2021 Nicky Rackard Cup

2021 Nicky Rackard Cup

Dates	26 June – 31 July 2021
Teams	5
Champions	Mayo (2nd title) Keith Higgins (captain) Derek Walsh (manager)
Runners-up	Tyrone Damian Casey (captain) Michael McShane (manager)
Relegated	Leitrim
Tournament statistics
Matches played	8
Goals scored	27 (3.38 per match)
Points scored	305 (38.13 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Declan Coulter (1-34)
← 2020 (Previous) (Next) 2022 →

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.

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

• Longford
• Monaghan

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	Mayo	2	2	0	0	2-43	0-26	+23	4	Advance to Semi-Finals
2	Donegal	2	1	0	1	1-47	6-24	+5	2
3	Leitrim	2	0	0	2	4-19	1-56	-28	0	Advance to Quarter-Finals

Group A round 1

Donegal v Mayo

26 June 2021Round 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

Mayo v Leitrim

3 July 2021Round 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

Leitrim v Donegal

10 July 2021Round 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	Tyrone	1	1	0	0	1-18	1-16	+2	2	Advance to Semi-Finals
2	Armagh	1	0	0	1	1-16	1-18	-2	0	Advance to Quarter-Finals

Group B round 1

Armagh v Tyrone

3 July 2021Round 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

Armagh v Leitrim

17 July 2021Quarter-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

Mayo v Armagh

24 July 2021Semi-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)

Tyrone v Donegal

24 July 2021Semi-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

Mayo v Tyrone

31 July 2021Final	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.
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".