Sebastian Giovinco continued his fine transition to life in the MLS by scoring twice to inspire Toronto to a 2-1 win at DC United this morning.

Only six minutes elapsed before United edged ahead in the contest as defender Steve Birnbaum tapped home from point-blank range after Toronto failed to clear a corner.

The visitors responded well and almost levelled through Warren Creavalle on 27 minutes, but Andrew Dykstra was on hand to beat the ball away.

Giovinco, a pre-season signing from Juventus, began to menace in United's half and it seemed only a matter of time before the Italian - who had six first-half shots - struck gold.

He did on 34 minutes when Giovinco curled beyond Dykstra into the top corner from an acute angle to restore parity and grab his sixth goal in nine MLS outings.

Creavalle and second-half substitute Jackson missed good opportunities to fire the Canadians ahead, but Dykstra produced the goods once more close to the hour mark to frustrate the visitors.

Both sides looked poised to share the spoils, but Giovinco popped up with another rasper from outside the area on 83 minutes to snatch all three points.