MONTREAL -- Columbus Crew SC's slow start to the MLS season is largely down to poor finishing, coach Gregg Berhalter said following Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact.
The defeat leaves last year's MLS Cup runners-up winless through their first five games of the 2016 season. Columbus sits last in the Eastern Conference with a record of two draws and three defeats.
"The efficiency in front of goal has been lacking a little bit," Berhalter said when asked why his team has struggled so far. "We're creating enough chances to score goals. I still believe the ball can move faster, the final ball can be more precise and we can be better in front of goal. Those are three things we clearly need to keep working on."
Crew SC has managed just three goals this season, tied for the fewest among the league's 20 clubs. However, just nine teams have taken more shots than Columbus' 57, and the Crew rank eighth in on-target attempts, with 21.
"Collectively we just haven't been good enough," captain Michael Parkhurst told ESPN FC. "We just haven't been able to make the plays when the plays are there, offensively or defensively."
The schedule hasn't made things easier. Four of the Black and Gold's first five games were on the road, including an MLS Cup rematch in Portland and tricky trips to FC Dallas and Montreal. Berhalter attributed some of his team's woes in Saturday's loss on the artificial turf at Olympic Stadium.
"I think we had a hard time coming to grips with the surface," Berhalter said. "You could see the final ball was off. It just didn't seem like we were comfortable."
But Columbus' slate gets kinder starting with next week's home game against New York City FC. Seven of Crew SC's next 10 matches are at Mapfre Stadium, where they went 9-4-4 a year ago.
"That will help," Berhalter said.
Parkhurst suggested that the club's success in 2015 has teams playing them tougher early this season.
"Whenever you're in a final and the champion of your conference, teams want to beat you -- we understand that," he said. "We need to look at it as a good thing that we've earned that respect and rise to the challenge.
"Right now we're struggling to do that," he added. "We've played well enough in some games to possibly win and just haven't. The fact is that we've gone five games without one. It's frustrating.
"We need to change that. We need to grind out a win somehow and get the confidence back."