Saturday, June 4

Nicky Rackard Cup Final**

Armagh v Mayo, Croke Park, 3.30pm

By Colm Shalvey

Having dropped out of the Christy Ring Cup last summer just a year after reaching a semi-final, Mayo have impressed en route to their first appearance in this final, defeating three Ulster opponents in the shape of Tyrone, Armagh and Donegal. Armagh beat Donegal in the first round and although they then lost to Saturday’s opponents, wins over Longford and Fingal have got them to this occasion for the fifth time.

Mayo’s 5-59 in three outings works gives them an average score of almost 25 points, with their 3-39 conceded working out at just 1-13 per game. Armagh have an average winning margin of five points, having scored 9-68 in four matches (23.75) while conceding 6-57 (18.75).

Armagh’s record in their previous finals reads won two and lost two, with their wins in 2010 and 2012 being sandwiched by defeats against Connacht opposition from Roscommon, who edged them out in 2007 and repeated the trick in a dramatic finish 12 months ago. Armagh already have one trophy this year, having won the Allianz Hurling League Division 2B title, defeating Mayo in the group stage on the way.

Both teams contain one of the most consistent free-takers at this level, as Ryan Gaffney has 0-78 to his name in ten league and championship games for Armagh this year, while Kenny Feeney has hit 3-61 in just eight outings for Mayo.

Conor Corvan has also been in prolific form for Armagh, hitting 8-28 from play in 2016, with Declan Coulter, Cathal Carvill and Stephen Renaghan other key players. Mayo will hope that Feeney will receive good support from the likes of dual star Keith Higgins, Eoghan Collins (cousin of Clare’s Podge Collins), Cathal Freeman, Seán Regan and Ger and Joe McManus, who play their club hurling in Dublin with St. Jude’s.

**Armagh Nicky Rackard Cup scorers 2016: **Conor Corvan 5-14; Ryan Gaffney 0-25 (16f, 2 ‘65s); Declan Coulter 2-6; Stephen Renaghan, Cathal Carvill 1-4 each; Peter McKearney 0-6; David Carvill 0-4; Eoin McGuinness 0-2; Odhrán Curry (f), Nathan Curry (f), John Corvan 0-1 each.

**Mayo Nicky Rackard Cup scorers 2016: **Kenny Feeney 2-21 (0-12f, 0-1 ‘65); Joe McManus 2-6; Shane Boland 1-5; Cathal Freeman 0-8; Seán Regan 0-7; Kieran McDermott 0-4; Corey Scahill 0-3; Keith Higgins, Darren McTigue 0-2 each; Fergal Boland 0-1

Nicky Rackard Cup top scorers 2016:

Damian Casey (Tyrone) 2-40

Conor Corvan (Armagh) 5-14

John Matthew Sheridan (Fingal)1-25

Joe O’Brien (Longford) 2-22

Seán Corrigan (Fermanagh) 2-22

Lee Henderson (Donegal) 1-25

**Tyrone star Damian Casey is the Nicky Rackard Cup top scorer for the third year in a row after hitting 2-40 in just three games for a hugely impressive average score of over 15 points. There is a big gap back to Armagh’s Conor Corvan, while a four-way tie for third place features John Matthew Sheridan of Fingal, Joe O’Brien from Longford, Seán Corrigan (Fermanagh) and Donegal’s Lee Henderson. Kenny Feeney and Ryan Gaffney are just a few points further back.           

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Lory Meagher Cup Final

Louth v Sligo, Croke Park, 1.30pm

Saturday’s schedule of hurling finals at Croke Park gets underway with the Lory Meagher Cup decider between Louth and Sligo.

Louth were relegated from the Nicky Rackard Cup for the first time last year, losing a play-off to Longford after extra-time, but they have recovered well. Having had a decent campaign in the Allianz Hurling League Division 3A, Louth went through the Lory Meagher group stage with a 100% record, thanks to wins over Sligo, Warwickshire, Lancashire and Leitrim. Despite winning just one game in Division 3B, Sligo have fared much better in the Championship, with three wins from four seeing them finish the group in second place. They recovered from losing that opener against their final opponents to beat Warwickshire, Lancashire and Leitrim.

Louth have hit 6-67 so far (21.25 points per game), while Sligo better that with 6-80, giving them an average score of 24.5 points. Louth have conceded less though – 4-43 or an average of 14.75 to Sligo’s 5-53, which works out at 17 points.

Louth are attempting to finally claim silverware in their fifth appearance at Croke Park since these championships began, as they lost four Nicky Rackard finals between 2005 and 2012. 2008 Nicky Rackard winners Sligo lost to Fermanagh in this fixture last year.

Diarmuid Murphy has led the way on the scoring front for Louth, while Liam Dwan has returned to add to their potency up front. Gerard Smyth, Shane Callan and Roger Maher should also help backbone the Wee County’s challenge. Keith Raymond has been in prolific form for Sligo, with the likes of Seán Kenny, Cormac Behan and Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch also chipping in.

Louth Lory Meagher Cup scorers 2016: Diarmuid Murphy 1-31 (0-17f, 0-3 ‘65s); Liam Dwan 0-10 (6f); Gerard Smyth 1-5; Andrew McCrave 1-3; Paddy Lynch 0-5; Nigel Stanley, Andrew Mackin 1-2 each; Shane Callan 0-4; Seaghan Connelly 1-0; Mike Lyons, David Kettle, Roger Maher, Mark Wallace Darren O’Hanrahan 0-1 each.

Sligo Lory Meagher Cup scorers 2016: Keith Raymond 1-40 (0-27f, 0-3 ‘65s); Seán Kenny 0-14 (2f); Cormac Behan 0-9 (4f); Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch 2-2; Brian O’Loughlin 0-6; Kevin Gilmartin 1-3; Ronan Cox 0-5; Matthew Davey 1-1; Michael Gilmartin 1-0; Liam Reidy 0-1.

Lory Meagher Cup top scorers 2016:

Keith Raymond (Sligo) 1-40

Diarmuid Murphy (Louth) 1-31

Pauric Crehan (Warwickshire) 2-16

Patrick Duggan (Lancashire) 0-22

Clement Cunniffe (Leitrim) 0-21

**Sligo’s leading light Keith Raymond is the Lory Meagher Cup top scorer, nine points clear of Louth’s Diarmuid Murphy, who in turn is well ahead of the leading marksman from each of the three teams who missed out on qualifying for Saturday’s final.