CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy fell 5-2 to Manchester United in front of 25,667 at StubHub Center on Saturday, but head coach Curt Onalfo had plenty of reasons to smile after the defeat.
The Galaxy welcomed back Jermaine Jones (MCL sprain) and Daniel Steres (hamstring) back from lengthy injury absences. Steres played 45 minutes in the loss, while Jermaine Jones went 30 minutes for Onalfo’s team.
After enduring a laundry list of injuries during the first half of the season, Onalfo was pleased to get two of his key starters back in the fold.
“It was nice this week, we had as many healthy bodies as we’ve had all season,” Onalfo told the media after the defeat. “We’re starting to get healthy and that feels good. We wanted to manage the game to keep bringing guys back and keep moving forward.
“It’s not an easy thing to do when you’re playing against Manchester United, but at the end of the day, mission accomplished.”
Steres was impressive as he helped lead a youthful Galaxy starting group that often saw themselves overrun by much of Manchester United’s first group. The 26-year-old’s action was his first since late May when he suffered a hamstring injury in the Galaxy’s win over the San Jose Earthquakes.
After a lengthy recovery that saw Steres endure several setbacks, the defender was simply pleased to get back on the field and remained hopeful that he could resume his starting position shortly.
“It felt really good to get back. It took a lot longer than I expected so just to get back is awesome,” Steres said. “I’m feeling good now and it was good to get 45 minutes.”
As the Galaxy look ahead to Wednesday’s match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the Galaxy’s center back is encouraged by the team’s progress and hopeful that they’ll be able to field a healthy squad as they seek to make a run during the second half of the season.
“A lot of guys that got minutes tonight that will get minutes as the season goes on,” Steres said. “As the year goes on, hopefully, we’ll continue to get guys back and take off in the second half of the season.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at www.LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
