2018 Joe McDonagh Cup

2018 Joe McDonagh Cup
Dates	5 May 2018 - 1 July 2018
Teams	6
Champions	Carlow (1st title); Colm Bonnar (manager)
Runners-up	Westmeath; Tommy Doyle (captain); Michael Ryan (manager)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	50 (2.94 per match)
Points scored	661 (38.88 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Neil McManus (3-67)
	(Next) 2019 →

The 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup was the inaugural staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association.^[1]^[2] The fixtures were announced on 13 April 2018. The competition began on 5 May 2018.

On 1 July 2018, Carlow won the title following a 2-26 to 1-24 defeat of Westmeath in the final. This was their second successive promotion within the various tiers of hurling, as they were also the 2017 Christy Ring Cup champions.

Meath were relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup after losing all of their group stage games.

Antrim's Neil McManus was the competition's top scorer with 3-67.

Teams

A total of six teams compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup, with representatives from Leinster (4), Munster (1) and Ulster (1). As 2018 was the inaugural year, four of the teams ( Kerry, Laois, Meath and Westmeath) previously played in the qualifier group of the 2017 Leinster Championship (tier 1) and two teams (Antrim and Carlow) were the finalists in the 2017 Christy Ring Cup (then tier 2, re-classified as tier 3 for 2018).

Team	Sponsor	Captain	Manager(s)	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Antrim	Creagh Concrete	Neil McManus	Dominic McKinley Terence McNaughton	Ballycastle	Páirc Mac Uílín	7003490000000000000♠4,900
Carlow	IT Carlow	Richard Coady	Colm Bonnar	Carlow	Dr. Cullen Park	7004210000000000000♠21,000
Kerry	Kerry Group	Pádraig Boyle	Fintan O'Connor	Tralee	Austin Stack Park	7004120000000000000♠12,000
Laois	MW Hire Services	Ross King	Éamonn Kelly	Portlaoise	O'Moore Park	7004270000000000000♠27,000
Meath	Uniflu	James Kelly	Nick Fitzgerald	Trim	St. Loman's Park
Westmeath	Renault	Tommy Doyle	Michael Ryan	Mullingar	Cusack Park	7004110000000000000♠11,000

Format

All six teams compete in an initial round-robin of five rounds where teams play each other once. The top two teams after the round robin stage play the third-placed teams in the Leinster and Munster championships in the two All-Ireland preliminary quarter finals with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.

The top two teams also compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. If the winner is a non-Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Championship. If the winner is a Munster team, in effect Kerry, they must win a play-off with the bottom-placed team in the Munster Championship to gain promotion to the following year's Munster Championship.

In order to reduce the number of teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup to five in 2019, the bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup are automatically relegated to the following year's Christy Ring Cup and will not be replaced. The team that finishes second last in the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup plays off against the 2018 Christy Ring Cup champions. The winner of that game plays in the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2019 and the losing team plays in the 2019 Christy Ring Cup.

Group Stage

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts
1	Carlow (Q) (P)	5	4	1	122	102	20	8
2	Westmeath (Q)	5	4	1	130	115	15	8
3	Kerry	5	3	2	105	97	8	6
4	Laois	5	2	3	118	123	-5	4
5	Antrim (Playoff)	5	2	3	130	116	14	4
6	Meath (R)	5	0	5	94	146	-52	0

Rounds 1 to 5

Round 1

5 May 2018 Round 1	Meath	2-18 - 5-25	Antrim	Páirc Tailteann, Navan
3:00 pm	J Regan (0-12, 0-8 f, 0-2 '65'), G McGowan (1-2), A Douglas (1-1), C McCabe, P Conneely, S Quigley (0-1 each).	Report	N Elliott (3-2), C Johnston (2-4 ,1-0 penalty), N McManus (0-8, 0-6f), S McCrory (0-3), J Maskey and D McKinley (0-2 each), C Carson, M Armstrong, E Campbell and C McCann (0-1 each).	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

5 May 2018 Round 1	Laois	1-21 - 2-21	Westmeath	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
3:00 pm	R King (0-10, 0-09 frees 0-01 ‘65), N Foyle (1-02), C Dwyer (0-04), B Conroy, A Corby, P Purcell, W Dunphy, S Maher (0-01 each).	Report	N O’Brien (0-07, 0-04 frees), R Greville (1-03), N Mitchell (1-00), C Boyle, J Boyle (0-03 each), E Price, C Doyle (0-02 each), D McNicholas (0-01, free).	Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)

6 May 2018 Round 1	Carlow	0-21 - 0-18	Kerry	Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
2:00 pm	D Murphy 0-6 (5f), E Byrne 0-4, J Doyle 0-3, K McDonald 0-2, D English (f), C Nolan, P Coady, D Byrne, R Smithers, J Kavanagh 0-1 each. Kerry:	Report	P Boyle 0-7 (1f), S Conway 0-6 (f), J Goulding 0-4, C Harty 0-1.	Referee: J Heffernan (Wexford)

