It had been 370 minutes in all competitions since the Houston Dynamo last scored on the road. Adam Moffat put an end to that streak in fantastic fashion Sunday afternoon.
After spending an hour chasing an equalizer, Moffat took a brilliant back heel from Corey Ashe and, with the Chicago Fire sitting back in their own 18-yard-box, laced a rocket to the far post upper-90 to give Houston a 1-1 road result and keep them two points ahead of their Sunday opponents.
“I feel like when Adam gets that ball that’s a goal,” goalkeeper Tally Hall said. “I’ve taken enough shots from him in training that I don’t envy any goalkeeper on the receiving end of that shot.
“I think it’s a deserved point. It’s great to be able to have a performance where you’re ending the game with so much effort and get a result out of it.”
Moffat, who scored Houston’s last two road goals in a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution July 13, got the chance late as the Dynamo were frantically pushing for an equalizer.
Down a goal due to a Bobby Boswell own goal in the 37th minute, Moffat and Houston were facing a Fire defense that had resigned themselves to packing the box and trying to see out a win that would have propelled them past Houston in the standings. As Chicago dropped off, Ashe, Moffat and Houston found their opportunity.
“I was trying to capitalize on the fact that some of their guys weren’t being honest defensively and take advantage of that,” Ashe said of the Fire sitting back. He took advantage of it with a back heel to Moffat who saw the same thing.
“They sat back a little bit towards the end. I heard a few of them say they had to squeeze up and they didn’t,” Moffat said. “I took a touch and if I have time that close to goal I’m going to take a crack. Luckily nobody came out to me and I caught it.
Moffat was not the only late game hero. After the late equalizer, Chicago came out of their shell and on a curled Mike Magee free kick, Hall made a diving save on Jalil Anibaba to preserve the draw. That save was part of a seven save afternoon for the Dynamo custodian, who kept Houston in it until Moffat’s late heroics.
“He should probably thank us for making him look good,” Dynamo captain Brad Davis joked after the game. “He made another great save today at the end there. He’s playing at a high level…we all have confidence he’s going to be there.
“This is a team that’s fighting,” Davis continued. “Things haven’t gone the way we’d like them too. Today’s another example that shows what we’re capable of.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
