Lewis Morgan had to watch the postseason from the sideline last year as the Red Bulls found themselves facing a familiar fate.
The Red Bulls have made the MLS postseason for 14 consecutive seasons, but for the past five years the club has failed to make it out of the first round.
Last year, Morgan watched while he nursed a number of injuries that incapacitated him nearly all season.
This time around, Morgan will be crucial to the Red Bulls’ hopes of advancing when they open their series against the Columbus Crew on Tuesday.
“What we play for all year is the playoffs,” Morgan told The Post by phone. “Just really excited on a personal level to compete against the top teams in the country and try to be really successful this year as a group. We’ve obviously got a tough task in front of us with Columbus.”
He added: “It’s the most exciting part of the year and I’m happy that I’m on the other side of it now, playing in the game rather than watching.”
Morgan wasn’t joking when he mentioned the challenge that Columbus poses. In a league in which Inter Miami went wire to wire at the top of the table, Columbus finished not far behind with 66 points in league play, and the Crew lost just two games over the final two months of the season.
The Crew scored the second-most goals during the regular season and allowed just 40 goals to opposing teams this year.
That means there will be plenty of pressure on Morgan, along with the team’s offseason addition, Emil Forsberg. The pair have been two of the biggest difference-makers for the Red Bulls, accounting for 22 of the team’s 55 regular-season goals.
“They can make the difference, this is clear. This is the quality of Emil and also the quality of Lewis Morgan,” Red Bulls coach Sandro Schwarz said. “You need these kinds of players then in these moments to be ready and then to make the difference. In some moments, make the initial pass to score hopefully, but also to defend.”
Morgan is expecting the game to be played a little bit more conservatively as teams try to limit their mistakes in the postseason, but hopes to see the Red Bulls play with “freedom” and “take risks.”
“We’re not going to go there and just survive,” Morgan said. “I think we play our best when we’re trying to be aggressive.”
An impressive playoff showing would only add to the 13-goal season that Morgan put up for the Red Bulls this year. It earned him a nod as a finalist for MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
“It’s always good to get some individual recognition and of course, it’s not possible without the medical team and my teammates as well,” he said of the nomination.
The Crew defeated the Red Bulls in the Oct. 19 regular-season finale, which is sure to give the New York side some extra jump.
But Schwarz isn’t trying to use the Red Bulls’ playoff shortcomings of the past to try to motivate the current squad.
“The main motivation is to win,” he said. “This is the main focus and main motivation. Not to think about what happened in the past and these years before. This is now the main focus, the main motivation and to be ready against a strong team for Tuesday.”
