FRISCO - After a tough start, things are beginning to look up for midfielder Adam Moffat.
Having been traded twice in three months after the December deal with Seattle that sent the Scotsman to Frisco, there's no doubt that Moffat took some time to adjust. However, having played at least an hour in four out of FCD's last five matches, the 28-year-old is clearly rounding into the form that saw him lock down a starting spot on two Houston Dynamo teams that appeared in MLS Cup.
"I’m getting there. It’s taking a while," said Moffat. "It’s obviously an adjustment and you work as hard as you can and you hope it comes the first day, but it doesn’t. I’ve been patient, the coaches have been patient and I’m feeling good now, feeling healthy. Hopefully I can stay healthy and I feel like my play is where I want it to be."
Moffat likely had his best game so far with FCD patrolling the midfield expertly in their 0-0 draw at Real Salt Lake on Saturday and he's beginning to form a nice partnership with center mid partner Victor Ulloa.
"I want to keep improving on that and I know I can make an impact," said Moffat. "I’ve been successful the past few years and I want to keep that going with this team. It’s a little bit of a tough run we’ve been going through, but I love the challenge when you get some adversity. It’s about who’s going to step up and hopefully there’s a few of us that do that."
READ: Drew Epperley scouts Saturday's opponent, San Jose, in his Know Your Enemy piece
Saturday's game against San Jose will be special for Adam for a very different reason. Playing against the Earthquakes gives Moffat another chance to match up against his brother-in-law, 'Quakes forward Steven Lenhart. Formerly teammates on the Columbus Crew, Moffat married Lenhart's sister in December 2009 and, having played mostly in the Eastern Conference while Lenhart was in the Western Conference, has only matched up on the field against Lenhart once before.
Moffat was quick to point out that game was a 1-0 win for his Dynamo side, but played coy when asked if there's any friendly rivalry on the pitch.
"It’s nothing different," he said about playing against Lenhart. "I don’t really think about it and we don’t talk about it that much. We’re both pretty competitive, but we don’t talk too much about it."
According to Moffat, there hasn't been too much smack talk on the text messages this week and with both players having started last weekend's respective matches, you'd expect them to once again both see the field on Saturday.
TICKETS - FC Dallas vs San Jose Earthquakes - 7:30PM Saturday, May 31
"He’s been the same the whole time, but I think going and doing well in San Jose got him in the spotlight a little more when they were [having a lot of success]," said Moffat. "He was the same at practice when I played with him. He gives everything he’s got and he can be really annoying. Great teammate though, anyone who’s ever played with him wouldn’t say a bad word about him."
While the solid result at unbeaten RSL was definitely one to build on, Moffat knows that three points and ending their seven-match winless streak on Saturday is absolutely essential.
"You’ve got to look forward and we should be winning just about all our home games, that’s how you take care of things in this league, taking care of things at home and then getting some results on the road," said Moffat. "[The RSL match] definitely gives us confidence, but at the end of the day we need to score goals and keep it tight at the back."
As for Lenhart, Moffat says he'll be taking a hands off approach to his newly-added family member.
"I’ll stay away from him as much as possible," Moffat said with a laugh. "His arms will be failing and I’ll stay away from him."
