The former England captain's shot from the edge of the box was deflected before sailing into the visitors' net after 66 minutes at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

New England, however, had already scored twice through Adam Cristman and Los Angeles could not find an equaliser, suffering their sixth loss of the season.

Despite the defeat, Los Angeles remain in the lead in the Western Conference with six wins and three draws from 15 games keeping them one point ahead of Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo.

New England increased their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference standings following their 10th win of the campaign.