After an opening draw against Czech Republic champions Viktoria Plzen, the New England Revolution faced another tough European opposition on their preseason trip to Marbella, Spain, dropping a 2-0 result to Russian side FC Krasnodar.
Krasnodar, who currently sit in 2nd place in the Russian league and will feature in the Europa League Round of 32, came out strong and forced Revs goalkeeper Matt Turner into a stop in the 16th minute. But the MLS team had their own looks from a Diego Fagundez free kick and a Justin Rennicks drive that was saved.
Five minutes after the break, FC Krasnodar got on the board on a deflected free kick from 25 yards out and they put the match away in the 78th minute. The Revs, who changed over their lineup in the 60th minute, nearly got on the board on an effort from draft pick DeJuan Jones in the 82nd.
Two Revolution players made their preseason debuts in the match after recovering from minor injuries: Forward Juan Agudelo and midfielder Luis Caicedo each entered the contest in the second half. Agudelo played 30 minutes, while Caicedo saw 15 minutes in the midfield.
The Revolution will play their final match in Marbella when they meet Ukrainian club FC Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday, Feb. 6 (9 am ET).
Goals
- FCK - Ivan Ignatev (Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov) 50'
- FCK - Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov 78'
New England Revolution lineup: Matt Turner (Brad Knighton 46') -- Gabriel Somi, Michael Mancienne, Antonio Delamea, Brandon Bye -- Tajon Buchanan, Wilfried Zahibo, Justin Rennicks, Diego Fagundez -- Juan Fernando Caicedo, Carles Gil
New England Revolution (60th min): Brad Knighton -- Edgar Castillo, Jalil Anibaba, Trialist, Andrew Farrell -- DeJuan Jones, Isaac Angking, Zachary Herivaux, Luis Caicedo (Scott Caldwell 75') -- Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury
