Portland Timbers defender Jermaine Taylor dribbles the ball during a preseason game against the Houston Dynamo at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday, February 3, 2016.

MLS veteran Jermaine Taylor came to the Portland Timbers in the offseason from the Houston Dynamo to add depth along a back line depleted in the offseason.

Brought in through the Major League Soccer reentry draft, the veteran defender was slotted to back up center backs Liam Ridgwell and Nat Borchers.

But Taylor was called to start the first game. In a move over to left back. Against the Columbus Crew. At Providence Park.

He responded exactly as the Timbers had hoped when they picked him up. The reviews all were positive.

"Fantastic," from Ridgewell.

"Very solid," from coach Caleb Porter.

"I thought he did excellent," from Borchers.

Taylor was low-key about it: "I'm a pro."

In his debut Taylor managed to turn Crew forward Ethan Finlay into a non-factor in the Timbers 2-1 win in a match that was emotionally charged well before kickoff as Portland celebrated its first MLS Cup title, won on the road against Columbus last December.

"I knew he could do it," Porter said, pointing to Taylor's experience. "In the role that we put him in, which is to stay at home and to manage Finlay ... I thought he did a job on Finlay."

"I'm always getting ready for whenever my name is called," Taylor said.

In the run-up to the season opener, the Timbers' left defender spot was a question mark. Jorge Villafana, who had a brilliant 2015 season, left for Liga MX side Santos Laguna and Chris Klute, brought in to replace him, has been dealing with a knee injury. Ridgewell, who has experience on the left, was in the mix to move over.

Porter could have gone another way. Andy Thoma was an option, but sustained a knee injury last week and is out for six weeks. Zarek Valentin played on the left in preseason, but Porter said he went with Taylor and his experience.

"It was good," Taylor said. "As a pro, you've got to adjust, you've got to make that transition."

He did, and it worked.

Over at FourFourTwo.com, Finlay got the mention, but it was Taylor who dictated the story:

"And, no, Ethan Finlay didn't look like a U.S. national teamer in his 2016 Crew debut," Steve Davis noted in the post.

As Klute continues to recover (he'll play with T2 this weekend) and Porter continues to evaluate the position, Taylor starting at left back could be a temporary fix.

But the Jamaican national team player said he expects to start on the left side again when the Timbers go on the road to take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

Taylor said he's ready. Playing in the first game helped.

"To get that game and the first win, it's a big confidence booster going forward," he said.

-- Molly Blue