Portland Timbers Man of the Match: Guts and Goals

The Portland Timbers played the final leg of their six game sprint through the month of June and boy did the wear and tear of the last few weeks show in the first thirty minutes of last night's match against FC Dallas. However, somehow the boys in green tapped into a reserve of energy to claw their way back from 1-0 down, finishing the game at 3-2 amidst a flurry of Dallas chances.

With the spotty stream and the inability to rewatch the game, we had to choose our Man of the Match picks based on instinct, gut feelings, and goal scoring. We made our picks, now make sure to share yours in the comments and vote in the poll below.

Geoff: Darlington Nagbe

I don't even know what to say. That goal was out of this world. It was also the game changing event for the match. From that point up until the 88th or so minute it was a Timbers dominated match. The only unfortunate part is that Nagbe won't be able to tally that goal to his MLS regular season stats.

Andy: Darlington Nagbe

He had a frustrating first half, as Dallas seemed to know just how to get under his skin. They went a little too far, though, in the 60th minute, and Nagbe responded by almost singlehandedly carrying his team to victory. It's as if Will Johnson walked up to him before the pivotal moment and said, "Mr Nagbe, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain -- I'm always angry."

(Honorable mention goes to the left post.)

Stacey: Darlington Nagbe

The Timbers were knocking at the door and just needed a big moment to get themselves back into the game. Nagbe provided it, then provided another when he set up Diego Valeri's goal. From then until Ricketts' goof in goal, it was all Timbers and they were able to hold on for the final few minutes to make Nagbe's stellar performance count for something.

There are our picks, but what are yours? Vote in the poll below and let us know why in the comments.