The Revolution longed for the feeling for weeks, and after multiple opportunities at the net in the first half against the Los Angeles Galaxy, they wondered if they would have to wait longer.

Perovic ended the drought in the 67th minute with a free kick from 22 yards. The Revolution’s first goal in 347 minutes of play proved to be enough as they defeated the Galaxy, 2-0, last night in front of 20,155 fans at Gillette Stadium, the largest home crowd of the season.

A majority of the fans came in anticipation of seeing Los Angeles midfielder Landon Donovan, who returned with the US team from the World Cup. But Donovan decided late to skip the trip East in order to rest after the tournament, which was followed by constant media appearances. Even if the fans were disappointed to begin the night, they left by giving the Revolution a standing ovation for beating the best team in the MLS.

“I think you’ve seen what we can do,’’ Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. “The guys were determined to get a good result, and to get it against the best team in the league is even more pleasing.’’

To get their first goal — and their first win since May 29 — the Revolution had to keep creating chances. With the absence of Donovan, Los Angeles’s best player, the Galaxy were comfortable playing with a defensive mind-set.

“Steve told me to just get forward,’’ midfielder Shalrie Joseph said. “It felt good being able to chase the ball and push the tempo of the game.’’

The strategy to push more players forward worked for the Revolution as midfielder Sainey Nyassi was able to get behind the defense. But Nyassi struggled in the first half.

In the 12th minute, he received a pass from Joseph that left him wide open and 5 feet from the net. But Nyassi passed the ball, which was intercepted. In the 21st minute, he wasn’t able to find forward Zack Schilawski, who was open at the net.

The Revolution (4-9-2, 14 points) were playing more aggressively than the Galaxy (11-2-3, 36 points), but the match was still scoreless at halftime.

“We knew the goal was going to come and spoke about it at halftime,’’ Joseph said.

The goal came after Perovic was given two opportunities at the net. After Joseph was fouled, Perovic took a free kick, which hit the arm of a Galaxy defender. The handball allowed Perovic, a forward, to adjust to the Galaxy’s wall that was set up.

Now closer to the net, Perovic bounced the ball off the ground instead of sending it high. His kick went through the wall of defenders, who jumped anticipating Perovic was going to send a bending cross. Once the ball entered the box, it scooted past goalkeeper Donovan Rickets.

“Being closer for Marco, I knew he loved it,’’ Joseph said. “He made the best of that opportunity in scoring and we needed that goal.’’

With the lead, the Revolution counterattacked when the Galaxy made a mistake at midfield. That led to Nyassi scoring the second goal in the 74th minute.

Nyassi was able to find the back of the net after Joseph sent a pass toward the net.

Nyassi, deep in the box, flicked the ball wide, which rolled past Ricketts and touched the left post. With Nyassi’s soft deflection, the ball spun off the post slowly and landed in front of the net, sitting between both Nyassi and a prone Ricketts. Nyassi sprinted for the rebound.

Nyassi’s goal symbolized the frustration of the Revolution. He didn’t just score, he swung his foot in kicking the ball into the net hard — something a player does not usually do that close to the net.

“I knew he was going to pass it,’’ Nyassi said of Joseph. “I was at the right place at the right time. That was the easiest goal to score because it was right in front of me.’’

The Revolution were the first team this season to score two goals against the Galaxy.

Even if New England knows it still has more to do in order to move up in the Eastern Conference standings, the players realize last night’s victory could be a starting point

“I think if we keep playing like this,’’ Nyassi said, “we’ll be fine.’’

Nate Taylor can be reached at ntaylor@globe.com