There certainly can't have been too many finals over the years that have involved quite so much fun and games in the build up but whether Shelbourne and Bohemians can provide us with a match to really remember still remains to be seen.
Sunday's first crack at deciding which side took the silverware was an entertaining enough contest but, as a rule, replays are supposed to be better and both managers insisted yesterday that their sides had the potential to step up a gear or two tonight.
That seems particularly true of the league champions who only looked like producing something approaching their best during the first 10 minutes or so of the Tolka Park match. This time around they will need more of their players to be at their best and the team performance to have a little sparkle about it, something manager Dermot Keely readily admits.
"I think that we were a bit flat the other day," he says "but I think we can improve on that this time and if we do that then hopefully we'll be all right."
The performance on Sunday might not have been quite what the Shelbourne boss was hoping from his side but not surprisingly Keely intends to stick with the 11 starters that have established themselves as his first choice team over the course of the season. In contrast, Roddy Collins appears likely to make at least a change or two.
Having done his best to stir it up ahead of the original game, the Bohemians boss has kept the pot boiling this week by announcing that he would be bidding to buy on loan goalkeeper Steve Williams from Dundalk for next season.
The news is likely to alarm Keely and everybody else at Tolka where the Welshman's arrival from Dundalk was seen as a major step towards completing the title winning formula last summer.
Shelbourne are said to have offered Dundalk £22,000 to make the move permanent but the first division club, who had hoped that the move to Dublin would provide Williams with an opportunity to catch the eye of a British club, are hoping for a good deal more than that and talk of £35,000 being offered by Bohemians is sure to interest them.
Potentially most interested in the transfer talk right now, however, is the current Bohemians goalkeeper Michael Dempsey who, after overcoming the challenge of one import at the club might feel a little dispirited to hear that he will have to do the same again. All in all the timing seems more than a little odd.
Dempsey, though, is certain to start this evening and so the question marks surround the likes of Paul Byrne, Kevin Hunt and the various players who might make up Collins's strike force.
Byrne underperformed on Sunday and then compounded matters by showing his displeasure at being substituted and, subsequently, criticising his manager to one of the papers. Collins says that he has received an apology and that on that basis he has no problem with starting the Dubliner in this game.
The difficulty with Hunt is the ankle injury he picked up in a collision with Robbie Brunton but while Collins says the midfielder is "very doubtful" for the replay the Englishman might well make a surprise return. If not then the manager intends to use a 3-5-2 formation with Garreth O'Connor again starting in the middle. If Hunt makes it then Collins must decide on how he might accommodate Byrne, O'Connor and Mark Dempsey in the one team and, if he does then Robbie Brunton might well be the one to lose out with Dempsey slipping into the left full's role and Stephen Caffrey retaining his place despite a poor performance on Sunday.
Up front Derek Swan might just have blown his chance in the first game with the striker not making the most of the opportunities that came his way during the first half. Collins says that any two from him, Glen Crowe, Ray Kelly and Jamie Harris might start and Swan may have to settle this time around for replacing either Crowe or Kelly at some point.
Whatever he does, Collins has to hope that his players take their chances this time. During training this week the squad have all practised their spot kicks but there were enough chances for either side to wrap this up at the first attempt and so if Bohemians fail to take theirs they'll be lucky to get as far as a penalty shoot out second time around.
SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Scully, McCarthy, D Geoghegan; R Baker, Doolin, Fenlon, Keddy; D Baker, S Geoghegan.
BOHEMIANS (possible): Dempsey; T O'Connor, Maher, John, Dempsey; Byrne, Hunt, Caffrey, G O'Connor; Crowe, Kelly.
The Republic of Ireland under-17s drew 0-0 with Hungary in their final game of the friendly international tournament in Slovakia yesterday. The Irish finish their group matches with two draws and one defeat and return home while Israel, who beat Pete Mahon's side 3-1 on Monday, progress to the semi-finals.
