Portland Timbers Man of the Match: That Magic Moment

The Portland Timbers gave the fans hope with one half of dominant football, then dashed it as Chivas USA overwhelmed them in the second. The standout moment of the match came in the 7', when Darlington Nagbe slipped a ball between two defenders to set up Will Johnson's first goal of the year. Unfortunately, there was no clear standout player of the match, leaving us with a hard choice to make.

Here are our picks. Make share to vote on yours in the poll below.

Kelly: Darlington Nagbe

Will Johnson may have scored the goal, but it was a brilliant hesitation and a ball slipped between two defenders from Nagbe that set the opportunity up. And I like the fact that he was whistled for 2 fouls, giving a little back for all the punishment he takes.

Ryan: Kalif Alhassan

Kalif has really taken a giant step forward and has become a more complete player. He was dangerous going forward and willing to take people on off the dribble. He also tracked back to help defensively and on a couple of occasions stopped attacks by himself. If he was able to play the full 90 Portland may have not had all of their offense dry up after he was subbed off.

Michael: Will Johnson

Not just because of the goal, although that was obviously the best example of his attacking contribution. Last week it was Diego Chara bombing forward to aid the front four and this week it was Johnson. He had some of the game's best chances and provided that vital option on late runs. If the Timbers are going to do anything this year, they need to keep getting games like these from Chara and Johnson.

Stacey: Darlington Nagbe

This is a week where I don't feel really enthusiastic about anyone's performance, but Nagbe's move on that assist was so savvy and his perseverance in the face of getting repeatedly hacked was a commendable. A couple times in the second half I thought we were going to see Angry Nagbe score or set up another goal, but it just wasn't coming together for the Timbers.

Will: Diego Valeri

This is a toss up for me between Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe as both looked like they have hit their stride in terms of creating chances for their teammates. What made it difficult to chose between the two was simply that neither took a shot on the night, unless you count Valeri's long range free kick. In the end, I thought that Valeri's distribution was just a little bit better, despite Nagbe's assist, and had to give him the nod.

Who was your Man of the Match against Chivas? Vote in the poll below and let us know why in the comments.