FRISCO - When FC Dallas acquired midfielder Adam Moffat, they knew they were getting a guy with a wealth of big-game experience who could provide a calm presence in the midfield despite any chaos that might be happening around him. He displayed all those traits and more in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sporting Park against the 2013 champs.
Making his first start for FC Dallas after missing the season opener through illness, Moffat played 87 minutes on Saturday and was no stranger to the intensity of games in Kansas City, having played two playoff games at Sporting Park with Houston.
“I certainly do,” Moffat said when asked about knowing how difficult points are to attain in KC. “I knew going into it that you have to be willing to run a lot. They have their system and style of play and they’re a fit team, so you know going in there that you have to match that and be willing to run a lot. Sometimes you get things out of it and we got the point which is great.”
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Moffat completed the most passes of any FCD player on Saturday night with just four misplaced passes all evening, a solid start for the 27-year-old who impressed his manager.
“I thought [Adam] played solid like the rest of the team,” said head coach Oscar Pareja. “He brought experience in the moment where in a game like that, it requires a lot of leadership and personality and Adam brought it to the pitch.”
It was certainly a disciplined performance from Moffat and his midfield who took a different approach than normal. Rather than playing the high-pressing style you see at Toyota Stadium, FCD was content to drop deeper and allow Peter Vermes’ side to hold the possession, a plan that held SKC off the scoreboard save for one bit of set piece success.
“You know going in there that they had a lot of possession, but it was the center backs who were the guys who probably had most of it, so that’s fine for us,” said Moffat. “It’s a different story if it’s their wingers or guys in dangerous spots. We had a game plan and I think we were organized. You have to stick to that when you go in there.”
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“I’m very pleased and happy because what I asked them to do on the field, they did it. I asked them to be organized and convert the game into a tactical game for us,” said Pareja. “We have to know where we are. Going into Kansas City and trying to press them high from the first minutes for me didn’t have any sense, especially against a team that has already won it and has been playing together for years.”
However, with four of the next five games at Toyota Stadium, Moffat said that this defensive game plan isn’t one that fans should expect in upcoming games.
“We didn’t really have too much of the ball, but you could see in little spells that we did have we looked dangerous,” said Moffat. “We don’t expect it to be that way this weekend. When we’re playing at home, we expect to have most of the ball and you’ll see a little bit more of that.”