Round 2

12 May 2018 Round 2	Antrim	2-16 - 0-19	Carlow	Corrigan Park, Belfast
	N McManus 1-8 (7f), N Elliott 1-2, C Johnston 0-2 (1f), J Maskey, E Campbell, M Armstrong, and E McCloskey 0-1 each.	Report	D Murphy 0-11 (8f), JM Nolan (1s/l), J Doyle, C Nolan and C Foley 0-2 each.	Referee: J O'Brien (Laois)

13 May 2018 Round 2	Westmeath	4-24 - 2-17	Meath	Cusack Park, Mullingar
	A Devine 2-2 (0-2fs), A Clarke 0-7, E Price, N O'Brien (2fs) 0-5 each, R Greville 1-1, C Doyle 0-3, N Mitchell 1-0, D McNicholas 0-1.	Report	J Regan 1-2 (0-2fs), A Douglas 1-1, P Conneely (1f), J Kelly, D Kelly (2fs) 0-3 each, C McCabe, M O'Sullivan 0-2 each, S Quigley 0-1.	Referee: C Cunning (Antrim)

13 May 2018 Round 2	Kerry	3-20 - 0-19	Laois	Austin Stack Park, Tralee
	S Conway 0-09 (0-07f), J Goulding 1-02 (0-1 s/l), S Nolan 1-02, B O’Leary 1-00, S Weir 0-02, B Murphy 0-01, B Barrett 0-01, D Griffin 0-01, B O'Mahony 0-01, M O'Connor 0-01.	Report	R King 0-08 (0-06f, 0-02 '65'), B Conroy 0-05, W Dunphy 0-01, S Maher 0-01, P Purcell 0-01, C Taylor 0-01, C Dwyer 0-01, PJ Scully 0-01.	Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)

Round 3

19 May 2018 Round 3	Carlow	0-21 - 1-14	Meath	Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
	D Murphy 0-8 (8fs), C Nolan 0-6 (1f), J Doyle 0-3, P Coady, E Byrne, R Kelly and D English (1f) 0-1 each.	Report	P Conneely 1-7 (6fs), G McGowan 0-3, A Gannon 0-2, A Douglas and S Brennan 0-1 each.	Referee: J Keane (Galway)

19 May 2018 Round 3	Antrim	1-19 - 1-20	Laois	Pearse Park, Dunloy
	N McManus 0-11 (9 fs, 1 65), C Johnston 0-3, C Clarke 1-0, E McCloskey 0-1, N Elliott 0-1, J McNaughton 0-1, D McKinley 0-1, C McCann 0-1.	Report	R King 0-11 (10 frees), B Conroy 0-4, W Dunphy 1-1, P Purcell 0-2, C Dwyer 0-1, A Corby 0-1.	Referee: J Heffernan (Wexford)

20 May 2018 Round 3	Kerry	0-15 - 2-12	Westmeath	Austin Stack Park, Tralee
	D Griffin, P Boyle and S Conway (2f) 0-3 each, B O'Mahony 0-2, J O'Connor, S Nolan, J Goulding and J Conway 0-1 each.	Report	A Devine 0-7 (6f), N O'Brien 1-2, D Clinton 1-0, J Boyle, C Boyle, and A Clarke 0-1 each. Kerry:	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Round 4

2 June 2018 Round 4	Meath	0-16 - 0-18	Kerry	Páirc Tailteann, Navan
	P Conneely (0-7 three frees), J Keena (0-2), K Keoghan (0-2), A Gannon (0-2), J Kelly (0-1), J Regan (0-1), S Brennan (0-1).	Report	S Conway (0-6 two frees, two '65s'), P Boyle (0-4), M Stackpoole (0-1 free), B Murphy (0-1), B Barrett (0-2), D Collins (0-1), B O'Leary (0-1), M Boyle (0-1), J Goulding (0-1).	Referee: S Hynes (Galway)

2 June 2018 Round 4	Laois	2-15 - 2-25	Carlow	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
	S Maher 0-8 (five frees, three 65s), R Mullaney 1-3, E Rowland 1-0 (1-0 pen), N Foyle, C Taylor, W Dunphy and M Kavanagh 0-1 each.	Report	JM Nolan 0-6 (one sideline), D Murphy (all frees) and C Nolan 0-5 each, D Byrne and E Byrne 1-1 each, P Coady 0-3, J Doyle 0-1 and K McDonald 0-1 each.

