2018 Nicky Rackard Cup Dates 12 May 2018 - 23 June 2018 Teams 9 Champions Donegal (2nd title)Mickey McCann (manager)Matches played 6 Top scorer(s) Joe O'Brien (2-24)
The 2018 Nicky Rackard Cup was the 14th staging of the Nicky Rackard Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It was the fourth tier[1] of senior inter-county hurling as of 2018.
The competition began on Saturday 12 May 2018 and ended on Saturday 23 June 2018.
Derry were the 2017 champions , beating Armagh in the final. Both teams were promoted to the 2018 Christy Ring Cup as a result of the restructuring of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Following the withdrawal of the Fingal team from the competition in 2017, there was no relegation from the 2017 competition and Warwickshire were promoted from the 2017 Lory Meagher Cup .
Format [ ]
Beginning in 2018, the Nicky Rackard Cup changed to an initial stage of two groups, which in 2018 consisted of one group of four teams and one group of three teams. Previously it was a double elimination tournament.
The top two teams from both groups advance to the knockout semi-finals. The winners of the 2018 Nicky Rackard Cup are promoted to the 2019 Christy Ring Cup. Two teams will be relegated from the 2018 Christy Ring Cup to the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup to make the 2019 completion into two groups of four teams.
The bottom teams from each group playoff in a relegation match with the losers playing in the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup. They are replaced by the winners of the 2018 Lory Meagher Cup .[2]
Group Stage [ ]
Group 1 [ ]
Group 1 Table [ ]
Team
1
Warwickshire (Q)
3
3
0
0
68
52
16
6
2
Monaghan (Q)
3
1
1
1
69
58
11
3
3
Longford
3
1
0
2
48
59
-11
2
4
Louth
3
0
1
2
49
65
-16
1
Group 1 Rounds 1 to 3 [ ]
Group 1 Round 1 [ ]
Monaghan v Longford
12 May 2018 Round 1 Monaghan 4-19 – 2-11 Longford Grattan Park , Inniskeen
E Collins 1-7, M Treanor 1-3, F Rafter 0-5 (2fs) T Campbell, B McGuigan 1-0, C Boye 0-2, A Kenny, C McNally 0-1 each.
Report
J O'Brien 2-3, C Mullane 0-4 (3fs), P Walsh 0-2, C Kavanagh 0-1.
Referee: A Ferguson (Fermanagh)
Louth v Warwickshire
12 May 2018 Round 1 Louth 1-16 – 3-19 Warwickshire Dundalk
P Lynch 0-6 (4 fs), D Kettle 1-1, R Byrne (2fs), S Callan, S Connelly 0-2 each, J Crosbie, G Smyth, D Ryan 0-1 each.
Report
N McKenna (5fs), D Nugent 0-5 each, P Hoban 0-4 (3fs), S Caulfield 1-1, G Lennon, K Magee 1-0 each, P Uniacke 0-2, J Collins, N Kennedy 0-1 each.
Referee: J Clarke (Cavan)
Group 1 Round 2 [ ]
Warwickshire v Monaghan
19 May 2018 Round 2 Warwickshire 1-21 - 3-11 Monaghan Páirc na hÉireann , Solihull
N McKenna 0-9 (5f), G Lennon 1-4, P Hoban 0-2 (1f), D Nugent 0-2, B Fallon 0-2, J Collins and S Caulfield 0-1 each.
Report
F Rafter 0-7 (2f), M Treanor 1-0, E Collins 1-1, T Campbell 1-1, C Boyle 0-3, P Finnegan 0-1.
Referee: K Brady (Louth)
Longford v Louth
19 May 2018 Round 2 Longford 0-19 - 0-12 Louth Pearse Park , Longford
J O'Brien 0-9 (5f), P Walsh 0-5, K Murray 0-2, C Mullane, C Kavanagh, D Connell 0-1 each.
Report
P Lynch 0-4, (3f, 1'65), A McCrave, M Molloy, S Connolly 0-2 each, D Ryan, J Crosbie 0-1 each.
Referee: T Gleeson (Dublin)
Group 1 Round 3 [ ]
Louth v Monaghan
2 June 2018 Round 3 Louth 0-18 - 0-18 Monaghan Dowdallshill 1:00 pm
P Lynch 0-10 (9f); R Byrne 0-3 (3f); G Smyth, D Kettle, S Connelly, S Kettle, M Molloy 0-1 each.
Report
F Rafter 0-10 (9f); M Treanor 0-2; E Collins 0-2; C Boyle, C Flynn, P Finnegan and C Power 0-1 each.
