On the road against a tough defensive team it can take a moment of brilliance to give a visiting team a chance.
Saturday night, Adam Moffat provided two.
The Houston Dynamo midfielder reached into the bag and pulled out two Moffat Rockets for his first goals of the season to lead the Dynamo to a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution.
“He’s been good for a goal,” head coach Dominic Kinnear told the media. “He hasn’t hit one of those in a while. It was a fantastic hit and I thought overall his game was good. It was a good night for him.”
OPTA Chalkboard: Moffat makes 'em count for Dynamo
Moffat first cut loose on a shot that will contend for Goal of the Year. The midfielder caught a cleared corner on the sweet spot with a one-time blast that Revs goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth could only get a hand on to give Houston a 49th-minute 1-0 lead.
“It came down and I thought I’d take a touch, but it took a long time to come down so I thought I’d better hit it,” Moffat said after the game. “Fortunately for me I caught it well and the goalie saw it late. Delighted with that.”
"I think he closed his eyes when he shot that,” joked striker Cam Weaver. “It’s not surprising because we see it all the time.”
After New England pulled level just six minutes later, Houston was once again chasing a goal. Moffat obliged in the 79th minute. Joining the attack late, Moffat settled the ball and unleashed a bomb off the post that ricocheted off the back of a diving Shuttleworth and in for the winner.
Moffat’s exploits should not surprise as he’s treated his Dynamo teammates and fans to this type of shot on numerous occasions. But it was the first time this year they’d seen it from him, and Moffat made them count.
“We know Adam can hit those, we’ve seen it before. He’s done it before and he’ll do it again,” Weaver said. “It’s great he was able to step up in the moment and get those two goals and get us the victory.”
Moffat’s influence was big for Houston as they win back-to-back games after going seven without a victory and puts them just four points out of first in the Eastern Conference.
“It was a bad run we were on for a little while with seven games without a win,” Moffat said of the win. “Two wins back to back is great … It’s good to separate ourselves a little bit.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
