*Seán O’Callaghan, Nnabuike Nneji, Dylan Casey and Conor Mullen. Photograph: Joe Buckley.
BEFORE A BALL was kicked in Saturday’s Clare Cup final, Avenue Utd captain Conor Mullen predicted to Dylan Casey that the left back would score the winning goal.
Mullen was sidelined with a knee injury but his words were indeed prophetic with Casey drilling the winning goal to the net with one hundred and eight minutes played in the Ennis Carpets Clare Cup final.
The Casey name is prominently linked with Avenue United FC. Dylan is continuing an association with the club that his father Ray and uncle Eddie built in the 1970s.
Dylan started out in the schoolboys section before going across to Leicester City in 2012, later joining Millwall before returning home in 2017. On his return home he immediately re-joined Avenue United and on Saturday evening he played a key role in steering the Ennis club to the Ennis Carpets Clare Cup title.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Dylan admitted they put themselves under pressure when conceding two second half goals which forced extra time. “Once the first one went in we kind of sat back a small bit and obviously when you sit back as much as we did we were always going to be under pressure. We are a young attacking team but the boys dug deep”.
He was pleased with their overall defensive display in Saturday’s decider. “For the 90 minutes bar the 2 goals we defended probably the best we have done all season. Luke (Woodrow) has been excellent all season, look at the save he made at the end, it won us the Cup”.
Matters remained civil between the rivals, he noted. “There is great rivalry between the clubs and it’s great to have that rivalry, it brings a bit of bite to the game. In fairness there was nothing from the sideline today, anything that happened on the pitch stayed on the pitch. that’s the most important thing”.
Reflecting on his Cup final winning goal, the Ennis native said, “Conor Mullen had said that I was going to score the winner today, the cross came in from Owen Hadden, whoever was in front of me slipped but I had called Dylan, I met it nicely, one in a million”.
He added, “Avenue is my club and always will be my club”. Noting the involvement of his father and uncle with Avenue he pointed out “my mother (Anne) runs the academy. Without those people, the committee , this would not happen. They put their heart and soul into the club. It’s nice to show them a reward at the end of the season. We will certainly enjoy tonight”.
