AFTER the results of the games played on Monday, there may be little predictable about this season's Danske Bank MacRory Cup, writes Séamas McAleenan.
On paper, today's match between St Eunan's, Letterkenny and St Colman's, Newry (Drumragh, 1.30pm) looks easy enough to call with St Colman's enjoying a comfortable opening round victory over St Macartan's, Monaghan and St Eunan's only managing to take a point from their opening two games with St Patrick's, Cavan and St Paul's, Bessbrook.
St Colman's also played last week's tie without the services of players involved in the Down minor final between Burren and Shamrocks.
However, three St Colman's goals inside five or six first half minutes changed a seemingly low-scoring defence-orientated encounter into a more open game of football.
It proved that the Violet Hill College is still capable of producing top-class finishers and this year's threats would appear to be Pearse óg McCrickard and Oisín O'Neill who bagged 1-4 each - although the former is a doubt for the game, with a Casement Cup hurling game yesterday and then the Danske Bank Mageean Cup final on Friday. St Eunan's re-jigged their team after losing to Cavan in their opening game and had much better shape to them against Bessbrook.
Niall O'Donnell moved from centre half-back into the forward line and he and Rory Carr certainly tested John Rafferty's defence for three-quarters of the match. However, it will concern St Eunan's that they conceded five unanswered points at the end, but until then they were hard enough to break down. St Colman's found a way around Monaghan's defensive screen. It remains to be seen if the Donegal version be any tougher?