2018 Dr McKenna Cup

The 2018 Dr McKenna Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup, was a Gaelic football competition in the province of Ulster for county and university teams. It is normally held at the beginning of the GAA season.

2018 Dr McKenna Cup
Tournament details
Province Ulster
Year2018
SponsorBank of Ireland[1]
Dates3 January — 17 February
Teams12
Defending champions Tyrone
Winners
ChampionsDonegal (11th win)
ManagerDeclan Bonner
CaptainHugh McFadden
Runners-up
Runners-upTyrone
ManagerMickey Harte
CaptainMattie Donnelly
Other
Matches played21
WebsiteUlster GAA

Twelve teams take part – the nine Ulster county teams and three university teams, i.e. St Mary's University College, Belfast, Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University at Jordanstown (UUJ).

The draw took place on Thursday 30 November in the Balmoral Hotel, Belfast [2] with the fixtures confirmed following a meeting of Comhairle Uladh CCC on Tuesday 5 December 2017. [3]

After many postponements due to bad winter weather, the tournament ended on 17 February 2018 with Donegal the winners, ending a six-year Tyrone winning streak.

Format

Group Stage

The twelve teams are drawn into three sections of four teams, with each section containing three county teams and one university team. Each team plays the other teams in its section once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. A "scoring-average/points-ratio" method is used to determine the ranking of teams who are level on section points (as opposed to "scoring differential").[4]

Knock-out Stage

The winners of the three sections and the best runner-up compete in the semi-finals with the two winners meeting in the final.

Group stage

Section A
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Tyrone 3 3 0 0 79 38 2.079 6 Advance to semi-final
2 St. Mary's 3 1 0 2 46 49 0.939 2
3 Antrim 3 1 0 2 55 71 0.775 2
4 Cavan 3 1 0 2 41 63 0.651 2
Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2018. Source: Ulster GAA

Section B
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Armagh 3 2 1 0 47 38 1.237 5 Advance to semi-final
2 Derry 3 2 0 1 50 52 0.962 4
3 Down 3 1 0 2 46 44 1.045 2
4 Ulster University 3 0 1 2 40 49 0.816 1
Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2018. Source: Ulster GAA

Section C
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Fermanagh 3 3 0 0 46 37 1.243 6 Advance to semi-final
2 Donegal 3 2 0 1 63 41 1.537 4 Advance to semi-final (best runner-up)
3 Monaghan 3 1 0 2 50 53 0.943 2
4 Queen's University Belfast 3 0 0 3 25 53 0.472 0
Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2018. Source: Ulster GAA

Ranking of second-placed teams
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 C Donegal 3 2 0 1 63 41 1.537 4 Advance to semi-final
2 B Derry 3 2 0 1 50 52 0.962 4
3 A St. Mary's 3 1 0 2 46 49 0.939 2
Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2018. Source: Ulster GAA

Knock-out Stage

Semi-Finals

Final
17 February 2018 (2018-02-17)
6:00pm
Final
Donegal 1-16 (19) – (15) 1-12 Tyrone
(HT: 1-09 – 1-06)
Gls: M McElhinney
Pts: N O'Donnell (3), M Murphy (3, 2f), M Reilly (2, 1f), D Ó Baoill (2), P Brennan (2), M McElhinney, F McGlynn, O MacNiallais, C Thompson		 Gls: H Loughran
Pts: R O'Neill (6, 5f), H Loughran, C McCarron, K McGeary, C McCann, D McClure, D McCurry
Athletic Grounds, Armagh
Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)
Attendance: 4,287

References
  1. "Bank of Ireland Renew Dr McKenna Cup Sponsorship". Ulster GAA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  2. "2018 Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup Draw". Ulster GAA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. "Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup 2018". Ulster GAA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  4. "McKenna Cup 2017 | Fermanagh GAA". Fermanagh GAA. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
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