COLUMBUS, Ohio — Troy Roberts and Kyle Martino scored in the first half andthe Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 Sunday.

The Galaxy (7-13-6) overcame a goal in the second minute by Alejandro Morenoand improved its chances of making the MLS Cup playoffs despite a poor start tothe season and a stretch of eight losses in nine games in August and September.

The Crew are in the midst of a late-season collapse in which Columbus(7-10-10) has won once in nine games.

Andy Herron ran the ball into the right corner of the field and sent awell-placed crossing pass to the edge of the 6-yard box that Moreno headed pastgoalkeeper Joe Cannon to put the Crew on the scoreboard barely 100 seconds intothe match.

The Galaxy responded, taking advantage of Columbus’ inattentive defense infront of its own net by scoring two goals in three minutes to seal the victory.

Los Angeles tied it 1-1 when Crew defender Frankie Hejduk failed to clearthe ball from inside the 6-yard box, allowing Roberts to poke a slow, rollingshot past Will Hesmer in the 13th minute.

Three minutes later, Martino got space to take a pass from Landon Donovanand sent a shot through the legs of Ezra Hendrickson and into the goal.

Martino, who played four seasons with the Crew, celebrated his third goal ofthe year by holding a finger to his lips to silence the sellout crowd.

The Crew just missed tying the game in the 84th minute when Kei Kamaraheaded Eddie Gaven’s corner kick off the crossbar. Kamara again nearly scoredtwo minutes later but his right-footed shot was scooped up by Cannon.

Columbus, with three games remaining, is on the brink of missing theplayoffs for the third straight year.

Two of the Crew’s remaining matches are on the road against the league’sbest teams, D.C. United and the New England Revolution.

Despite having only 27 points, the Galaxy are still alive in the playoffrace thanks to a schedule that put most of their games at the end of the seasonto accommodate the arrival of David Beckham. The star midfielder is expected tomiss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.