yesterday, the squad's taking shape, but there remain just a few decisions.
1. Who do we bring in at full back? We'll see more of Diogo de Almeida today, and he'll be hoping to put himself firmly in the club's thinking as the fourth full back in the squad. By all accounts he's more of a 'project' player, but he'll want to make the impression that he can contribute to the side sooner rather than later.
2. Who do we bring in at center back? There's no saying whether Leone Cruz or Carlos Salcedo will be played tonight, but they both seem to be in the staff's thinking. Seeing one of the two partnered with a first-choice defender — rather than each other — will help us get a clearer picture, but I'm sure Jason and Garth already have seen that picture and are just looking for the finest pieces of evidence to cull through.
3. Is Emiliano Bonfigli going to make it at the club? He didn't show much in his 60 minutes on the pitch during the match against New York, but that would only tell us a little bit. The biggest thing we can take from that is that perhaps he's not the most individualistic player and needs a well-oiled side to score. The signing of Jonny Steele, to my mind, indicates that we're not going to take in Bonfigli, given our international slot situation and our continuing need for full backs, but again, we only have part of the puzzle.
Right, I'll go through my predicted line up and leave you be. I was surprised at my relative success on my long punt of a line up against New York, so perhaps I can surprise myself again by getting more than a few right. But, as I reminded you last time, this is a bit of a punt on the lineup, so when I'm wrong on most counts, don't be surprised.
Rimando
de Almeida - Olave - Schuler - Wingert
Grabavoy - Beckerman - Steele
Gil
Espindola - Arnoux
I suspect Rimando will start, as he's off to Italy in the morning. Kyle Reynish's start last match showed us a great side of the goalkeeper, and our match against New England should give us an opportunity to see young Lalo Fernandez.
Perhaps we might also have a chance to see more of a few players, too: Sebastian Velasquez, Nico Muñiz, Enzo Martinez — all rather young — might get their chances to show the staff that they're capable of performing with the first team. I also expect we'll get a sight of Jonny Steele, especially as he's just signed with the club.
And while we won't want to read too much into the result, there's nothing wrong with hoping for and celebrating a good one.
Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
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