BRADENTON, Fla. – The New England Revolution continued to build their fitness and unity ahead of the fast-approaching 2025 season on Saturday afternoon, as they took on Atlanta United FC in preseason action in Bradenton, Florida. The match was as close to mimicking a regular season contest as the Revolution have gotten this preseason, dividing the game between two squads, with most starters playing about 70 minutes and the second group playing the last 20.
“Great to get 70-plus minutes, physically,” explained head coach Caleb Porter. “Obviously, we had a quick turnaround from Monday, so to be able to go 60 [minutes] and then 70 with four or five days in between is very positive.”
The Revs dropped their first result of preseason as their record moved to 2-1-1 with a 2-0 loss to Atlanta, but Porter and his players saw continued progress at a critical juncture of their development.
“We made some mistakes today. In the preseason that’s to be expected. For me, it’s just about learning from those things. Both goals, I think, are things that we can correct and clean up easily. I didn’t think they had a ton of chances on the day, and it was a pretty even game,” said Porter. “But no failure, just feedback in preseason.”
Ganago and Feingold clock first preseason minutes
After joining the Revs for preseason in recent days, both Ignatius Ganago and Ilay Feingold were able to see limited minutes in Saturday's match. Ganago started the game on the wing, seeing his first bit of action with the Revolution in his 35 minutes on the pitch, and Feingold played the final 20 minutes at right back.
Revs captain Carles Gil was happy to see Ganago get some time as he and the squad continue to get to know each other on and off the pitch. “It’s difficult for him with a lot of travel. He trained just two days, but he’s starting to feel good [with] everyone, and also us, to know him,” said Gil. “He showed good things in training and for sure, he is going to help us.”
Revs look ahead to final days in Florida and last preseason matches
With only two days of training remaining in Florida, the Revolution are locking in on their objectives ahead of the impending season. The Revs will face the Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL Championship) on Tuesday for their last game in Bradenton, before flying back to New England and facing Hartford Athletic (USL Championship) at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, February 15.
For Brandon Bye, who is entering his eighth season with the Revolution, it’s still all about continuing to build those connections with new teammates and reaching a level of fitness that prepares them for the long season ahead.
“I think continuing to develop partnerships, whether it’s the backline, the forwards, the midfielders, anything like that. Then continuing to stay healthy and push fitness into that first game of the season,” he explained.
Porter is focused on continuing to increase the minutes on the pitch and getting players to a level where they can play a full 90 minutes confidently by the time they are back in New England. “We’ll rotate on Tuesday who starts the game [against Tampa Bay]. At 70 [minutes], we’ll bring on the group that started today. That sets us up to hopefully play a 90-minute game where we’re pushing our top group at home [against Hartford], a week out from the season.”
Fans will be able to stream the last game of the preseason campaign on revolutionsoccer.net after the team returns home from a month down south, getting ready for the regular season opener come February 22 in Nashville.
