Chicago Fire burn Chivas USA late

BRIDGEVIEW

Dominic Oduro scored in the 85th minute to give the short-handed Chicago Fire a 3-2 victory against Chivas USA on Saturday.

Fire defender Cory Gibbs scored on a second-minute header, and the Fire went up 2-0 in the 25th on an own-goal by Chivas striker Juan Pablo Angel, who was trying to clear Pavel Pardo's free kick.

But Gibbs was ejected in the 37th by referee Jorge Gonzalez, and Chivas (7-12-10, 31 points) took advantage of the 10-man Fire in the second half. The visitors broke a three-game scoreless streak in the 61st minute on a goal by Angel and tied it in the 63rd on Nick LaBrocca's score.

''Obviously, it's a great victory for the team,'' said Frank Klopas, the Fire's interim coach and technical director. ''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. ... It was definitely a different game with a man down. We dropped a little too deep.''

Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson made six saves to keep the Fire in the game, including stopping Angel on a one-on-one breakaway in the 54th minute.

The Fire (5-8-15, 30 points) broke the tie when substitute Diego Chaves passed the ball to Patrick Nyarko to the right of Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Instead of shooting, Nyarko passed across the goalmouth to the speedy Oduro, who broke behind the defense and shot the ball into a wide-open net for his 10th goal of the season.

Oduro is the first Chicago player to score in double digits for a season since Damani Ralph in 2004.

Both clubs trail Portland in the race for the 10th and final MLS playoff spot, with D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls also in the mix.