Shaq Moore’s most important work for FC Dallas came before he ever put a shot on goal. His cross in the 23rd minute found Santiago Moreno, whose header missed to the right. Two minutes later, Christian Cappis set up Moore for a right-footed attempt from the right side of the box, and Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte saved it.
Moore then supplied Petar Musa in the 28th minute. The cross found Musa for a header that Schulte stopped. Moore had already helped produce two of Dallas’ better openings, then tested the goalkeeper himself. The match was beginning to describe him as an active attacking outlet, even if the scoreboard had no interest in rewarding the distinction.
That was the shape of FC Dallas’ 2-0 loss to Columbus Crew at Toyota Stadium in Frisco on Wednesday: Moore generated involvement, but the team could not turn enough of that involvement into a goal that counted.
The apparent breakthrough arrived in the 60th minute, when Moore scored. Video review overturned the goal after Musa was ruled offside in the buildup. Under Law 11, an offside decision turns on a player’s position when a teammate plays the ball and whether that player becomes involved in the play.
The ruling identified Musa’s involvement, not a problem with Moore’s finish. Without an independent basis to dispute the review, the moment is best treated as a disallowed goal rather than a convenient refereeing complaint.
It is also too narrow an explanation for the defeat. Columbus had taken the lead in the 18th minute, when Gonzalo Tapia finished from Anass Zaroury’s cross after the Crew moved forward quickly. Dallas therefore needed more than one rescued attacking sequence. It needed one of its other chances to survive Schulte, the offside flag and the occasional miss.
Those chances existed. In the 47th minute, Santiago Moreno sent a cross toward Nolan Norris after a corner, and Norris headed over from near the left side of the six-yard area. Two minutes later, Moreno found Bernard Kamungo, whose header was saved by Schulte. Those plays did not come through Moore, and they prevent his performance from becoming the entire story of Dallas’ attack.
Moreno’s contribution was particularly important to the counterargument. His service gave Norris and Kamungo opportunities after halftime, while Kamungo later sent a shot narrowly wide from the left side of the box in the 85th minute. Petar Musa forced Schulte into another save from a difficult angle in the 81st minute after Daniel Job’s pass, then headed wide in stoppage time from Joaquín Valiente’s cross.
