Juan Pablo Angel, whose contract has now expired, knows his time with the New York Re Bulls is finished.
Early in October, Ángel, who is in the last year of his contract with the club, said he knew “for a fact” that the Red Bulls would not be retaining his services in 2011.
“Life goes on, I will move on,” Ángel said after the match. “I wish everyone here all the best.”
The move to cut ties with the forward comes as the player has struggled in recent months. Since the MLS All-Star game in July, Ángel has scored four goals in the regular season, but just two have come from the run of play. Thursday night’s tally was the first of the playoffs for him.
It was a frustrating night for Ángel, the 80th-minute goal notwithstanding. The striker had two poorly taken free kicks in a match where his overall passing and touch was less than crisp. Even in a playoff game where the Red Bulls had the run of play, goals and quality chances were hard to come by.
“With the number of chances we created, we deserved better,” Ángel said.
At least Angel participated in a dramatic turnaround season for the Red Bulls that saw them go from worst to first in the Eastern Conference.