New England's MLS Newcomers Earn Praise in Debut
Caleb Porter was pleased with the performance of New England's new faces.
The New England Revolution started the 2025 season with a 0-0 draw and after a 2024 season filled with disappointment, any points are welcome. New England’s freshest of faces played key roles in the Revs performance.
While noticeable by the fact that New England failed to score any goals, the Revolution attack struggled. The lone bright spots with the ball for the Revs were MLS newcomers Ilay Feingold and Ignatius Ganago.
Feingold provided variety and skill on the left flank even though it’s not his natural position. The outside back is much more familiar with playing on the right but with Peyton Miller and Will Sands dealing with injuries he was forced to make his MLS debut on the opposite side.
The native of Isreal racked up 71 touches while also winning eight of 10 duels. Feingold added speed and attacking ability out wide and connected well with teammates in the final third.
“Nice, young player,” New England Revolution head coach Caleb Porter said of Feingold after the match. “For his first game, a debut in our league at 20 years old, I thought he was very solid. [There is] still a lot of improvement that can happen; that’s what’s even more exciting about him. He’s very athletic. He’s a good defender. He’s athletic and quick. He was in behind a few times. Obviously, he’s not on his right foot, so it’s not quite as natural and clean. I thought it was a really good shift for him having to step into that position [left back], which he hasn’t played much.”
Ganago brought something different considering he is a defender and not a forward. The Cameroonian winger showed great ability on the ball while also creating chances on the attack.
The 26-year-old completed 22 of 25 passes while recording 44 touches and a single rocketed shot toward net.
“Love him,” Porter said of Ganago. “I think you guys know, I’ve talked very highly of him. He is just going to get better and better. He had a chance in the first half [Joe] Willis made a great save on. He’s dangerous. He’s a handful. He’s good one-v-one. He works hard defensively. He’s a threat.”
While the attack was lacking, New England’s back line put up a strong performance. Anytime a clean sheet is recorded, the boys in the back deserve some praise.
It’s especially impressive considering that the center back duo of Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos were playing in their first MLS matches.
“I love that we’re building from a strong defensive foundation,” Porter said. “I think it’s great for our back four who actually have only been together I think maybe three weeks, because Mamadou [Fofana] came two weeks into preseason. I thought they were excellent today. Let’s be honest, [Hany] Mukhtar and [Sam] Surridge, they’re a handful. Mukhtar was the league MVP a couple years ago, so it’s not like we’re playing against a slouch team on the road in terms of the attacking talent that they have. So yeah, we’ll take it, but we’re not satisfied.”
There’s also the added fact that it isn’t the easiest for Ceballos and Fofana to communicate. While Fofana speaks English, he is primarily a French speaker while Ceballos is primarily a Spanish speaker.
But at the end of the day, soccer is a universal language. Goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic discussed working with his new center back duo.
“Brayan [Ceballos] understands everything, soccer language or the words that he has to understand, so there’s not a problem in our language barrier,” Ivacic said. “I think we work together pretty well. It’s been only…one month, maybe a little more, but I think we are pretty good working together.”
All in all, it was a solid MLS debut for all involved and a solid start to the season for the Revolution. Hopefully, the positive momentum continues for New England as the club prepares for the home opener against the Columbus Crew next weekend.