Preview: Nicky Rackard Cup Final

Saturday, June 6

Nicky Rackard Cup Final

Armagh v Roscommon, Croke Park, 1.30pm (Live on TG4 and GAAGO)

Armagh and Roscommon get Saturday's hurling final triple-header at Croke Park underway in the Nicky Rackard Cup.

Armagh, who won the Nicky Rackard Cup in 2010 and 2012 and have the chance to become the first county to win it for a third time, competed in the Christy Ring Cup in three of the last four years and are determined to return to the second tier.

The Orchard County enjoyed a positive Allianz Hurling League campaign this spring under new manager Sylvester McConnell, beating Christy Ring teams Meath and Mayo and only missing out on a place in the final on score difference.

Roscommon lost to Donegal in a thrilling final in 2013 and they have been in the semi-finals in each of the last four years, but they haven't won this competition since beating Armagh in 2007. Justin Campbell's Roscommon side missed out on qualification in the Allianz League Division IIIA, losing to eventual finalists Tyrone and Monaghan.

The Connacht county reached an All-Ireland U-21 'B' Hurling Final in 2014, where they pushed Kildare all the way.

Both teams have taken the direct route to today's final. Armagh have beaten neighbours Louth and Tyrone and another Ulster side, Donegal, in the last four, while Roscommon saw off Fingal and Monaghan to set up a third consecutive semi-final against Tyrone, where they dethroned the holders.

Armagh, with 15 players on the scoresheet, have hit 6-52 in three games, giving them an average of 23.33 points, which is a point per game more than Roscommon, who have hit 5-52 from 13 scorers. Roscommon have the edge in defensive records, as they have conceded just 0-40 (13.33 points on average), compared to Armagh's 3-42 (1-14 per game).

Just a point separates the teams' respective top scorers - Roscommon's Jerry Fallon (1-21) and Armagh's Ryan Gaffney (1-20) - who will both have key roles. Eoin McGuinness has weighed in with a goal in each match for Armagh, who will also be looking for big performances from Kieran McKernan, Conor and John Corvan, Cathal Carvill and Declan Coulter.

Cillian Egan, Ronan O'Meara, Ian Delaney, Tomás Seale and Adrian Murphy are other central players for Roscommon.

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Armagh Nicky Rackard Cup scorers 2015: Ryan Gaffney 1-20 (0-15f, 0-3 '65s); Eoin McGuinness 3-1; Cathal Carvill 2-3; Martin Moan, Declan Coulter (1 pen), Conor Corvan 0-5 each; Cailin Gorman, Connor Devlin, Nathan Curry (2f), John Corvan 0-2 each; David Carvill, Paddy Kelly, Shea Gaffney, Stephen Renaghan, Kieran McKernan 0-1 each.

Roscommon Nicky Rackard Cup scorers 2015: Jerry Fallon 1-21 (0-13f, 0-2 '65s); Cillian Egan, Ronan O'Meara 1-5 each; Adrian Murphy 1-3; Cathal Kenny 1-1; John Coyne 0-4; Cathal Dolan, John Moran 0-3 each; Tomás Seale, Micheál Kelly (1 '65) 0-2 each; Gary Fallon, Paul Kenny, Jason Kilkenny 0-1 each.

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Nicky Rackard Cup top scorers 2015:

Damian Casey (Tyrone) 1-35Ciarán Mathewson (Donegal) 2-29John Matthew Sheridan (Fingal) 0-28Ronan McDermott (Donegal) 7-4Jerry Fallon (Roscommon) 1-21

Tyrone sharp-shooter Damian Casey top-scored with 0-37 as his side won last year's Nicky Rackard Cup and despite the holders losing at the semi-final stage this time, he has a point more to his name from four games in the 2015 championship.

Donegal's Ciarán Mathewson ended up with 2-29, two places above team-mate Ronan McDermott, whose seven-goal haul made him the top scorer from play. Between that duo is John Matthew Sheridan of Fingal, while Roscommon's main marksman Jerry Fallon edges into the top five going into the final, a point ahead of Armagh's leading scorer Ryan Gaffney.

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Preview: Colm Shalvey