2009 Nicky Rackard Cup

The '''2009 Nicky Rackard Cup''' is the 5th annual third-tier [[hurling]] competition organised by the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]]. Seven [[GAA county|county]] teams and one regional team participate in the competition. The teams are [[Dublin GAA|Fingal]], [[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]], [[Louth GAA|Louth]], [[Sligo GAA|Sligo]], [[Meath GAA|Meath]], [[London GAA|London]], [[Armagh GAA|Armagh]] and [[Roscommon GAA|Roscommon]].

{{Infobox hurling championship|name=2009 Nicky Rackard Cup|image=|imagesize=|caption=|dates=6 June – 11 July, 2009|teams=8|champions=[[Meath GAA|Meath]]|count=1|champions captain=|champions manager=|runners-up=[[London GAA|London]]|runners-up captain=|runners-up manager=|matches=|goals=|points=|relegated=[[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]]|top scorer=|previous year=2008|previous tournament=2008 Nicky Rackard Cup|next year=2010|next tournament=2010 Nicky Rackard Cup}}

The winners of the competition were promoted to the [[2010 Christy Ring Cup]].

On 11 July, [[Meath GAA|Meath]] won the cup with a 2-18 to 1-15 win over [[London GAA|London]] at [[Croke Park]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0711/meath_nickyrackardfinal.html|title=Meath win Nicky Rackard Cup|date=2009-07-11|work=RTÉ Sport|accessdate=2009-07-11}}</ref>

==Team changes==

=== To Championship === Relegated from the [[Christy Ring Cup]]

* [[Armagh county hurling team|Armagh]] * [[London county hurling team|London]] * [[Meath county hurling team|Meath]] * [[Roscommon county hurling team|Roscommon]]

=== From Championship === Relegated to the [[Lory Meagher Cup]]

==Format==

=== New structure === The tournament has a [[double elimination]] format - each team will play at least two games before being knocked out. *The eight teams play four '''Round 1''' matches. **The winners in Round 1 advance to Round 2A. **The losers in Round 1 go into Round 2B. *There are two '''Round 2A''' matches. **The winners in Round 2A advance to the semi-finals. **The losers in Round 2A go into the quarter-finals. *There are two '''Round 2B''' matches. **The winners in Round 2B advance to the quarter-finals. **The losers in Round 2B go into the relegation playoff. ***The losers of the relegation playoff are relegated to the [[Lory Meagher Cup 2010]]. *There are two '''quarter-final''' matches between the Round 2A losers and Round 2B winners. **The winners of the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals. **The losers of the quarter-finals are eliminated. *There are two '''semi-final''' matches between the Round 2A winners and the quarter-final winners. **The winners of the semi-finals advance to the final. **The losers of the semi-finals are eliminated. *The winners of the '''final''' win the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2009. ==Results== === Round 1 === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |June 6 |[[Athleague]] |[[File:Colours_of_Roscommon.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Roscommon GAA|'''Roscommon''']] |1-11 |[[File:Colours_of_Fingal.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Fingal GAA|Fingal]] |1-08 |- |June 6 |Sligo |[[File:Colours_of_Sligo.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Sligo GAA|Sligo]] |0-10 |[[File:Colours_of_Meath.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Meath GAA|'''Meath''']] |1-23 |- |June 6 |Armagh |[[File:Colours_of_Armagh.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Armagh GAA|Armagh]] |0-12 |[[File:Colours_of_London.svg|border|20x20px]] [[London GAA|'''London''']] |1-19 |- |June 6 |Dundalk |[[File:Colours_of_Louth.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Louth GAA|'''Louth''']] |1-12 |[[File:Colours_of_Monaghan.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]] |1-08 |}

=== Round 2A === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |June 13 |Ruislip |[[File:Colours_of_London.svg|border|20x20px]] [[London GAA|'''London''']] |1-22 |[[File:Colours_of_Roscommon.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Roscommon GAA|Roscommon]] |1-11 |- |June 13 |Navan |[[File:Colours_of_Meath.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Meath GAA|'''Meath''']] |1-26 |[[File:Colours_of_Louth.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Louth GAA|Louth]] |0-10 |} === Round 2B === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |June 13 |Sligo |[[File:Colours_of_Sligo.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Sligo GAA|Sligo]] |0-05 |[[File:Colours_of_Armagh.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Armagh GAA|'''Armagh''']] |3-19 |- |June 13 |Clones |[[File:Colours_of_Monaghan.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]] |2-13 |[[File:Colours_of_Fingal.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Fingal GAA|'''Fingal''']] |1-18 |}

===Relegation play-off=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Date ! Venue ! Team ! Score ! Team ! Score |- align="center" | June 20 | [[Ballinamore]] | '''[[Sligo GAA|Sligo]]''' | 3-14 | [[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]] | 2-9 |}

[[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan]] were relegated to the [[Lory Meagher Cup 2010]].

=== Quarter-finals === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |June 20 |Armagh |[[File:Colours_of_Armagh.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Armagh GAA|'''Armagh''']] |6-26 |[[File:Colours_of_Roscommon.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Roscommon GAA|Roscommon]] |2-09 |- |June 20 |Swords |[[File:Colours_of_Fingal.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Fingal GAA|'''Fingal''']] |0-16 |[[File:Colours_of_Louth.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Louth GAA|Louth]] |1-11 |}

=== Semi-finals === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |June 27 |Ruislip |[[File:Colours_of_London.svg|border|20x20px]] [[London GAA|'''London''']] |1-19 |[[File:Colours_of_Fingal.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Fingal GAA|Fingal]] |2-08 |- |June 27 |Navan |[[File:Colours_of_Meath.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Meath GAA|'''Meath''']] |0-21 |[[File:Colours_of_Armagh.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Armagh GAA|Armagh]] |1-14 |}

=== Final === {| class="wikitable" !Date !Venue !Team !Score !Team !Score |- |July 11 |Croke Park |[[File:Colours_of_London.svg|border|20x20px]] [[London GAA|London]] |1-15 |[[File:Colours_of_Meath.svg|border|20x20px]] [[Meath GAA|'''Meath''']] |2-18 |}

==Stadia and locations== {{Main|List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums}}

==See also==

* [[2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship]] * [[2009 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship]] * [[2009 Christy Ring Cup]] (Tier 2) * [[2009 Lory Meagher Cup]] (Tier 4)

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:2009 in hurling|Nicky Rackard Cup]] [[Category:Nicky Rackard Cup]]