Caleb Porter Praises First Half, Criticizes Second Half Against Orlando

Porter: “As proud as I was of the first half, I was equally as disappointed in the second half."

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

Head coach Caleb Porter was disappointed in the New England Revolution’s second-half performance against Orlando City SC, as their one-goal halftime lead turned into a 3-1 loss.

The game started brightly as Esmir Bajraktarevic offered a cross-field ball that DeJuan Jones placed into the path of Giacomo Vrioni. The striker put it home, scoring his sixth goal in as many games.

The visitors responded during the second 45 with three unanswered goals. Facundo Torres scored in the 51st and 81st minutes with Ramiro Enrique finding the back of the net in the 59th.

“As proud as I was of the first half, I was equally as disappointed in the second half,” Porter said. “I thought the defending was very poor out of some experienced guys at the back.

“Look at the first goal, it's a bad clearance, middle of the field, turns into a quick transition, we're not alert. Torres jumps on it.

“Second goal, set piece, we're not hungry enough. They get the first head and then somehow the guy jumps in front of Dave [Romney] and pokes it home. Another not good goal.

“Then the third one, again, we're opened up, center backs are out of position, we lose the ball, and again Torres – DeJuan [Jones] is not tight enough again to him.

“So, I thought it was a really poor half, especially from the backline. We need more pride, defensively.”

The Revs had eight players who were unavailable due to injury, including Carles Gil, Dylan Borrero, Noel Buck, and Tomas Chancalay.

To go into halftime with a lead despite missing so many attackers was a positive for the home team.

“At a minimum, that should have been a 1-0 win for us,” Porter said. “It’s disappointing, because we knew it would be a tough game, but we got our noses in front, played really well in the first half.

“We got some guys in like Jack [Panayotou], who hasn't played all season long, had a very good performance. Even Tommy Mac [McNamara] I thought played really well.

“I thought the midfield on up gave all they had, and obviously with some inexperienced guys in, they performed. The guys at the back didn't today, and we lost the game because of that.”

This was the Revolution’s first game without Xavier Arreaga since he was added on Apr. 23. The experienced defender was serving a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation.

As such, Saturday’s backline featured Jones, Romney, Henry Kessler, and Brandon Bye.

“We know we have Arreaga out,” Porter explained. “He is a key player for us. You see the record when he's been in.

“Unfortunately, however you want to look at it, the record has not been great with Dave and Kessler. It's just not. You see even at times in the first half, those guys are crashing into each other.

“And for me, I understand early in the year, there's kinks to work out, but we're 21 games in and those guys are experienced guys. I'm just very disappointed that they didn't show more confidence, more nastiness, more pride.

“I thought we gave away three cheap goals and that's very disappointing, and they're going to have to face the music. They're going to have to turn around, wake up, respond, and do better.”

When asked what Arreaga offers to the team, Porter said, “Arreaga brings quality. He brings talent. He brings experience. He brings winning. He brings confidence. He brings ability on the ball, composure, intelligence.”

Porter then pivoted to goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic.

“I’m disappointed for Aly, too, because this guy is playing out of his mind right now,” Porter said. “For me, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, the way he’s playing right now. He doesn’t deserve to be leaving every game giving up two [to] three goals.

“We have to do better around him. If we want to be at the level we need to be, I expect my center backs in that second half to do a lot better.”

The Revs have a quick turnaround as they travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday before hosting Dallas on Saturday.

Porter noted they “get no one else back [from injury].” When asked specifically about Gil, Borrero, and Buck returning this week, Porter said, “Probably not.”

Arreaga will be available, however, and Porter anticipates him being back in the starting lineup.

“It’s Arreaga and one of those two guys [Romney and Kessler],” Porter said when asked if it’s an open competition for who plays alongside Arreaga. “If I’m looking at record, Dave has been the better guy, based on record, with Arreaga.

“Kessler has a couple wins, one win I think it is with the two – Romney and him. That was Charlotte, I believe. Then, Kessler has two wins with Arreaga, but Romney has a few more. I think that chemistry felt, during that four-game stretch, a little bit better.

“But I do think Kessler has the ability to play with Arreaga, but the bottom line is, the record has not been good when Romney and Kessler play together, so that’s probably not a good chemistry.”

After a difficult start to the season, the Revs went on a four-game winning streak, their first since 2021. Since then, they’ve gone 1-3 as they navigate absences during a busy schedule.

Their next two games will be difficult, but the Revs are looking to secure some points before the Leagues Cup break.

“We’ve got to find a way to get some points out of these next two games, even under the circumstances of where we’re at,” Porter said. “Then we know we’ve got time to get healthy and to end the last 11 games of the year [after Leagues Cup] with a few new players and with everybody healthy.

“And I believe 100 percent, when we’re healthy – and we showed it in the four-game stretch – when we have Carles, and we have Dylan, and we have our group healthy, that we can beat anybody in the league.

“If we add a couple pieces there and we get healthy, I’m excited about the last 11 games. Right now, it’s survival, for sure. It’s not going to look perfect or pretty, but can we play like the first half in this next game for 90 minutes? Then I think we’ll have a chance.”