2 June 2018 Round 4	Westmeath	2-19 - 1-20	Antrim	TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar
	A Devine 0-7 (3fs, 365s), C Doyle and N O’Brien 1-2 each, N Mitchell 0-3, L Varley 0-2, P Greville, A Clarke, R Greville 0-1 each.	Report	N McManus 0-13 (7fs), K Molloy 1-0, C McCann 0-2, P Burke, J Dillon, N Elliott, E Campbell, and C Johnston 0-1 each.	Referee: R McGann (Clare)

Round 5

9 June 2018 Round 5	Meath	0-14 - 3-23	Laois	Páirc Tailteann, Navan
	J Kelly 0-4, P Conneely 0-4 (2fs), J Regan 0-3 (1f), J Toher 0-1, C McCabe 0-1, S Morris 0-1.	Report	B Conroy 1-5, C Dwyer 1-3, R King 0-6 (3fs, 265s), P Purcell 1-2, W Dunphy 0-2, S Maher 0-2 (1f), N Foyle 0-1, R Mullaney 0-1, E Lyons 0-1.	Referee: P Burke (Kilkenny)

9 June 2018 Round 5	Carlow	3-21 - 1-21	Westmeath	Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow
	D Murphy 0-10 (5f, 1 “65”), J Doyle 3-1 (1 “pen”), C Nolan 0-3, J Kavanagh and P Coady 0-2 each, E Byrne, JM Nolan and B Tracey (1f) 0-1 each.	Report	N O’Brien 0-6 (4f), A Clarke 0-4, S Clavin 0-3, N Mitchell 1-0, J Boyle, E Price and D Clinton 0-2 each, P Greville and J Gilligan 0-1 each.	Referee: C Cunning (Antrim)

9 June 2018 Round 5	Antrim	1-20 - 2-21	Kerry	Páirc Mhuire, Cushendall
	N McManus 0-17 (10 fs, 1 65), C Clarke 1-0, C McCann 0-1, D McKinley 0-1, C Johnston 0-1.		S Conway 0-12 (11 fs, 1 65), M Boyle 1-2, J Goulding 1-1, P Boyle 0-2, D Griffin 0-1, B O'Leary 0-1, B Barrett 0-1, T O'Connor 0-1.	Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)

Final

1 July 20181:45 pm

Final

Westmeath	1-24 - 2-26	Carlow
A Devine 0-8f, E Price 0-6, A Clarke 0-3, N O’Brien 1-1, R Greville 0-2, D McNicholas 0-2 (1f), D Clinton 0-1, N Mitchell 0-1.	Report	D Murphy 0-10 (9f, 1’ 45), C Nolan 1-4, P Coady 0-4, J Doyle 1-1, JM Nolan 0-3, E Byrne 0-2, K McDonald 0-1, D Byrne 0-1.

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Relegation/Promotion play-off

The bottom team after the round robin games, Meath, were relegated to the 2019 Christy Ring Cup.

The second-last team in the Joe McDonagh Cup (tier 2), Antrim, defeated Kildare, the winners of the 2018 Christy Ring Cup final (tier 3) and thereby retained their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

30 June 2018

Relegation/Promotion

Antrim	3-23 - 1-17	Kildare
N McManus 2-10 (6f, one ’65′); K Molloy 0-6; C McCann 1-1; N Elliott 0-2; R McCambridge, E O’Neill, E McCloskey and J Dillon 0-1 each.	Report	P Divilly 1-6 (2f); J Burke 0-6 (5f); B Deay 0-2; C Bonus, K Whelan and É O'Neill 0-1 each.

Athletic Grounds

Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Neil McManus	Antrim	3-67	76	6	12.66
2	Denis Murphy	Carlow	0-50	50	6	8.33
3	Shane Conway	Kerry	0-36	36	5	7.20
4	Ross King	Laois	0-35	35	4	8.75
5	Niall O'Brien	Westmeath	3-23	32	6	5.33
6	Allan Devine	Westmeath	2-24	30	5	6.00
7	Patrick Conneely	Meath	1-22	25	5	5.00
8	Chris Nolan	Carlow	1-21	24	6	4.00
9	James Doyle	Carlow	4-11	23	6	3.83
10	Jack Regan	Meath	1-18	21	5	4.20

In a single game

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Neil McManus	Antrim	0-17	17	Kerry
2	Neil McManus	Antrim	0-13	13	Westmeath
3	Shane Conway	Kerry	0-12	12	Antrim
3	Jack Regan	Meath	0-12	12	Antrim
4	Nigel Elliott	Antrim	3-02	11	Meath
	Neil McManus	Antrim	1-08	11	Carlow
	Denis Murphy	Carlow	0-11	11	Antrim
	Neil McManus	Antrim	0-11	11	Laois
	Ross King	Laois	0-11	11	Antrim
5	Conor Johnston	Antrim	2-04	10	Meath
	Patrick Conneely	Meath	1-07	10	Carlow
	Ross King	Laois	0-10	10	Westmeath
	Denis Murphy	Carlow	0-10	10	Westmeath
	Denis Murphy	Carlow	0-10	10	Westmeath

Miscellaneous

Westmeath's round 1 victory over Laois is their first win against the O'Moore county in championship hurling since 1968.

References

↑ Moran, Seán (30 September 2017). "GAA Congress approve round-robin provincial hurling championships". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
↑ "Hurling changes will benefit Tier 2 counties, says Westmeath boss". RTÉ News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Moran, Seán (30 September 2017). "GAA Congress approve round-robin provincial hurling championships". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

[2] "Hurling changes will benefit Tier 2 counties, says Westmeath boss". RTÉ News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.

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