COLUMBUS -- The New England Revolution might have felt like they were running in quicksand instead of the plush green grass of Crew Stadium, except even that would have been too much for the heavy-legged club.
Dogged by a schedule of international and domestic competitions and injuries that have sapped the team's strength, the Revolution were outpaced by the Columbus Crew in a 4-0 defeat and fell five points behind the Eastern Conference leaders.
"One thing we have to do is understand where we are. When you can't run, you can't compete and at the present time, we can't run," New England coach Steve Nicol said. "We can't close the ball and when we do get it, we can't go past people. When you go to make challenges, you're a half-yard short. It's an impossible task. They played well, give them the jury -- they closed us down real quick, made some chances -- but as I said, if you can't run, you can't compete, and we can't compete at the present time."
Columbus got a goal and two assists from forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto, two goals from reserve Jason Garey and a header off a free kick by defender Andy Iro. His score gave the Crew a 2-0 halftime lead.
"4-0 is unacceptable, we know better than that," Revs defender Chris Tierney said. "We just have to get back to practice, battle and get after it. Day in and day out we've had a rough couple weeks, but that's not really an excuse anymore. I think we've just got to get back to what we've been doing to that's made us so successful in the early part of the season."
New England has played 32 matches in all competitions, five more than the Crew, and was coming off a 4-0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago's Joe Public on Tuesday that eliminated it from the CONCACAF Champions League.
The weariness showed. The Crew jumped on the Revolution from the start and had three chances hit the goalpost in the first 20 minutes. The Revs were outshot 27-4 for the match and their lone shot on goal was from 18 yards by Taylor Twellman in the 28th minute. The Crew had 14 shots on goal but didn't get on the board until Schelotto scored in the 39th.
"Obviously, it wasn't the result I would have liked," Tierney said. "It was a tough game; No. 1 vs. No. 2, and it was a battle out there."
The Crew know the Revolution will present a different look when the teams play again Sept. 27 in Gillette Stadium.
"They're a team right now, more so than physically, they're mentally tired," Columbus coach Sigi Schmid said. "Passes are off, combinations are off and as a result it made it easier for us. But again, we did what we needed to do. I don't want to take anything away from them. They're a great team but they're a tired team.
"They're a great team. You don't stay on top in this league; you don't have the tradition they have without being a great team."
New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph does not see the recent bad results as having long-term consequences.
"Our confidence is still sky high, we just have to look at ourselves in the mirror and take a gut-check," he said. "I think we're only five points out of it and we know there are seven or eight games left. We can still make a run. As I said, we're not far away from the top, we just have to put this one behind us and look forward to the next one."
While Nicol knows the veterans on his three-time defending Eastern champs will remain positive through this rough patch, he realizes others may need some guidance along the way.
"The only problem with (confidence) is with the young guys, the old heads will understand the situation, but it's tough on the young guys," he said. "You always have a tough time at some stage of the season and we're getting it now. They have to realize what it's all about. This is when they really learn to keep their confidence and myself, the staff and the older guys have to help them as well."
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