Yesterday afternoon the Timbers managed to not lose for the first time in six games as they tied FC Dallas 1-1. After looking outclassed at times in the first half, the Timbers gave up a goal early on after half-time but struggled back and, thanks to a red card to Dallas's Zack Loyd and some persistence from captain Jack Jewsbury in keeping pressure on the shorthanded Dallas back-line, the team managed to pull even.
The Timbers have struggled in front of goal and despite controlling the game for much of the second half, the Timbers attack continued to sputter. While a number of players put in good shifts, few were particularly effective which made it difficult to pick out a definitive man of the match.
Ryan - Diego Chara
It isn't often my wife actually cares about the sports, let alone the Timbers, but today she attended the game and I asked her who her Man of the match was. She quickly replied it was Diego Chara for being all of the field and busting his butt and I actually agree with her. Chara was everywhere and even created quite a few scoring opportunities. Gavin said at the press conference that the coaches have taken Chara's leash off and let him loose and over the last two games you can see how much of an impact he can have both offensively and defensively. Her other comment was "Why is Kris Boyd so lazy?"
Check out the rest of our Man of the Match picks and vote on your own after the jump.
Geoff - Franck Songo'o
While he didn't get a goal and I didn't win my bet (Geoff bet Mike Donovan a beer that Songo'o would score against Dallas)... it certainly was not for lack of trying. The guy was everywhere up top, making the important runs that kept Dallas's defense on edge. Also he made something like 4 attempts on goal, which is a bit rare for him, but welcome considering the Timbers other strikers are currently struggling.
Will - Jack Jewsbury
All I really want is goals, and where nobody else had delivered for 341 minutes Captain Jack finally put the Timbers on the board. Beyond being the lone Timbers goal scorer, Jewsbury looked good as the team's defensive midfielder as he completed 62 of 67 passes while taking advantage of the team's high pressure to recover the ball each time it came into the midfield in the second half which allowed the Timbers to continue putting the pressure on Kevin Hartman's goal.
A close second, however, has to be Kalif Alhassan, coming in and given free reign over the attack in the second half, Kalif was able to show off his passing skill and put his stamp on the game for the last twenty minutes.
There are our picks for Man of the Match, but what are yours? Be sure to cast your vote and let us know why in the comments.