‘The lads are desperate to get a win but we will get nothing easy’

Avenue United captain Dylan Casey is expecting fireworks when his side come up against Newmarket Celtic in the Banner Carpets and Flooring Clare Cup final this evening in Frank Healy Park (kick off 5pm).

The two traditional heavyweights of Clare soccer go head to head in what a game which has the potential to see sparks fly.

With Newmarket Celtic going for a scarcely believable 10th Clare Cup title in a row, Casey is aware that his side face a huge task to dethrone the roll of honour leaders.

The centre back knows the challenge ahead is a tough one but he wants his side to focus on their own performance.

“We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Just because it’s Newmarket doesn’t mean we should be changing our approach to the game. There’s always a bit of bite in these games. It’s going to be a cracker.”

There’s nothing unusual about a member of the Casey family captaining the club in a cup final. Dylan’s father Ray wore the skipper’s armband for the Avenue Utd side which reached the 1990 FAI
Junior Cup final, falling short to Cherry Orchard in the decider. Meanwhile, his mother Ann is heavily involved with the club having served in a wide variety of roles.

Casey’s talent on the pitch has been well established throughout the years. Ten years ago, the Avenue captain was called up to Leicester City’s academy with the then 15-year-old becoming the first player through the Avenue academy to be signed by a cross-channel club.

He spent two seasons with the Foxes before signing a contract with Millwall FC. After a season there and subsequent loan spells, Casey returned to Avenue during the 2017/18 season.

“I went over when I was 15. I was going over and back before I was offered a contract. I left my mam, dad and sister behind so it was hard to adjust at first. Luckily there was another Irish fella there in the year behind me. The first few weeks I was homesick but I was able to adapt to it.”

“It was a big adjustment coming back. When I came back I was doing half the amount of soccer sessions that we would have done over there. It is completely different and at the start it was hard but I’m delighted to be back training with the boys. I’m very happy with where I am now.”

Right now, he and Avenue are just two wins away from completing the domestic double for the first time since the 2010. They face Newmarket Celtic in the Cup final before the sides meet again the following Wednesday night at 7pm in Roslevan to decide who will win the Premier Division.

On Tuesday night, it was confirmed that Avenue United lie two points ahead of Newmarket Celtic. This comes after an appeal by Sporting Ennistymon against an FAI ruling on the circumstances surrounding international clearance for one of their players was unsuccessful.

It means Avenue are now awarded two extra points, as their recent draw against Sporting has now been awarded as a victory

As a result they just need a draw to secure league honours next Wednesday night.

He admits that there is a keen rivalry between his side and Newmarket Celtic with these two games set to define both clubs’ seasons.

“With Newmarket there is a good rivalry there. Both sides will always give 100 per cent when out on the pitch. We will try our best to win this weekend and hopefully back it up then.”

“We won’t see the level of success that they’ve had the past 10 years again. They have dominated the last couple of years. All the lads are desperate to get a win here but we will get nothing easy.”

Casey works as a personal trainer at Hustle Fitness Galway, a business owned by his centre back partner Conor Mullen.

The captain believes that this Avenue side’s fitness has been a key reason why they are two games away from a potential league and cup double. David Russell’s side secured a 94th minute equaliser last weekend against Bridge United in the league while they struck two goals in the final 15 minutes to beat Shannon Hibs 3-1 in the semi final of this competition.

“We trained so hard especially with lockdowns. We’ve been very good this year in the last 15 to 20 minutes of games. We used to fade away but now we are pushing on.”

“When things weren’t going our way sometimes we would throw a strop and give up. The attitude has been way different and we are now driving on in the last 20 minutes of games. We are playing savage football and scoring lots of goals and looking good defensively.”

The 26-year-old has experienced the heartache of Cup final defeat before. In 2018, Avenue United led 2-0 before three late Newmarket Celtic goals saw them secure another Clare Cup.

“We were 2-0 up but ended up losing 3-2. It was a tough one to take at the time. It was heartbreaking for us to lose that final. We know it’s going to be tough but we hope to turn things around this time.”