It only took Kris Boyd six minutes to show exactly why John Spencer & Co. moved heaven and earth to bring him to Portland.
The big striker headed home a Jorge Perlaza cross in the sixth minute, the only goal of the day but still enough to give the Timbers a 1-0 win over AIK of Sweden on Sunday in the final game of the Portland Timbers Tournament.
Boyd made a well-timed diagonal run across the area, flicking Perlaza's cross past an outstretched Ivan Turina in the AIK goal. It was a clinical, typical center forward's goal, the type of which the Timbers struggled to produce last season.
Boyd had two other quality chances before coming off after 75 minutes. The first, another header, came when he ghosted behind a defender to latch onto a Mike Chabala cross, but saw his shot saved well by Turina. The other came in the second half, when he pounced on a loose ball in the box, but saw Turina stretch to deny his left-footed effort.
Those chances doubled as the best Portland would create on a day that saw them largely struggle to connect through midfield against their hard-tackling Swedish opponents.
The Timbers open their regular season next Monday, March 12, when they host Philadelphia at JELD-WEN Field.
GET TICKETS to Portland Timbers vs. Philadelphia Union, Monday, March 12, 2012, 9:30 pm ET at JELD-WEN Field. Watch in on ESPN2.
