Portland Timbers Man of the Match: When in Doubt... Diego

The Portland Timbers endured their first multiple goal loss of the season last night at the hands of Real Salt Lake. The League leaders looked like just that in their 4-2 dismantling of a battered Timbers side, but there were still some standout performances in the match.

Here are our picks for Man of the Match:

Ryan: Diego Chara

Bad loss? Guess I should pick Diego Chara. I really don't think there was anyone who was truly worthy of MOTM. The team was disjointed and played like a team that had not played together.

Andy: Diego Chara

Chara was a near-unanimous man of the match after the Timbers' 5-0 catastrophe last year at Dallas, and he's likely to take a similar distinction this time. Even while his teammates had given up hope, Chara was battling for every ball and driving forward on counters.

Stacey: Diego Chara

Because of what other people said. Chara was pretty much the only Timber out there playing at his about his normal level of awesomeness and it's really too bad that he can't actually be everywhere at once, no matter how much he tries. Honorable mention to Darlington Nagbe for the pretty goal.

Michael: Jose Adolfo Valencia

Arguments for Diego Chara are fine, though I have a hard time giving a mostly defensive player this recognition in a game where four goals were scored. Valencia was much more active than Ryan Johnson, his shot late in the game allowed for Sal Zizzo's tap-in and he wasn't responsible for the terrible set piece defending in the second half.

Will: Darlington Nagbe

In the first half, before the injuries and the red card and the game generally going downhill for the Timbers, Nagbe looked like he might single-handedly turn the tide for the Timbers. In fact, he got the process started with a quick, low shot from outside the box that Nick Rimando was unable to turn aside. For the first half, Nagbe was the most dangerous Timbers player on the pitch.

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