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Angel scores twice as Red Bulls rally past Toronto FC

Jun 7, 2007 - 2:41 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Juan Pablo Angel scored two goals as the New York Red Bulls rallied in the second half for a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC on Wednesday night.

Trailing, 1-0, in the 69th minute, New York finally got on the board when Angel scored on a direct free kick past Toronto goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic.

"I knew it was going to go in. It was one of those," Angel said. "I had one chance. Some days you put it into the stands and today it just went in. Right off my foot I knew it was going in."

Angel wasted little time putting his name in the scoresheet again, striking two minutes later with his second unassisted tally past Djekanovic to give New York the lead for good.

"The first goal was big for us psychologically and wasn't good for them," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said. "The next goal came minutes later and it was obviously the difference in the game."

The Colombian striker has six goals in five games with the New York (6-2-2), which signed Angel last month after seven seasons with Aston Villa in England's Premier League. He was named Player of the Month in May.

"We were losing in the first half and we came out in the second half and were in a very bad place but we were able to come out and get the win against a very difficult team to play against," Angel said.

The Red Bulls bounce back after suffering their second setback of the season, a 3-2 defeat to the Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday.

"We were unlucky. Two goals in a minute and a half and we're attacking and there is a questionable call when we're caught outnumbered," Djekanovic. said. "The free kick, we had a five-man wall and they put a few players in the wall to make it hard for me to see. And in all honesty I didn't see that ball until it was in the back of the net.

"As a team I thought we played well, and I thought I played well, but in that minute and a half we had an unlucky breakdown and that was the end of the game."

In the 23rd minute, Jeff Cunningham tapped in a cross from Andy Welsh to give Toronto (3-6-1) a 1-0 lead. Welsh struck his pass from the right corner and Cunningham was able to guide it home with the outside of his right foot from the edge of the six-yard box past New York goalkeeper Jon Conway.

Welsh, who is playing in his first season in the MLS, picked up his second assist. The 24-year-old played for six years in the English Premier League.

It was Cunningham's fourth goal of the season. He is coming off his best campaign in 2006, collecting 18 goals for Real Salt Lake en route to earning the MLS Golden Boot award.

The 30-year-old forward entered without a tally in two games since arriving from Salt Lake on May 22, where he scored just once in six outings following an Opening Day double.

The Red Bulls had a chance to answer in the 44th minute as Dave van den Bergh got behind defense and fired a shot, but was blocked by a Toronto defender.