By Niall Gartland

IT’S one of the oldest cliches in the book – that replays take on a life of their own. Though the irritating thing about cliches is that they sometimes ring true.

For example, what are the odds that St Patrick’s, Dungannon will rattle off nine points in 10 minutes in Friday night’s MacRory Cup final replay against Abbey CBS? Will their kick-out malfunction like it so desperately did in the second half? The answer to both questions is probably not.

So expect a different sort of cadence to tomorrow night’s replay. Who’ll win is anyone’s guess in the first MacRory Cup final replay since Omagh CBS edged St Louis, Kilkeel by four points at the second time of asking back in 2005.

When St Patrick’s hit their stride last Sunday at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds (where both teams will return tomorrow night), they looked nigh on unstoppable. Their full-forward line combined for a grand total of 1-10 from play in the first half with Liam McGeary especially effervescent up front. Key men like James Mulgrew and Aodhán Quinn also had big first halves and the game looked as good as over at the interval, but Abbey CBS had other ideas.

Spurred on by their gifted midfielder Keelan McEntee, they grabbed a foothold in the middle and by the closing stages, St Patrick’s were clinging on for dear life. Six goal chances across the course of the hour – and had any of them been converted, the Newry school would likely have seen their comeback through to completion.

That’s not to say they’re odds on to finish the job in the replay, though. These are both top-quality teams and the outcome will likely depend on who learned the most from the first day out. Usually the favourites prevail in replays – but with this particular pairing, there is no ‘favourite’ as such. It’s beautifully balanced and let’s hope for another thriller.