2021 Nicky Rackard Cup

The 2021 Nicky Rackard Cup was the 17th staging of the Nicky Rackard Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. The cup began on 26 June 2021 and ended on 31 July 2021.

2021 Nicky Rackard Cup
Dates26 June – 31 July 2021
Teams5
Champions Mayo (2nd title)
Keith Higgins (captain)
Derek Walsh (manager)
Runners-up Tyrone
Damian Casey (captain)
Michael McShane (manager)
Relegated Leitrim
Tournament statistics
Matches played8
Goals scored27 (3.38 per match)
Points scored305 (38.13 per match)
Top scorer(s) Declan Coulter (1-34)
← 2020 (Previous) (Next) 2022 →

Longford and Monaghan did not participate in the competition after being relegated in 2020. Donegal were the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Tyrone in the semi-final.[1] Leitrim were relegated after a defeat by Armagh.

The final was played on 31 July 2021 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Mayo and Tyrone, in what was their first ever meeting in a final. Mayo won the match by 2-27 to 1-14 to claim their second cup title overall and a first title since 2016.[2]

Donegal's Declan Coulter was the Nicky Rackard Cup's top scorer with 1-34.

Team changes

To Championship

Relegated from the Christy Ring Cup

  • None

Promoted from the Lory Meagher Cup

  • None

From Championship

Promoted to the Christy Ring Cup

  • None

Relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup

Competition Format

Cup format

The format has been changed for 2021 with 5 teams playing across two groups, one with 3 teams and one with 2 teams based on an open draw.[3]

Group A will feature 3 teams and be played in a single Round Robin format with each team having one home game and one away game.

Group B will feature 2 teams who will play a single fixture.

All teams will play a knockout format after this group stage, with the group winners and second-placed team in Group A being placed in the semi-finals. A tie between the third-placed team in Group A and second-placed team in Group B will determine the fourth semi-finalist.

Promotion

The winner of the final will be promoted to the Christy Ring Cup.

Relegation

The loser of the quarter-final will be relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup

Group stage

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Mayo22002-430-26+234 Advance to Semi-Finals
2 Donegal21011-476-24+52
3 Leitrim20024-191-56-280 Advance to Quarter-Finals

Group A round 1
26 June 2021 Round 1 Donegal 0-17 - 2-14 Mayo O'Donnell Park
D Coulter (0-9, 4f, 1 ’65), R Ryan (0-3); B Lafferty (0-2), S McVeigh (0-1), N Cleary (0-1), Report S Boland (0-9, 4f); K Higgins (1-3, 1f, 1 ’65), A Phillips (1-0), B Hunt (0-1), E Delaney (0-1). Referee: K Bardy (Louth)

Group A round 2
3 July 2021 Round 2 Mayo 0-29 - 0-10 Leitrim Elverys McHale Park
K Higgins 0-9, 4f, S Boland 0-6, 4f; A Phillips 0-3, J Coyne, K Kiely & Gary Nolan 0-2 each, B Hunt, S Regan, M Phillips, C Phillips & S Kenny 0-1 each Report G O’Hagan 0-7, 4f; D McGovern, K McDermott & L Donnellan (f) 0-1 each

Group A round 3
10 July 2021 Round 3 Leitrim 4-10 - 1-27 Donegal Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
D Kelleher 2-0; G O’Hagan 0-5, 3f; B Murray 1-1; J McNabola 1-0; K McDermott 0-2; C O’Donovan & L Moreton 0-1 each Report D Coulter 1-10, 1 pen, 7f, 1 65; R Ryan 0-7, 3f; G Gilmore 0-5; B Lafferty 0-3; C McDermott & J O’Loughlin 0-1 each

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Tyrone11001-181-16+22 Advance to Semi-Finals
2 Armagh10011-161-18-20 Advance to Quarter-Finals

Group B round 1
3 July 2021 Round 1 Armagh 1-16 - 1-18 Tyrone Athletic Grounds
F Donnelly 0-6, D Magee 1-2, S McKearney 0-2, P McBride 0-2, E McGuinness 0-1, J Short 0-1, T O'Neill 0-1, P McKearney 0-1. D Casey 0-10, B McGurk 1-1, L Devlin 0-2, M Little 0-2, R Weir 0-1, C Kearns 0-1, C Ferguson 0-1.

