New England Revolution Get First Win Of 2025
Carles Gil: "We know we’re still in a bad position, but today we want to enjoy this one.”
While there’s still work to be done, the New England Revolution are happy to get into the win column for the first time in 2025.
The Revs improved to 1-3-1 on Saturday by defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1. Carles Gil scored a beautiful free kick in the 28th minute before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalized in first-half stoppage time.
The dramatic finish came in the final moments of the game when Gil converted a penalty that Ignatius Ganago drew.
It was a positive performance for the Revs, who led in expected goals (2.09 to 1.54), shots on target (6 to 5), big chances (4 to 2), and touches in the box (30 to 17).
“I think it was a deserved win against a good team, and all the analytics say that as well, so that’s the nice thing,” head coach Caleb Porter said. “Sometimes in a situation like this, you squeak out a win and you’re not feeling great about the play, but today we deserved the win. We created a lot, and should have been a little more comfy if we finished better in the first half.”
While the Red Bulls were without some key players, including Lewis Morgan, the Revs also had absences.
Brayan Ceballos missed the game with a leg injury. His replacement, Wyatt Omsberg, only played 37 minutes before coming off due to a hamstring injury. Tanner Beason played the remainder of the game.
Leo Campana and Tomas Chancalay remained sidelined, though Porter said they should return “in a week to two weeks.”
The Revs also had to navigate players coming back from international duty.
“It was very tricky because we had [Alhassan] Yusuf and Ganago coming in on Thursday night at 5 o'clock and 8 o'clock p.m., and they’re not a part of any of the training,” Porter said. “Do we play them? Do we not play them? Do we bring them off the bench? In the end, we decided as a staff that we needed to play him.”
The Revs coaching staff had other decisions to make. They started Peyton Miller and Ilay Feingold as outside backs, two young players with much upside.
“They can worm out of situations and drive and eliminate a player, which means in a lot of ways that helped us move up the field,” Porter said. “Then in the final phase, they can overlap and cross, both of them. They really helped us create more.”
Porter later added, “One is 17 years old [Miller], and one is 20 years old [Feingold], so that’s really exciting. Fans should be very excited about the future with those two guys.”
In the middle, the Revs started Matt Polster alongside Yusuf.
“I thought Matt and Yusuf in the middle of the park, much more rugged, won a ton of balls, covered a lot of ground,” Porter said.
While Porter is the head coach, he recognized that his assistants were instrumental in developing a game plan, explicitly naming Blair Gavin and Pablo Moreira. Together, they decided to shift personnel.
“We kept coming back to, our structures are good,” Porter said. “We’re attacking in a 3-4-3; we’re defending in a 4-4-2. But in our structures, we’re not athletic enough, we’re not dynamic enough, we’re not getting enough crosses in. I think we found, in this game, the right balance and I think that showed in the performance.”
Of course, there’s work to be done, as the Revs still lag behind in the Eastern Conference.
While they led the Red Bulls in expected goals, the visitors had better numbers in xG from open play (1.43 to .91). The Revs must also be wary of counterattacks.
But the season's first win, followed by music in the locker room, was vital.
“[I feel] happy, because they were some difficult moments, every time we came here, finished the game, and we’re sad,” Carles Gil said. “We go home and we’re more sad. It was the same. Today will be different. We know we’re still in a bad position, but today we want to enjoy this one.”
Attention now shifts to the road ahead, which isn’t easy. The Revs play five of their next six away from Gillette Stadium.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Porter said. “It’s a win, it’s great. The players’ confidence can bubble up a little bit. They leave with a good feeling. We get a couple goals. People stop talking about us for a week (laughs). Yet, we have to go and get a result in the next game, too, because it’s just one result.”
I was really impressed with what I saw from Omsberg. I really hope his injury isn’t as bad as it seemed like it might be, because I’d love having him available as a backup.