‘IT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE AN ALL-IRELAND FINAL, WE DIDN’T GO INTO GAMES WITH NERVES’ – CASEY
WHAT a difference a week makes. This time seven days ago, the discussion was of how towering Galway attacker Johnny Glynn could potentially go to town Limerick’s Mike Casey due to a distinct height and reach advantage.
It was billed as one of the key duels to decide the destination of Liam MacCarthy, but it never really materialised as Casey gobbled up any deliveries that came their way with the Tribe not utilising Glynn efficiently.
The Na Piarsaigh defender was imperious at the edge of the square before an ankle injury forced him off in the 50th minute and the 22-year-old detailed the lengths the Treaty went to in an attempt to curb Glynn’s threat.
“I’m only 5ft 10, every programme says I’m 6ft,” Casey said. “I’d be laughing with the brother Peter, he is actually taller than me and he’s down in the programme as 5ft 7. Sure I knew coming in, he’s a big man but there’s ways to play around that. We had our own game-plan in place.
“I did a bit if work with Paul Kinnerk in terms of how to deal with it. I think it went well, there was no point in me going up contesting every high ball, ‘I’ll catch one, you’ll catch one’ because it’s not going to come out like that.
“He just had too much of a height advantage on me. So I thought we dealt with it well and if it wasn’t for the lads – Seanie Finn, Nickie (Quaid) and Richie English – covering in around me a plan like that wouldn’t have worked.
“He’s obviously left-handed as well so we had Paddy O’Loughlin on me, he’d be our biggest left-hander, we even had Gearóid Hegarty switching hands and the whole lot, just all those little boxes you tick and thankfully it went well on the day.”
Casey, English and Finn have the unique distinction of being the fullback line for the 2015 All-Ireland U-21 triumph and manning that line for senior success just three years later.
A lack of experience and knowhow at senior level was mooted to prove their undoing in last Sunday’s All-Ireland final but that was never a worry for Casey, who describes John Kiely’s side as a “cool-headed team” who take everything in their stride.
“We were only saying it among ourselves, it didn’t feel like an AllIreland final. When you’re playing in one you have to try remove all of that emotion surrounding the build-up. All of us are kind of a cool-headed team.
“All us young fellas like, yeah we’ve won things underage and the whole lot but in general we’re a down to earth group of lads. None of the games this year kind of fazed us. We didn’t go into games with nerves. it’s testament to the type we are.
“We knew 100 percent we weren’t going to flop on the day. We just knew coming in. We kind of see the bigger picture. It’s a game of hurling, it’s an All-Ireland final but there are bigger things going on and we just love going out hurling, you know.”