Is it too late for Fire to make move into playoffs?

The Fire just keeps hanging around, doing enough to stay on the fringes of the MLS playoff race but not jumping in with both feet.

In Saturday’s 3-2 victory against Chivas USA at Toyota Park the Fire showed the kind of heart it lacked much of the season. If the Fire had played this way in May, June and July, the team would have won more than two of its first 24 games, and last week it wouldn’t have lost at San Jose.

First the Fire took a 2-0 lead on one of the teams ahead of it for the 10th and final playoff spot. Then a 37th-minute red card to veteran defender Cory Gibbs swung the momentum Chivas’ way, and Chivas (7-12-10, 31 points) responded with two second-half goals, ending a three-game scoreless streak.

If the Fire (5-8-5, 30 points) had finished according to season form, the game would have finished in another tie for a club that already owns the league’s season record for ties.

“Obviously, it’s a great victory for the team,” Fire interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas said. “The one thing I can tell you is I’m very proud of the guys because they never gave up. Maybe in the past games like this we don’t find ways to win. Obviously, the game changed with the red card.”

Then in the 85th minute Fire substitute forward Diego Chaves sent Patrick Nyarko through the Chivas defense to the right of goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

Instead of taking the shot himself, Nyarko slid the ball across the goalmouth to Dominic Oduro, who calmly deposited his 10th goal of the season in the net, much to the relief of his coaches and teammates.

“Holy cow,” Klopas said, wiping his brow as he settled into his seat for the postgame news conference.

“It’s a great feeling, 85th minute or whatever it was, seeing Oduro score that goal,” Gibbs said. “It almost pulled me out of the grave. I was really down on myself for that. The team, how relentless they were for that whole time frame was just amazing.”

The goal made Oduro the first Fire player since Damani Ralph in 2004 to score in double digits for a season.

Ÿ Follow Orrin Schwarz on Twitter @orrinsoccer.