They haven't had many chances to play together for a variety of reasons, mostly because Jozy Altidore missed a month of the MLS season playing with the U.S. national team in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. But on Sunday afternoon Altidore, the 17-year-old star of the future, and Juan Pablo Angel, the former English Premiership standout, linked up to wreak havoc on Toronto FC.
The result was a 3-0 victory, with Altidore scoring a brace, Angel scoring his 10th goal of the year and the New York Red Bulls cruising to a win in their first game since July 26.
"I think our forwards worked very well today from the start creating chances either for themselves or for others," Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena said. "They had a good mentality today and they work well together. Jozy is very comfortable with Juan."
According to Altidore, that's a pretty easy thing to do.
"To me he takes on all the burden," Altidore said of Angel. "You just have to be around him to sniff out the balls that he wins and just connect from there. He's a real easy guy to play with."
Altidore, who also missed time this season to go the prom and his high school graduation, was given credit for a disputable goal in the 50th minute. Angel's cross bounced off Toronto FC defender Adam Braz and the ball was heading over the goal line when Altidore pounced on it. There was a question that it could go down as an own goal, but there was no doubt in Altidore's mind.
"Oh, naah, I got that man," Altidore said. "I got it before it went in the net."
Altidore added his second goal in the 63rd minute, when he took a flicked-on header from Angel, tapped the ball over Marco Reda and around TFC goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos and blasted it into the net.
"The two of them are quality players," Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston said. "What I saw of Jozy last year at the draft (when coaching Red Bulls), it was someone who is special and he showed it today. He was actually better than Juan Pablo today."
Angel scored his first goal since a 3-3 draw against Kansas City on June 16 when he hit a deflected Clint Mathis cross past Toronto FC goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos from 10 yards out.
"We haven't played that much together," Angel said of Altidore. "Today we found each other a couple of times, we scored a few goals and that's good. We have to build up a partnership in here."
With 2-1/2 weeks between games, Altidore and Angel had plenty of time to work on that partnership in training.
"In training all week they've really been linking up well and they're both a handful because of their physical presence," Claudio Reyna said. "Most teams have one big guy and another guy who kind or runs off them and is a little bit quicker, but I think when those two are playing up front, you have to put balls in the box and put defenders under pressure because they can cause havoc all day."
Which is what the undermanned Toronto FC team found out the hard way. The Red Bulls held a 21-3 edge in shots and TFC didn't manage an attempt until the 75th minute when Tyrone Marshall missed the target off a corner kick. Jon Conway registered his fourth shutout of the year without having to make a save.
"It was a far better performance overall," Angel said. "We looked stronger and comfortable as a team. We got the three points, we really needed the win today and I think we did a great job."
The break allowed the Red Bulls players a chance to recharge their batteries, especially some of the veterans, according to Altidore.
"I think it definitely helped us because our team plays a lot of middle-aged guys and they need that break," he said. "We all actually need that break. It's good for everyone to get their legs up. "
There were other positives in the game - Mike Magee playing the final 20 minutes, making his first appearance since Oct. 7, 2006, a solid outing in the back by Seth Stammler and good play from the wings by Dane Richards and Dave van den Bergh.
The only negative to come from the dominating performance was Reyna leaving the field in the 22nd minute with a right groin sprain. It's his second groin injury of the year and there is no immediate timetable for his return.
"I had it a little bit earlier in the week and it felt all right yesterday in training. With a few of the corners I felt it get worse and worse and I just wanted to come off. I didn't pull anything," Reyna said. "I know pretty much that I didn't pull anything and it's something that, if it calms down, it could be good in 2-3 days or it could be a couple weeks. Hopefully it's not too long."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
