Kris Boyd began his MLS career with the Portland Timbers with a bang on Monday night, as his side won 3-1 at home over Philadelphia Union.

The former Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough striker put the Timbers 2-1 ahead in the 66th minute when he flicked home Khalif Alhassan's cross with a brilliant front post header.

The Scotsman was thrilled after the match, admitting that it was nice to get his maiden goal out of the way so early.

"It's always good to get your first goal, because that's always the hardest one to get, to get off the mark," he said.

"I enjoyed tonight. I got my first MLS goal in front of the fans out there. Hopefully, in the next two weeks I can start scoring on a regular basis."

And Boyd was also very complimentary of the part the raucous Timbers crowd played in the season-opening win after the team fell behind when Gabriel Gomez scored in the 51st minute.

"It was magnificent from start to finish. I think the biggest compliment you can pay, the fans were, even when we went a goal down, even though it wasn't for long, they were still behind us," he added.

"They were still singing. They helped to get us back on level terms, and then we went on to win the game."

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