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.
| Dates | 26 June – 31 July 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 5 | ||
| Champions |  Mayo (2nd title)Keith Higgins (captain) Derek Walsh (manager) | ||
| Runners-up |  TyroneDamian 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) | ||
| |||
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
editTo Championship
editRelegated from the Christy Ring Cup
- None
Promoted from the Lory Meagher Cup
- None
From Championship
editPromoted to the Christy Ring Cup
- None
Relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup
Competition format
editCup format
editThe 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
editThe winner of the final will be promoted to the Christy Ring Cup.
Relegation
editThe loser of the quarter-final will be relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup
Group stage
editGroup A
editPos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification 1 
Mayo2 2 0 0 2-43 0-26 +23 4 Advance to Semi-Finals 2 
Donegal2 1 0 1 1-47 6-24 +5 2 3 Leitrim2 0 0 2 4-19 1-56 -28 0 Advance to Quarter-Finals
Group A round 1
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
editPos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification 1 
Tyrone1 1 0 0 1-18 1-16 +2 2 Advance to Semi-Finals 2 
Armagh1 0 0 1 1-16 1-18 -2 0 Advance to Quarter-Finals
Group B round 1
edit| 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
editBracket
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
editTop scorers
edit- 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
edit- ^ 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) - ^ 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.
- ^ "Draws announced for McDonagh, Ring, Rackard, and Meagher Cups".