2014 Nicky Rackard Cup Explained

2014 Nicky Rackard Cup
Dates:	26 April – 7 June 2014
Teams:	7
Champions:	Tyrone
Count:	1
Runners-Up:	Fingal
Matches:	12
Previous Year:	2013
Previous Tournament:	2013 Nicky Rackard Cup
Next Year:	2015
Next Tournament:	2015 Nicky Rackard Cup

The 2014 Nicky Rackard Cup is the tenth staging of the Nicky Rackard Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. The cup competition began on 26 April 2014 and will end on 14 June 2014.

Donegal were the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the semi-final stages. Tyrone won the title after defeating Fingal by 1-17 to 1-16 in the final.^{[1] [2] [3]} Longford defeated Sligo in the relegation/promotion playoff to earn promotion to the 2015 Nicky Rackard Cup with Sligo dropping down to the Lory Meagher Cup.

Structure

Seven teams compete. Two play in the preliminary round, and five go straight into Round 1.

• The preliminary round winners advance to Round 1. The preliminary round losers go into Qualifier Round 1.
• The Round 1 winners advance to the semi-finals. The Round 1 losers go into Qualifier Round 1.
• There are four teams in Qualifier Round 1. The two winners advance to Qualifier Round 2. The Qualifier Round 1 losers go into a relegation playoff.
• The winners of Qualifier Round 2 advance to the semi-finals.
• There are four semi-finalists — the three Round 1 winners and the Qualifier Round 2 winner.
• The semi-final winners advance to the final.
• The final winners receive the Nicky Rackard Cup and are promoted to the Christy Ring Cup for 2015.
• The Qualifier Round 1 losers play a relegation playoff. The losing team play a promotion/relegation playoff against the bottom-ranked team from the 2014 Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 4).

Fixtures/results

Promotion play-off

Championship statistics

Scoring

• Widest winning margin:
  • • Most goals in a match:
    • Most points in a match:
    • Most goals by one team in a match:
    • Highest aggregate score:
    • Lowest aggregate score:
    • Most goals scored by a losing team:

Scoring statistics

Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Damian Casey	Tyrone	0-13	13	Sligo
2	Conor Boyle	Monaghan	0-11	11	Donegal
3	Ciarán Matthewson	Donegal	1-7	10	Louth
4	David Mahony	Louth	2-3	9	Sligo
Seán McVeigh	Donegal	2-3	9	Louth
Keith Raymond	Sligo	0-9	9	Monaghan
7	Kevin Campbell	Donegal	0-8	8	Roscommon
Damian Casey	Tyrone	0-8	8	Roscommon
Robbie Fallon	Roscommon	0-8	8	Donegal
Gary Cadden	Sligo	0-8	8	Tyrone
Diarmuid Murphy	Louth	0-8	8	Donegal

External links

• GAA fixtures 2014

Notes and References

1. News: Donegal hurlers win the Nicky Rackard cup. Donegal Now. 8 June 2013. 8 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140504204708/http://www.donegalnow.com/sp/article_manager/detail/donegal_hurlers_win_the_nicky_rackard_cup. 4 May 2014. dead.
2. Web site: Tyrone 1-17 Fingal 1-16. 7 June 2014 . RTE Sport. 15 October 2014.
3. Web site: Inspirational Casey helps repel Fingal fightback as Tyrone lift first title. 7 June 2014 . Irish Independent. 15 October 2014.