Gerhard Struber: “It is very painful at the moment to say something. I am a little bit speechless.” (Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Like a broken record, the Red Bulls keep duplicating history this season.

It seems every time they scored a goal, they somehow find a way to lose the lead, points or even the game.

The latest headache came in Columbus, Ohio Tuesday night as New York surrendered twice in the final 14 minutes en route to a 2-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew.

The Red Bulls took another hit in their quest to reach the playoffs as they fell further off the pace in the Eastern Conference.

“We are disappointed and we are pissed off,” said forward Patryk Klimala, who scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season. “We talk a lot about it, but I think we have to stop talking and start working hard on the field.

“We play amazing when we score a goal, we just start winning and then one moment we just stop pressing, stop doing our work and our job. I do not know what the reason is but, I think the coaching staff and we have to speak honestly in the locker room because it is unacceptable.”

It certainly was unacceptable for head coach Gerhard Struber.

“You can see the situation right now is not easy,” he said. “It is a very disappointed feeling. It is very painful at the moment to say something. I am a little bit speechless.”

Struber said the Red Bulls could not cope with the Crew’ physical prowess.

“We can see the physical power from Columbus, but we have to be resilient in this moment and I can see in some moments,” he said. “It is like a youth team against adults. … This is in some moments when they bring every power on the field. We can see the difference. These are big learning moments from some players, and this is very hard at the moment to see that.”

Playing in a league such as Major League Soccer, players can’t afford to learn the basics. They have to have that already or face failure.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.