It took some patience and hard work, but Elijah Wynder found his back into a Galaxy game as a member of the first team in Sunday’s loss against the Seattle Sounders.
Wynder joined the Galaxy on a transfer from Louisville City FC in the USL Championship. He made appearances in the first five games and six of the first seven. Sunday’s 25 minutes were his first for the Galaxy since May 31.
“It meant a lot for me personally,” Wynder said of getting back on the field. “Obviously, it wasn’t the result we wanted, so circumstances weren’t ideal, but for me personally it meant that work I’ve been doing in training, I feel like I’ve been training really well, so it was proof that they (the coaching staff) see that and recognize it, so it meant a lot for me.”
Wynder, 22, was another of the young additions to the Galaxy this season. He was the USL Championship Young Player of the Year last season and the Galaxy made the move and signed him to a three-year deal.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Wynder said of his first MLS season. “I played a decent amount of minutes at the beginning of the season, we weren’t winning, so obviously any coach is going to change things up. We started playing well when I wasn’t playing, so he kept going with the same players. Can’t be mad at it.
“I played a couple of games (in MLS Next Pro) with Ventura (County Football Club) and now I’m just trying to get more minutes here.”
Wynder made three appearances with Ventura County, the last two (July 16 and 20) in which he went 90 minutes in both games.
“My old team was high pressing and try to go as quickly as you can to the goal,” Wynder said. “Less of the intricate passes and more of the working. Here, it was a big adjustment at the beginning, it was more thinking and tactics. It was a big difference.”
The Galaxy (3-15-7, 16 points) visit star-studded Inter Miami on Saturday. With a crucial Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Pachuca just days away Wednesday, Wynder is expected to get an extended run of minutes this weekend.
“I’m seeing progress in his game and I would like to, down the stretch of this season, get him more involved into some of the rotations and get him more minutes,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It’s just been a process.
“For him, if he’s going to play a lower pivot position, then it’s his relationship with the other pivot and that timing and moving off of each other and it’s a lot of awareness and intricate sort of things. If he’s higher on the field for us, then he’s running through lines and it’s about the final product, setting up attacks, things like that. He’s a guy who is learning between those two roles. I’ve been trying to figure out.
“To be honest with you, I’ve been learning a little bit about him and trying to figure out what direction we really want to take him in this process to open up his career and also to help our team. He does have the physical tools to compete in this league. It’s just adding some other things that I think make our system function, too.”
Wynder said he likes to sit a bit deeper in the middle, but also have the ability to get forward.
“The conversations have been good,” Wynder said. “We had a conversation last week talking about where he sees me playing in the future. I want to try to get more minutes on the field and set myself up for a good next season.”
GALAXY at INTER MIAMI CF
When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
How to watch: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)