New England Revolution Looking to Remain Aggressive to Start Road Trip

"We need to keep being us, keep playing the way we played last game.”

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution tasted victory for the first time against the New York Red Bulls and head coach Caleb Porter wants the team to maintain the style of play they illustrated in the 2-1 win.

New England showed signs of life in the match. Wingers Ignatius Ganago and Lucal Langoni attacked defenders with reckless abandon and created quality goalscoring chances. Peyton Miller and Ilay Feingold also showed no fear, whether it be defensive efforts to take possession or creating offensive chances of their own.

Porter was pleased with how the team performed against the Red Bulls.

“Yeah, just the aggressiveness I think is the key,” Porter said on Tuesday. “We were much more aggressive. Our mentality was aggressive, on both sides of the ball. We got numbers forward. In wide areas, we were able to get more width, crosses, quality in the box, more runners in the box. We should have scored more than two goals, so that’s, for me, the one thing. We have to, in that first half, get more goals than we did.”

Porter added that even though New England is headed on the road to play FC Cincinnati, he wants the Revolution to continue to play aggressive soccer.

One of the most aggressive players on the Revolution roster happens to be Feingold. The right back has already amassed three yellow cards this season and is two yellow cards away from facing a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Even when not entering the referee’s book, Feingold has shown no fear going to ground or being physical opponents. His lone goal is to stop attackers from progressing with the ball, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them.

While the right back is nearing a suspension, Porter stated that he loves how Feingold plays the game.

“No, I love it (laughs). No, I like his bite. I love that he’s brave. I love that he’s in tackles,” Porter said when asked if he is worried about the amount of cards that Feingold has racked up. “I love that he’s trying to stop guys one-v-one. That kid’s a competitor and so is Peyton [Miller]. Those guys are not shy. They’re brave and that’s what you want. I don’t like guys getting yellows, but I like what leads to the yellow. He’s not getting yellows for stupid stuff like kicking a ball away. He’s getting yellows for trying to defend guys and shut people down. He’s getting yellows for being in plays, being in situations to make plays and defend well.”

While Feingold likes to play aggressively, he did note that he has to balance that aggression with caution to make sure he isn’t suspended.

“I try my best. I want to be very aggressive, this is my role,” the right back said. “At the end of the day, I am a full back. I have to play good defense and be aggressive, and play good in the attack. But yeah, I have to be more focused on that because if I get two more yellow cards I will be out of the [next] game. I have to keep that, keep my level, and I try my best to help the team to get three points.”