Referee: G McGrath (Wexford)
Group 2 [ ]
Group 2 Table [ ]
Team
1
Donegal (Q)
2
2
0
0
63
29
34
4
2
Tyrone (Q)
2
1
0
1
46
49
-3
2
3
Leitrim
2
0
0
2
34
65
-31
0
Group 2 Rounds 1 to 3 [ ]
Group 2 Round 1 [ ]
Tyrone v Donegal
12 May 2018 Round 1 Tyrone 1-12 – 1-26 Donegal Killyclogher 1:00 pm
D Casey 0-7 (4f, 1 '65), B McGurk 1-0, C Kearns 0-2, L Devlin, R McKernan, D Begley 0-1 each.
Report
D Coulter 0-13 (9f), D Flynn 1-5, C Matthewson 0-3, G Gilmore 0-2, R McDermott, J Donnelly, C McDermott 0-1 each.
Group 2 Round 2 [ ]
Donegal v Leitrim
19 May 2018 Round 2 Donegal 2-28 - 2-08 Leitrim O'Donnell Park , Letterkenny 1:00 pm
D Flynn (4f, 1 '65) 1-13, G Gilmore 1-4, J Boyle, K Campbell, L Henderson 0-2 each, C Matthewson, D Cullen, E McDermott, B Lafferty, C McDermott 0-1 each.
Report
C Cunniffe (4f) 1-5, B Murray 1-0, C Donovan 0-2, J Clancy 0-1.
Referee: K McGeeney (Roscommon)
Group 2 Round 3 [ ]
Leitrim v Tyrone
2 June 2018 Round 3 Leitrim 2-14 - 2-25 Tyrone Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada , Carrick 1:00 pm
C Cunniffe 0-6 (5f, '65'); C O'Donovan 0-4; C Moreton & J Glancy 1-0 (each); Z Moradi 0-2; A Duffy, J McNabola 0-1 (each).
Report
P O'Kelly 0-8; D Casey 1-4 (f); A Kelly 1-1; C Kearns, J Ferguson, J Kelly, T Morgan 0-2 each; R McKernan, B McGurk, D Begley, L Armstrong 0-1 each.
Referee: A Ferguson (Fermanagh)
Knockout Stage [ ]
Bracket [ ]
Semi-Finals
Final
1A
Warwickshire
1-25
2B
Tyrone
1-14
1A
Warwickshire
0-18
1B
Donegal
2-19
1B
Donegal
4-22
2A
Monaghan
1-10
Semi-finals [ ]
The Group 1 winners play the Group 2 runners-up and the Group 2 winners play the Group 1 runners-up.
Donegal v Monaghan
9 June 2018 Semi-final Donegal 4-22 - 1-10 Monaghan Owenbeg
Report
Cup Final [ ]
The semi-final winners met in the Nicky Rackard Cup final at Croke Park with the winners being promoted to the Christy Ring Cup for 2019.
Relegation Playoff [ ]
The bottom teams in each group - the fourth placed team in group 1 and the third placed team in group 2 - meet in a relegation playoff. The winners remain in the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2019, while the losers are relegated to the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup.
Leitrim are relegated to the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup. Louth will remain in the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup
Scoring statistics [ ]
Top scorers overall
Rank
Player
County
Tally
Total
Matches
Average
1
Davin Flynn
Donegal
4-31
43
4
10.75
1
Declan Coulter
Donegal
1-28
31
3
10.33
1
Joe O Brien
Longford
2-24
30
3
10.00
3
Niall McKenna
Warwickshire
0-23
23
3
7.66
4
Fergal Rafter
Monaghan
0-22
22
3
7.33
5
Paddy Lynch
Louth
0-20
20
3
6.66
6
Eamon Collins
Monaghan
2-10
16
3
5.33
7
Clement Cunniffe
Leitrim
1-11
14
2
7.00
Damian Casey
Tyrone
1-11
14
2
7.00
9
Gerry Gilmore
Donegal
1-11
14
4
3.5
Top scorers in a single game
Rank
Player
Club
Tally
Total
Opposition
1
Davin Flynn
Donegal
2-11
17
Monaghan
1
Davin Flynn
Donegal
1-13
16
Leitrim
2
Declan Coulter
Donegal
0-13
13
Tyrone
3
Joe O'Brien
Longford
0-12
12
Warwickshire
4
Eamon Collins
Monaghan
1-07
10
Longford
Fergal Rafter
Monaghan
0-10
10
Louth
Paddy Lynch
Louth
0-10
10
Monaghan
5
Joe O'Brien
Longford
2-03
9
Monaghan
Niall McKenna
Warwickshire
0-09
9
Monaghan
Joe O'Brien
Longford
0-09
9
Louth
Niall McKenna
Warwickshire
0-09
9
Longford
References [ ]
^ Hurling tiers - 1. All-Ireland (Liam MacCarthy Cup) 2. Joe McDonagh Cup 3. Christy Ring Cup 4. Nicky Rackard Cup 5. Lory Meagher Cup
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
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