Ilay Feingold Ready to Do His Job
"We felt, with the match state, being down a goal, that Ilay, even though he was on a yellow, that he'd bring some attack, some passing and some crossing for us."
While the New England Revolution suffered a 1-0 defeat in the 2025 home opener, there was at least one positive to take away from the match.
Ilay Feingold got his second straight start opposite Brandon Bye. The 20-year-old outside back recorded 57 touches while completing 85 percent of his passes. Additionally, Feingold had three defensive clearances and won his two duels on the night.
It was another performance that left fans hopeful about one of New England’s newest signings. He provided a dynamic attacking option on the wing and kept his head after being issued a yellow card in the 10th minute.
Head coach Caleb Porter also liked what he saw out of Feingold. Even with the outside back on a yellow, Feingold got to play in his more natural position of right back while Brandon Bye was replaced by Will Sands in the 65th minute.
The Blazing Musket asked Porter about the substitution after the match.
“Yeah, we brought him [Feingold] in to be a right back,” Porter said. “Obviously, he's had to play left back because we've had two left backs out. Will Sands wasn't available to play major minutes today, we knew he'd be about 30 minutes maximum. We felt, with the match state, being down a goal, that Ilay, even though he was on a yellow, that he'd bring some attack, some passing and some crossing for us. Then we, obviously, in the last 10 minutes shifted into a 3-4-3, and he sat as one of the three kind of center backs. I thought that gave us some life, and I thought we actually really created some problems in that last 10 minutes.”
When he was on the right, Feingold seemed a lot more comfortable. He was confident on the ball and wasn’t afraid to take on opponents.
“Before every game, I watch video from our opponents – the wingers and the fullbacks,” Feingold said. “I try to see their weaknesses and they’re good things, on the ball and off the ball. I try to do my best with good aggression.”
Feingold’s flexibility does allow for some interesting possibilities. If Bye is performing well, the Israeli outside back can perform on the left but if the Revs veteran struggles it allows for Will Sands to enter the starting XI.
And luckily for Porter, Feingold is willing to do whatever it takes to help New England win.
“Of course, I feel better on the right side,” he said. “But, for me, I will do the job that the coach wants from me either on the left side or the right side. I’m a team player and I will do what the coach and the team needs from me. We need to get better as a team, to learn from our mistakes, and I think we’ll do that.”
Feingold is a player that Revs fans should be paying attention to. With the departure of DeJuan Jones, the 20-year-old seems like he could be the next great outside back for the club.