Daniel Carr popped up with an injury-time equaliser to send a thrilling MacRory Cup final to a replay as Abbey CBS fought back for a 0-18 to 1-15 draw against St Patrick’s, Dungannon.
Leading by nine at half-time, the Tyrone school looked on course to make up for their disappointment at the final stage two years ago, but the Newry outfit flipped momentum in the second half as they live to fight another day.
The Newry side opened well with early scores from Diarmaid O’Rourke, but St Patrick’s roared into it with a sixth-minute goal when Eoin Long was picked out by Liam McGeary to race through and finish low to the net.
While the Abbey levelled and the sides then swapped points, St Patrick’s took over with the next nine points in a row.
Long began with the sequence with man of the match McGeary kicking five, Lorcan McMurray with a brace and Aodhan Quinn also in the act before the Abbey summoned a reply through Keelan McEntee.
Fergus Toale added another, but a two-pointer from St Patrick’s captain Davin McKeown pushed the gap back to nine and after a late exchange of scores, the Dungannon side held a 1-13 to 0-7 lead at the break with Abbey denied a goal late in the half with Ronan Donnelly saving from Michael O’Neill.
It seemed they were well on their way, but two early scores from O’Rourke gave the Abbey a glimmer early in the second half.
Still, with St Patrick’s scoring two of the next three that included McGeary’s sixth from play, there was no hint of the drama that was to follow as the Abbey mounted a charge in the final quarter.
Daniel McKernan’s followed up a fisted effort with a two-point free and when Keelan McEntee pointed, the gap was down to much more manageable four.
Abbey could have been closer, if not ahead, had some of their goal chances been converted with Fergus Toale firing wide and Daniel Carr was just off target from distance, but a McKernan score with five to go left three between them.
That gap ought to have been wiped out but for goal-line heroics by St Patrick’s Ruairi O’Neill who thwarted Charlie McGrath and Odhran Reel, but momentum was with the Newry outfit as McGrath and Jack O’Mahoney brought the gap to one and then Carr completed the comeback deep in added time to force a replay on Friday, 13 February.
