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

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

"We're on a bit of a run now which has come a little bit late, but we still have a good chance," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said.

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 a well-placed crossing pass to the edge of the 6-yard box that Moreno headed past goalkeeper Joe Cannon to put the Crew on the scoreboard barely 100 seconds into the match.

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

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

Three minutes later, Martino got space to take a pass from Landon Donovan and 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 of the year by holding a finger to his lips to silence the sellout crowd.

The Crew barely missed tying the game in the 84th minute when Kei Kamara headed Eddie Gaven's corner kick off the crossbar. Kamara again nearly scored two minutes later but Cannon scooped up his right-footed shot.

Columbus, with three games remaining, is on the brink of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Two of the Crew's remaining matches are on the road against the league's best teams, D.C. United and the New England Revolution.

"Right now the mood's pretty somber," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "I think the guys are pretty depressed. I know, as a coaching staff, we're pretty depressed about it."

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