Freddie Ljungberg’s not buying into the gloom and doom over the Fire’s postseason prospects.
The Swedish forward had his most productive game since joining the Fire in July on Wednesday night when he scored a goal and added two assists in a 3-0 victory in San Jose.
The victory snapped a seven-game winless streak as well as a team record 401-minute scoreless drought.
“Of course (we’re) still alive,” said Ljungberg, who collected his first Fire career goal in the 72nd minute. “We’re going to fight for it. I think it was important for us today to show our fans that we have the fighting spirit.”
Steve Kinney earned his first career MLS goal. It came in the 39th minute as Ljungberg lined a corner kick and Kinney headed it past Earthquakes goalie Jon Busch. Patrick Nyarko tallied in second half stoppage time on a feed from Ljungberg.
The victory left the Fire still 10 points behind San Jose and Seattle for the eighth and final MLS playoff spot with five games to play. They play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Dallas.