Knockout stage

Bracket
Quarter-Finals - 17 July Semi-Finals - 24 July Final - 31 July
         
1A Mayo 2-23
2B Armagh 2-09
2B Armagh 7-25
3A Leitrim 1-21
1A Mayo 2-27
1B Tyrone 1-14
1B Tyrone 2-24
2A Donegal 1-21

Quarter-final
17 July 2021 Quarter-final Armagh 7-25 - 1-21 Leitrim Kingspan Breffni Park
D Magee 5-2; F Donnelly 0-8, 3f; P McKearney & P McBride 1-2 each; T O’Neill & O Curry 0-3 each; J Shortt 0-2; M Moan, E McGuinness, S McKearney 0-1 each Report G O'Hagan 0-11, 10f; K McDermott (f) & B Murray 0-3 each, 1f; D Kelleher 1-0; J McNabola, L Moreton, L Donnellan (f) 0-1 each

Semi-finals
24 July 2021 Semi-final Mayo 2-23 - 2-09 Armagh Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
K Higgins (0-11, 10f), A Phillips (1-3), C Freeman (1-1), S Kenny (0-4, 2f), S Regan (0-2), J Coyne (0-1) and B Morley (0-1) Report F Donnelly (1-3, 0-2f), S Doherty (1-0, 1-0 pen), P McBride (0-2), D Magee (0-2), M McClatchey (0-1) and S McKearney (0-1)
24 July 2021 Semi-final Tyrone 2-24 - 1-21 Donegal Páirc Naomh Colmcille
D Casey (0-11, 10f), C Grogan (1-4), C Ferguson (1-4), L Devlin (0-3); CJ McGourty (0-2) Report D Coulter (0-15, 12f), C Matthewson (1-1), R Ryan (0-2), D Cullen (0-1), B Lafferty (0-1), G Gilmore (0-1).

Final
31 July 2021 Final Mayo 2-27 - 1-14 Tyrone Croke Park
C Freeman 1-4, K Higgins 0-7 (0-1f, 0-1 65), S Regan 1-3, S Boland 0-3 (0-2f), A Phillips 0-3, B Morley 0-2, C Phillips 0-1, S Kenny 0-1 (0-1f), J Coyne 0-1, G Nolan 0-1, O Greally 0-1. Report D Casey 0-9 (0-5f), C Grogan 1-0, C Kearns 0-3, B McGurk 0-1, T Morgan 0-1. Referee: T Fitzsimons (Offaly)

Statistics

Top scorers
Top scorer overall
Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average
1 Declan Coulter Donegal 1-34 37 3 12.33
2 Keith Higgins Mayo 1-30 33 4 8.33
3 Damian Casey Tyrone 0-30 30 3 10.00
4 Danny Magee Armagh 6-06 24 3 8.00
5 Gavin O'Hagan Leitrim 0-23 23 3 7.66
6 Shane Boland Mayo 0-18 18 3 6.00
7 Fionntán Donnelly Armagh 1-17 20 3 6.66
8 Adrian Phillips Mayo 2-09 15 4 3.75
9 Richie Ryan Donegal 0-12 12 3 4.00
10 Cathal Freeman Mayo 2-05 11 2 5.50
In a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition
1 Danny Magee Armagh 5-02 17 Leitrim
2 Declan Coulter Donegal 0-15 15 Tyrone
3 Declan Coulter Donegal 1-10 13 Leitrim
4 Gavin O'Hagan Leitrim 0-11 11 Armagh
Keith Higgins Mayo 0-11 11 Armagh
Damian Casey Tyrone 0-11 11 Donegal
7 Damian Casey Tyrone 0-10 10 Armagh
8 Declan Coulter Donegal 0-09 9 Mayo
Shane Boland Mayo 0-09 9 Donegal
Keith Higgins Mayo 0-09 9 Leitrim
Damian Casey Tyrone 0-09 9 Mayo

References
  1. Egan, Kevin (22 November 2020). "Donegal goal burst enough to secure Nicky Rackard glory" – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Keane, Paul (31 July 2021). "Keith Higgins sets aside All-Ireland agony to captain Mayo hurlers to Nicky Rackard Cup". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. "Draws announced for McDonagh, Ring, Rackard, and Meagher Cups".
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