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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Play FC Viktoria Plzen to 2-2 Draw as Carles Gil Makes Preseason Debut

February 1, 2019 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


Carles Gil making his New England Revolution preseason debut
Carles Gil making his New England Revolution preseason debut
(New England Revolution, Credit: New England Revolution)

MARBELLA, Spain - The New England Revolution played defending Czech First League champions FC Viktoria Plze? to a draw, 2-2, in a preseason friendly at Marbella Football Center in Spain. Forwards Cristian Penilla and Brian Wright contributed the goals for New England, as the Revs' newest member, Spanish midfielder Carles Gil, played 45 minutes and delivered an assist in his Revolution debut only two days after signing with the club from Spanish side Club Deportivo La Coruña.

New England broke through for the opening goal in the 35th minute as Gil collected a turnover in the center of the pitch and found Penilla streaking free down the left side. The Ecuadorian finished the counterattack with a left-footed finish to give the Revs a 1-0 lead. Goalkeeper Cody Cropper held Viktoria scoreless during his 45 minutes in net, coming up with five key saves including a one-on-one stop in the 39th minute.

Third-year forward Brian Wright doubled the lead with a low right-footed strike in the 73rd minute. A pair of Revolution Academy products combined on the buildup, as Isaac Angking found Diego Fagundez, who then delivered the primary assist. However, the Europe League contenders fought back with two goals in the final eight minutes, first with a penalty kick goal from Jean David Beauguel in the 82nd minute and the equalizer from Pavel Bucha in the 85th minute.

New England will return to preseason action on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 5:00 a.m. ET against Russian side FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is currently in second place in the Russian Premier League and is preparing for play in the Europa League Round of 32 later this month.

New England Revolution 2, FC Viktoria Plze? 2

February 1, 2019 - Marbella Football Center (Marbella, Spain)

Scoring Summary:

NE - Cristian Penilla (Carles Gil) 35'

NE - Brian Wright (Diego Fagundez, Isaac Angking) 73'

Plze? - Jean David Beauguel (Penalty Kick) 82'

Plze? - Pavel Bucha 85'

Misconduct Summary:

None

New England Revolution (1st Half): Cody Cropper, Edgar Castillo, Antonio Delamea, Andrew Farrell, Tyler Freitas, Scott Caldwell ©, Zachary Herivaux, Tajon Buchanan, Cristian Penilla, Juan Fernando Caicedo (Teal Bunbury 31'), Carles Gil

New England Revolution (2nd Half): Brad Knighton, Gabriel Somi, Jalil Anibaba, Michael Mancienne, Brandon Bye, Justin Rennicks, Wilfried Zahibo, Scott Caldwell © (Isaac Angking 61'), DeJuan Jones, Diego Fagundez, Teal Bunbury (Brian Wright 61')

POSTGAME QUOTES

New England Revolution Head Coach Brad Friedel

On the match against FC Viktoria Plze?:

Coach Friedel: "It was a Champions League team. They were in a tough group with Roma and Real Madrid. They qualified for Europa League by finishing third. They beat AS Roma at home, so they're a good team, you could see. So it puts it in perspective, how good the players we have [are]. Again, it was a good opportunity to get, 30-, 45-, 60-minute runouts for one, so we're very, very pleased."

On Carles Gil debuting despite not having a full training session with his teammates:

Coach Friedel: "It was important that he gets some continuity with the team. You can see the quality that he has on the ball. He played a really good ball through for Cristian Penilla's goal. Penilla's starting to get some match sharpness, as well. All in all, really good. I thought Diego [Fagundez] played a really good ball in for Brian Wright, as well, so good signs."

On Carles Gil's fitness:

Coach Friedel: "One of the nice things when you're able to sign a player that's been playing in Europe at the start of our season, they're going to be fully fit. They should be, because they'll be halfway through the season. So we're not worried about any type of fitness issues and again, not just for Carles, but for all the players, it's just important to get more match time."

On how the goalkeeper battle is progressing:

Coach Friedel: "I thought Cody [Cropper] played well today. I thought Matt [Turner] played well the other day, and Brad [Knighton] played well the other day and today, so there's another battle on for the first position. We'll see how it shapes out."

On Juan Agudelo and Luis Caicedo working back from minor knocks:

Coach Friedel: "They should be on the training field tomorrow and then we'll just see where they are with regards to physical fitness, and see if they can take part in the games on the third and the sixth [of February]."

New England Revolution Goalkeeper Cody Cropper

On seeing 45 minutes of action against FC Viktoria Plze?:

Cropper: "It was a great feeling. Obviously, it's been a while since I've seen the field. I think to get those 45 minutes in was huge and taking advantage of the opportunity, playing behind a good group of players, was a great chance."

On coming up with key saves in the contest:

Cropper: "There's obviously a good benefit to it, but at the same time, like you said, you don't want to be busy. But at the same time you know it's going to happen sooner or later. I think the team that was in front of me did extremely well. Obviously, there's room for improvement and I know the staff will mention that in our team meetings and we'll handle that as a team, but at the end of the day, I walk off the field knowing that I made the saves that I needed to make and did my part in my 45 minutes."

On the goalkeeper competition:

Cropper: "There's a good group of goalkeepers here. There's a high level of competition and I think taking it day-by-day, minute-by-minute, game-by-game is the only thing you can really do. I know all three of us are going to create a good environment for one another to compete in."

New England Revolution Forward Brian Wright

On the match against a strong team in FC Viktoria Plze?:

Wright: "I think it's great for us, personally, [to have] a game yesterday and then a game today. Like you just said, a quality side like that, that is in the Europa League knockout stages now, so definitely to see that we were able to get a result against a quality side - but kind of disappointed that we let up those two goals. But again, it's still early in preseason, so looking to just build on the positives and keep moving forward."

On if his first goal of preseason helps build confidence:

Wright: "It's always good as a forward to see the ball go in the back of the net. Like you said, it gets your confidence going a little bit. [I'll] just look to build off of that."

On how Carles Gil looked in his Revolution debut:

Wright: "Definitely a quality player. He showed some flashes today, some distribution, his quality on the ball, and he looks like a calm player. Looking forward to getting to train more with him and an opportunity to play with him."

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Carles Gil making his New England Revolution preseason debut
Carles Gil making his New England Revolution preseason debut
(New England Revolution)		   

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