CARSON >> It was a perfect case of better late than never for the Galaxy and even late was a good option.

Staring at the prospects of a second consecutive scoreless draw at home, the Galaxy found two late goals, one from Baggio Husidic and the other from Giovani dos Santos, to hold off visiting Columbus Crew SC 2-1 at the StubHub Center Saturday in front of 24,693.

The victory snapped a six-game winless streak for the Galaxy.

Husidic opened the scoring in the 78th minute on rocket of a blast that left Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark flatfooted and helpless.

Four minutes later, dos Santos had a ricocheted ball fall into his path, he dribbled and eventually chipped Clark for a 2-0 lead.

The goals came after Bruce Arena made a pair of substitutions, bringing on Alan Gordon and Husidic, replacing Emmanuel Boateng and Mike Magee.

Columbus managed to pull one back on Adam Jahn’s rebound from a penalty kick that was initially saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe.

The Galaxy (10-4-13) moved into a second-place tie with the victory with Colorado and Real Salt Lake on 43 points. All three teams are eight points behind first-place FC Dallas (51)

Columbus is tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 26 points.

The Galaxy entered the game fresh off of a winless August (0-2-4) with a loss in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup included. Its most recent victory came July 23 against Portland.

This was the first game for the Galaxy since their lineup had been ravaged by injuries and the departure of Nigel de Jong, who moved to Galatasaray in Turkey on a free transfer. Gyasi Zardes (broken foot), Steven Gerrard (hamstring) and Jelle Van Damme (knee) all missed Saturday’s game. Gerrard and Van Damme are likely back in a couple of weeks.

Zardes’ injury and subsequent surgery has him out for the remainder of the regular season.

Robbie Keane, who played in his final international match for Ireland during the week, sat out Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury.

The first half was a bit frustrating for the Galaxy as all of the new faces failed to connect. However, Rowe had a big hand in keeping the game scoreless at halftime, recording five saves.

The injuries are certainly testing the Galaxy’s depth. Seldom-used Raul Mendiola was in the starting lineup for his first MLS start.

AJ De La Garza took the captain’s armband for the game, marking the first time in his MLS career.

The Galaxy return to action Wednesday against Real Salt Lake.