Reflecting on the performance, Casey felt the team fully deserved their place in the next round despite the difficult conditions.
“I think overall it was a great team performance. Obviously, the conditions weren’t great – it was very rainy and the pitch was heavy – and Newcastle fought well. But I think we were the better team, especially in the first half.
“We played in their half, battled well to win second balls, pressed hard and created opportunities, particularly from crosses. Overall, it was a performance we deserved, and it was a good game for us.”
Casey grabbed a brace on the night and was asked which of his goals was his favourite, as well as how it felt to be back among the goals after stepping up to feature with the U21s and even the senior squad.
“For me, it was the second goal. I pulled myself away from the defenders and Stuart [Oduro] found me. From there it’s just instinct – cut inside and shoot – so it was a great goal for me.
“It’s also really good to be scoring again for the 18s. I’m happy to be back playing in the Youth Cup. Everyone wants to play in the FA Youth Cup, everyone wants to score in it and go on to reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. I’m very happy to be among the goals again and I hope to keep it going.”
The forward also showed resilience after missing a one-on-one early in the first half – similar to an opportunity he spurned against West Brom on Saturday – before converting his next two chances.
“Yeah, to be honest, I’ve missed a lot of one-on-ones – it’s part of being a striker. You’re not always going to score every opportunity. I was frustrated, but at half-time I spoke to myself and encouraged myself. I told myself there was still 45 minutes to go, just keep going and the opportunity will come.
“I focused on staying relaxed, being calm and being ready for the next chance – and that’s what I did.”
Looking ahead to the next round, Casey is already focused on the challenge posed by Stevenage.
“We hope to beat them, but obviously we don’t know much about them. They’ll be fighting because we’re a Premier League side, so we have to keep going, stay focused and keep working hard.”