2021–22 Northern Ireland Football League Cup
| BetMcLean League Cup | |
| Country |  Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 Jul 2021 – 13 Mar 2022 |
| Teams | 35 |
| Defending champions | Coleraine |
| Matches played | 33 |
| Goals scored | 142 (4.3 per match) |
← 2019–20 2022–23 → | |
The 2021–22 Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes)[1] is the 35th edition of Northern Ireland's football knock-out cup competition for national league clubs, and the seventh edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. The League Cup returned after a one-year hiatus, following the cancellation of the 2020–21 competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. The competition is being contested by the 35 member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League, commencing on 31 July 2021 with the first round and concluding with the final on 13 March 2022. For the first time in the competition's history, the final will be played on a Sunday.[2] The competition has been sponsored by McLean Bookmakers since the 2017–18 season.[1]
Coleraine are the defending champions, after a 2–1 win over Crusaders in the 2020 final secured their second League Cup win overall; their first in 32 years.[3] This was their first League Cup win since they won the 1987–88 competition, setting a new record for the longest gap between League Cup titles.
Format and Schedule[]
The competition is open to the 35 members of the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL). Usually, the 16 highest-ranked clubs from the previous league season are exempt from entering until the second round, where they are seeded to avoid being drawn against each other. However, as the 2020–21 second and third tier league seasons were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland, the rankings from the 2019–20 season were used instead. This consisted of all twelve 2019–20 NIFL Premiership clubs, along with the top four clubs from the 2019–20 NIFL Championship. The remaining 19 NIFL clubs entered the draw for the first round, with six of them being randomly drawn to face each other in three first round matches, and 13 of them receiving byes into the second round. The three first round winners and the 13 teams given byes make up the 16 unseeded clubs in the second round.[2]
From the third round onwards, the competition is operated in a straight knockout format with no seeding. Replays are not used in the competition, with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary.
| Round | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 31 July 2021 | 3 | 35 → 32 |
| Second round | 14 September 2021 | 16 | 32 → 16 |
| Third round | 13 October 2021 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-finals | 9 November 2021 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | 14 December 2021 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 13 March 2022 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Results[]
The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.
(1) = NIFL Premiership
(2) = NIFL Championship
(3) = NIFL Premier Intermediate League
First round[]
The first round draw was made on 9 July 2021. The matches were played on 31 July and 3 August 2021.[2]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 July 2021 | ||
| Ballyclare Comrades (2) | 2–1 | Queen's University (2) |
| Newry City (2) | 2–1 | Tobermore United (3) |
| 3 August 2021 | ||
| Annagh United (2) | 4–1 | Knockbreda (2) |
Second round[]
The second round draw was made on 13 August 2021. The matches were played on 14 and 15 September 2021. The top 16 league clubs from the previous season were seeded in this round in order to avoid drawing each other.[2]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Third round[]
The third round draw was made on 16 September 2021. The matches were played on 13 and 26 October, and 2 November 2021.[2]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 13 October 2021 | ||
| Carrick Rangers (1) | 0–2 | Coleraine (1) |
| Crusaders (1) | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Ballymena United (1) |
| Glenavon (1) | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) |
Glentoran (1) |
| Warrenpoint Town (1) | 1–0 | Loughgall (2) |
| 26 October 2021 | ||
| Ards (2) | 1–4 | Cliftonville (1) |
| Portadown (1) | 1–0 | Ballinamallard United (2) |
| 2 November 2021 | ||
| Limavady United (3) | 3–2 | Dungannon Swifts (1) |
| Linfield (1) | 11–0 | PSNI (3) |
Quarter-finals[]
The draw was made on 16 October 2021. The quarter-finals were played on 9 November 2021.[2]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballymena United (1) | 3–1 | Linfield (1) |
| Coleraine (1) | 2–0 | Glentoran (1) |
| Portadown (1) | 1–2 | Cliftonville (1) |
| Warrenpoint Town (1) | 6–1 | Limavady United (3) |
Semi-finals[]
The semi-finals were played on 14 December 2021.[2]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Coleraine (1) | 6–1 | Warrenpoint Town (1) |
| Cliftonville (1) | 3–0 | Ballymena United (1) |
Final[]
The final will be played on 13 March 2022 at Windsor Park, Belfast.[2]
| Coleraine (1) | v | Cliftonville (1) |
|---|---|---|
References[]
- ^ a b "BETMcLEAN EXTEND LEAGUE CUP SPONSORSHIP". Northern Ireland Football League. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "BETMcLEAN LEAGUE CUP - ROUND 1 DRAW". Northern Ireland Football League. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "NI League Cup final: Coleraine come from behind to beat Crusaders". BBC Sport. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "NI League Cup: Institute dismissed from competition after using ineligible player". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "Larne thrown out of League Cup after using ineligible player in Limavady game". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
Irish Football Association - Northern Ireland Women's Football Association | |||||
| National teams | |||||
| Leagues |
| ||||
| Domestic cups |
| ||||
| Awards | |||||
| |||||
- 2021–22 in Northern Ireland association football
- 2021–22 European domestic association football cups
- Irish League Cup seasons