Derry forward, Cormac O'Doherty.
The Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups reach a critical stage this weekend with the penultimate round of the groups.
Christy Ring Cup
A pivotal game in the race to qualify for the Christy Ring Cup Final sees Derry host London at Owenbeg on Saturday.
Wins over Tyrone, Sligo and Wicklow have put London on the brink of a first Christy Ring decider since 2018, but Derry remain in contention to reach Croke Park for the third time in four years. Johnny McGarvey’s side had been on an eight-game unbeaten streak, including Christy Ring victories over Wicklow and Tyrone, until losing out to Kildare in round three.
Jack Goulding, who has 2-32 to his name in three games, has been leading the scoring charts for London, with back-up from Seán Glynn, Owen Sheil and Ronan Crowley. Darragh McGilligan, Corey O’Reilly and Ruairí Ó Mianáin have been providing good support to Derry’s top scorer Cormac O’Doherty.
Kildare will be looking to extend their 100% record when they travel to Dungannon to face Tyrone.
Kildare have begun their bid for a third Christy Ring title in the space of five years with over Sligo, Wicklow and Derry. As well as their pedigree in this competition, Brian Dowling’s side are also the highest-ranked Christy Ring contender based on league positions. Tyrone lost their first two games against London and Derry, but they got off the mark at the third attempt at the expense of Sligo.
Jack Sheridan, James Burke, Cathal Dowling and Cian and Conan Boran are key men for Kildare. Aidan Kelly has been the main scoring threat this year for Tyrone, although Seán Óg Grogan weighed in with a brace of goals to see off Sligo.
Sunday sees Wicklow and Sligo put their Christy Ring status on the line in Aughrim.
Both teams need to get their first points of the campaign after losing three games in a row: Wicklow to Derry, Kildare and London; Sligo at the hands of Kildare, London and Tyrone. Sligo, who have established themselves at Christy Ring level in recent years, went close to making the top two last year, while Wicklow won the Nickey Rackard at the first attempt.
Gerard and Tony O’Kelly-Lynch and Rory McHugh will have key roles to play for Sligo, with Wicklow depending on the likes of Seánie Germaine, David Maloney and Pádraig Doran.
Donegal hurler, Liam McKinney.
Nickey Rackard Cup
All three Nickey Rackard Cup games take place on Saturday, including a top-of-the-table clash between Roscommon and Donegal.
Both teams are chasing a fourth consecutive win, which would all but seal a place in another final. Donegal have claimed three Nickey Rackard titles, while Roscommon are one of seven counties to have won it twice. Wins over Armagh, Mayo and Monaghan have Donegal top on score difference ahead of Roscommon, who have also taken full points from their games against Louth, Monaghan and Armagh.
Gerard Gilmore and Liam McKinney have been in prolific form for Donegal, who will be looking to repeat their league win over a Roscommon team spearheaded by Cian Murray, Paddy Fallon and Brendan Mulry.
Mayo and Armagh meet in Castlebar.
A big win over Louth last time out kept Mayo in contention for a quick return to the Christy Ring after they had lost to Donegal in round two. Donegal also proved too strong for Armagh, who have since been involved in back-to-back one-point games: beating Louth but falling just short against Roscommon.
Mayo will be looking to the likes of Cormac and Adrian Phillips, Liam Lavin and Shane Boland to fire them to a second win over Armagh this year – and a ninth from ten this year. Armagh have been relying on Alex O’Boyle for the bulk of their scores, with Tiarnán Nevin and Paul Gaffney anchoring their defence.
A local derby in Inniskeen could go a long way towards deciding whether Monaghan or Louth can retain Nickey Rackard status.
After ending up as the bottom two in Division 3A of the Allianz League, these teams are bidding to end losing runs that have left them searching for their first points of this campaign. After competing well with Roscommon and Armagh, Louth were well short of Mayo, while Monaghan were unable to catch Mayo, Roscommon or Donegal.
Monaghan will need players like Thomas Hughes and Niall Garland to provide support to the free-scoring Niall Arthur up front. Darren Geoghegan has racked up 2-69 this season for Louth, who will also be looking to Conor Murphy, Peter Fortune and Conor Clancy.
Fermanagh hurler, Luca McCusker.
Lory Meagher Cup
Fermanagh will aim to preserve their unbeaten record in the Lory Meagher Cup when they welcome Lancashire to Enniskillen on Saturday.
Fermanagh have lost just once this year and they have five points to their credit in the Lory Meagher, with wins v Leitrim and Warwickshire sandwiching a draw with Cavan. By stark contrast, Lancashire are searching for their first win of a challenging season; having lost to Longford, Leitrim and Cavan in recent weeks.
Seán Corrigan, Danann McKeogh, Luca McCusker, Daniel Teague have all featured prominently for Fermanagh, with a much-changed Lancashire side relying on David Lynch and Eoghan Clifford.
Cavan and Longford contest a crucial derby in the battle to make the top two.
Division 3A semi-finalists Cavan share top spot after three rounds, having beaten Warwickshire and Lancashire, either side of a draw against Fermanagh. Longford’s second-round loss to Warwickshire, after having beaten Lancashire, left them under pressure last time out, but they stayed in the hunt with a commanding performance against Leitrim.
Liam O’Brien, Nicky Kenny and Seán Keating hit a combined 19 points in Cavan’s last game, while Cian Darcy racked up 1-9 for Longford, who will also be counting on David Buckley, Reuben Murray and Cathal Mullane.
Leitrim and Warwickshire both need a win to retain any hope of staying in touch with the group leaders.
Despite beating Lancashire in the second round, defeats against Fermanagh and Longford have left Leitrim needing two wins and for other results to go their way. Division 3B winners Warwickshire are in the same boat after losing to joint-leaders Cavan and Fermanagh, either side of their win against Longford.
Kevin McKernan’s suspension is a blow to Warwickshire, who will need big performances from Jack Grealish, David Devine and Luke Hands. Joe Murray, Gavin O’Hagan and veteran keeper Clement Cunniffe are among the main men for Leitrim.
FIXTURES
Saturday May 11
Christy Ring Cup Round 4
Derry v London, Owenbeg, 1.30pm
Tyrone v Kildare, Dungannon, 2pm
Nickey Rackard Cup Round 4
Mayo v Armagh, Castlebar, 1pm
Roscommon v Donegal, Dr. Hyde Park, 1pm
Monaghan v Louth, Inniskeen, 2pm
Lory Meagher Cup Round 4
Fermanagh v Lancashire, Enniskillen, 1pm
Cavan v Longford, Kingspan Breffni, 1pm
Leitrim v Warwickshire, Drumshanbo, 3.30pm
Sunday May 12
Christy Ring Cup Round 4
Wicklow v Sligo, Aughrim, 2pm