CARSON, Calif. – Juninho has been dreaming of another crack at Nick Rimando since the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper denied him a chance at a game-winner earlier this month, and on Wednesday, when that opportunity presented itself, Juninho made the most of his chance.
The Brazilian midfielder buried the game-winning penalty kick in the seventh minute past Rimando, sealing the Galaxy’s second straight victory, and atoning for his stoppage time penalty kick miss more than 20 days ago.
“It felt so good afterwards. I knew I had to score this time against [Nick] Rimando. This time I hit it hard and low and could help my teammates get a win tonight,” Juninho told reporters after the match. “The guys know how important it is to me to get a goal again, especially against Salt Lake. It was very special for me to come back and score the goal.”
As soon as Ignacio Maganto won the penalty after Real Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave palmed the ball inside the penalty area, Juninho immediately stepped up to the spot. Taking the ball before any of his teammates could opt to take the kick, the Brazilian quickly poised himself for a rematch with the same man who denied his stoppage time penalty back on May 6.
After Rimando robbed the Galaxy of a victory with his late save at Rio Tinto Stadium, Juninho knew what had to be done this time around.
“In my mind, I said I’m going to change it this time,” Juninho said. “Last time, I hit it a ball low on the right side and he caught it and this time I hit it to the left and he couldn’t save it.”
While the Brazilian was pleased with his tally, which was his first regular-season goal in nearly two seasons, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was simply proud of of the initiative that his midfielder showed to willingly take on Rimando once again.
“I think it was great. As long as he wanted that ball, I was OK. I just wanted to make sure he was good for that,” Arena said afterward. “The other option we had on PKs when Robbie Keane’s not in [the game] is Gyasi. But, Juninho grabbed the ball and he wanted it. I would have bet Nick was going to go to his right this time, and he went back to his left and that surprised me there. I think Juninho did well.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
