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Believe it or not, Fire still has a shot at MLS playoffs

Despite having just two victories in 21 games so far this season, the Fire still has a shot at the MLS playoffs.

The league not only added expansion teams in Portland and Vancouver this season, it expanded its playoff field to 10 teams from eight. The Fire is aiming for that 10th and final spot, but it has some climbing to do to get there.

At 2-6-13 the Fire is tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 19 points. Houston now sits 10th on the league-wide table with 27 points. Last season San Jose earned the final playoff spot with 46 points.

At 3 points a win and with 13 games left to play (MLS also lengthened its season to 34 games from 30), the Fire can pick up a maximum of 39 points. It needs 27 of those 39 possible points to reach 46.

It could happen, but it means turning all those ties into wins very quickly.

“It’s absolutely too late for moral victories, but we can’t dwell on it,” midfielder Patrick Nyarko said after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Philadelphia. “We have to keep moving forward. Every point dropped hurts, but we’ve got to move on. Right now we need to put together a series of wins and hopefully we can start that in Vancouver (6 p.m. Sunday, Galavision).”

The captain on the move:With the addition of defensive midfielder Pavel Pardo, Fire captain Logan Pause moved from that position to right back, sending rookie Jalil Anibaba briefly to the bench.#147;It#146;s just a completely different role,#148; Pause said. #147;Playing holding mid, you#146;re kind of that anchor, and right back allows me to get up and down a little bit. My first handful of years I played a lot of games there. I feel comfortable wherever I#146;m needed to help the team.#148;Anibaba didn#146;t sit long. He replaced center back Cory Gibbs in the sixth minute when Gibbs left with what the team called a lower left leg injury. It was the first time as a pro that Anibaba played center back.#147;I#146;ve had college experience there, but that doesn#146;t compare to experience here,#148; Anibaba said.The new guys:Fire interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas pulled new playmaker Sebastian Grazzini after 66 minutes Wednesday night, admitting the early injury to defender Cory Gibbs played a part in his decision.#147;He was tired,#148; Klopas said. #147;I knew that the injury to Cory hurt us. We had to sub early. I knew with Sebastian coming in and with Pavel, I didn#146;t know if we were going to make it or not. He got tired and he looked like he wanted to come out for sure.#148;New midfielder Pavel Pardo, however, went the full 90 minutes, which Klopas called #147;fantastic.#148;#147;We talked about this before the game,#148; Pardo said. #147;I said if I#146;m feeling OK, I#146;m going to do my best to keep playing as long as I#146;m at 100 percent. It was a surprise for me, but I was able to stay on the field.#148;