Shaq Moore put in a solid substitute performance on the wing for Tenerife on Monday night as they gave themselves a narrow path to automatic promotion with an important win over fellow contenders Girona.
FC Girona 0 – 1 CD Tenerife
The USMNT regular was left on the bench to begin the game, with usual right back starter Jeremy Mellot keeping his spot in the defense.
However, Moore was brought onto the field in a more advanced role on the right wing after 69 minutes to replace Eladio Zorrilla, several minutes after the winger put himself in danger with a yellow card.
Fellow Tenerife Yank Samuel Shashoua was not in uniform, as he has missed the last few games for the team with a muscle injury.
The hosts utterly dominated the run of play, holding 68% of possession and firing 16 shot attempts, double what Tenerife managed while playing most of the game on the back foot.
Nevertheless, the islanders were far more efficient, and converted their one chance of the game to ultimately come away victorious, and could have added a second in the final moments through Moore.
Mario Gonzalez scored the lone goal of the game in the 40th minute, when he got his head on a cross by Enric Gallego, sending his shot to the lower right corner, out of the grasp of Girona keeper Juan Carlos.
Moore entered for Zorilla with just over 20 minutes left, and did well to both keep their opponents on their toes while helping to shut down any attacks on his side. He managed one shot in his 21 minutes, completed nine of 13 passes, created a chance in the final minutes for Gallego, won both of his tackle attempts, made one interception, and came out ahead on three of his five duels.
His lone shot in the 94th minute nearly gave Tenerife a second goal, forcing Carlos to make a save on his attempt from the center of the area.
The victory solidifies Tenerife’s likely spot in the promotion playoff with three games left. Remarkably, they are only five points behind second-place Eibar with nine points still left to play for.
They will need a bit of luck with results in other games if they hope to reach second place and an automatic spot in La Liga next season, however winning all three of their final games, one of which is against Eibar, will likely be a must.
Their first test comes on Sunday they they host 18th-place Malaga.