NEW YORK: Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard scored his first goal in Major League Soccer as New York City FC beat Toronto FC 2-0 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

The former England international, in his fifth appearance with New York, scuffed home a right-footed shot in the 20th minute to give his team the lead.

It hardly rated with the best of the 211 goals the 37-year-old midfielder scored for English Premier League side Chelsea, but it was enough to set up a New York victory.

After Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley somehow missed a gift from six yards out, New York secured the three points when striker Patrick Mullins headed home a corner in the 77th minute.

The result kept New York in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, two points behind sixth-placed Montreal (33 points), who drew 1-1 with San Jose.

Toronto are winless in their past seven away games, though they remain fifth in the East and likely to make the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the surging New England Revolution recorded their sixth straight win when they beat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 to take over top spot in the East.

With barely a minute on the clock, Uruguay midfielder Diego Fagundez beat Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles at the near post to give the Revolution the lead.

The Red Bulls took four minutes to equalise through midfielder Mike Grella, before New England midfielder Kelyn Rowe scored the winner in the 65th minute.

The Red Bulls slipped to second in the East on 45 points, but remain almost certain to finish the regular season in the top four.

In the late game, the San Jose Earthquakes hurt their playoff chances with a 1-1 home draw against a depleted Montreal Impact.

A win could have lifted San Jose as high as fourth in the Western Conference, but instead they remained seventh, just outside the final playoff spot.

Montreal rested several players, including striker Didier Drogba and midfielder Ignacio Piatti, and fell behind to a Chris Wondolowski goal in the 35th minute.

Impact defender Ambroise Oyongo was shown a straight red card early in the second half, but San Jose could not press home their advantage and paid dearly when Montreal midfielder Kyle Bekker equalised in the 65th minute.