FC Cincinnati head coach Dominic Kinnear remains optimistic about their chances of topping the table despite suffering a third consecutive defeat.

Cincinnati lost 3-1 to the New York Red Bulls in MLS on Saturday, after two goals from Lewis Morgan on either side of Kyle Duncan's strike.

Corey Baird scored a consolation for the visitors but could not inspire a comeback as they slipped five points behind Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami, who beat Chicago Fire 2-1.

Cincinnati have not won since a 6-1 thrashing of the Herons at the start of July, losing the following three by an aggregate score of 7-2, but Kinnear is unbothered by the team's recent form.

"I think this is our second road loss of the year, which is remarkable, so I think we know who we have, but we have a lot of players missing," Kinnear said.

"It's difficult to go three games in a week with players missing. We've shown in 25 games in the league that we're one of the better teams in the league, and we will not step back from that."

Columbus Crew are just five points behind Cincinnati, with two games in hand over them heading into the Leagues Cup break.

Pat Noonan's side are still targeting a top-spot finish despite their recent slump, and Kinnear believes this defeat will serve them well if they end up having to play on the road in the playoffs.

"This could be a preview of a playoff game," he said. "We've played these guys in the playoffs before, so you've got to be battle-tested to want to beat these guys, which we've done in the past, but also be battle-tested to win on the road in the playoffs.

"We are hoping to finish top of our conference to get that home playoff game, but sometimes that may not happen, and you have to come out on the road."