Juan Pablo Angel had been quiet for most of the game, coming to life on only a few set pieces as the New York Red Bulls took on Toronto FC at BMO Field Wednesday night. But as soon as the Bulls were awarded a free kick (from the kind of distance now known internationally as “Beckham territory”) and Angel stepped up to strike the ball, he knew he had scored.
At least that’s what he said. “Yes, I knew that it was going to go in,” Angel told reporters. “I hit it well and it was the right pace and the right angle. I had just one chance and sometimes you put it in the stands and today it went straight to goal.” His brilliant 69th minute goal was followed two minutes later by a piece of opportunism, as Dave van den Bergh’s deflected cross fell kindly to the unmarked Colombian striker, who couldn’t miss from six yards.
Despite being somewhat anonymous for the first 60 minutes or so of the game, Angel emerged at the right time to save the game-as great players are apt to do. Toronto coach Mo Johnston, himself a world-class striker during his playing days in Scotland, certainly knows about that. “Juan Pablo Angel was outstanding,” he said. “You saw the class on the first goal, and ghosting it in the back post on the second goal. You can’t teach that. He’s a world-class player.”