There was a great deal of anticipation at Portland’s JELD-WEN Field as new striker Kris Boyd took to the field for the first time. The Scottish forward, who is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Scottish Premier League, did not take long to show his impact as he headed in a Jorge Perlaza cross in the sixth minute, and the Timbers held on for a 1-0 victory over Sweden’s AIK in the last match of the Timbers Preseason tournament in front of a crowd of 17,357.
It was Boyd’s first shot on goal, which would come as Perlaza made a run down the right side, and his cross was perfect for Boyd to meet with the flick-on header, which goalkeeper Ivan Turina got a finger to, but not enough to keep it out of the net, and the Timbers had a 1-0 lead. Boyd had a good chance for a second goal near the end of the half, but his header was smothered well by Turina. AIK had a good chance before halftime, with Robin Quaison’s high blast near the end of the half being tipped over the crossbar by Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
Boyd had another good chance for a second goal in the second half, with his low blast being tipped just wide by a fine save by Turina. But the one goal would be enough as the Timbers held on for the 1-0 win and finish the tournament with a 1-0-2 record (equal to that of San Jose), and finish 4-0-3 in the preseason, and are still undefeated in preseason play in their two MLS seasons.
Video of Kris Boyd’s goal:
Kris Boyd scores his first goal for the Timbers against AIK
Match reports:
Portland Timbers:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/03/boyd-scores-winner-timbers-win-over-aik
OregonLive:
http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2012/03/kris_boyd_scores_in_debut_in_p.html
