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Cup stub
This article about 2021–22 Scottish League Cup is a stub, an article too short to provide more than rudimentary information about a subject. You can help The Football Wiki by expanding it.
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| Scottish League Cup 2021–22 | ||
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| Region | Scotland | |
| Dates | 9 July 2021–19 December 2021 | |
| Number of teams | 45 | |
| Defending champions | St Johnstone | |
| Champions | Celtic | |
| Runner-up | Hibernian | |
| Total matches played | 89 | |
| Total goals scored | 245 | |
← 2020–21
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→
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The 2021–22 Scottish League Cup (also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 76th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.
The format for the 2021–22 competition is similar to the previous five seasons. It begins with eight groups of five teams including all 2020–21 Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs, excluding those competing in Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League qualifiers, as well as the winners of the 2020–21 Highland Football League (Brora Rangers) and the 2020–21 Lowland Football League (Kelty Hearts).
A difference from recent seasons is that five clubs are given a bye to the last 16 instead of four, due to increased representation in European competition. This meant that another non-league club (East Kilbride) were invited to round out the group stage.
The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by Premier Sports, who became the tournament's title sponsor in April 2021.
St Johnstone were the defending champions after beating Livingston 1–0 in the last season's final. They were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Celtic, who won their 20th title after beating Hibernian 2–1 in the final.
Schedule[]
| Round | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage | 10 July 2021 | 80 | 45 → 16 |
| Second round | 14 August 2021 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter finals | 21 September 2021 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi finals | 20 November 2021 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 19 December 2021 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Format[]
The competition began with eight groups of five teams. The five clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League (Rangers and Celtic), Europa League (St Johnstone) and Conference League (Hibernian and Aberdeen) qualifying rounds are given a bye through to the second round. The 40 teams competing in the group stage consist of the other seven teams that competed in the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership, and all of the teams that competed in the 2020–21 Scottish Championship, 2020–21 Scottish League One and 2020–21 Scottish League Two. The 2020–21 Highland Football League and the 2020–21 Lowland Football League champions will also compete. Due to a fifth Scottish team participating in European competition and receiving a bye to the second round, an extra spot was available in the group stage. This was taken by Lowland League side East Kilbride, after lots were drawn between the Lowland League and Highland League runners-up for the final place in the groups.
The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up progress to the second round (last 16), which will include the five UEFA qualifying clubs. At this stage, the competition reverts to the traditional knock-out format. The three group winners with the highest points total and the clubs entering at this stage will be seeded, with the five group winners with the lowest points unseeded along with the three best runners-up.
Bonus point system[]
In December 2015, the SPFL announced that alongside the new group stage format, a bonus point system would be introduced to provide greater excitement and increase the number of meaningful games at this stage. The traditional point system of awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw is used, however, for each group stage match that finishes in a draw, a penalty shoot-out takes place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.
Group stage[]
- Main article: 2021–22 Scottish League Cup group stage
The group stage is made up of seven teams from the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership, and all ten teams from each of the 2020–21 Scottish Championship, 2020–21 Scottish League One and 2020–21 Scottish League Two, as well as the winners and runners-up of the 2020–21 Lowland Football League and the winners of the 2020–21 Highland Football League. The 40 teams are divided into two sections – North and South – with each section containing four top seeds, four second seeds and 12 unseeded teams. Each section was drawn into four groups with each group comprising one top seed, one second seed and three unseeded teams.
The draw for the group stage took place on 28 May 2021 and was broadcast live on FreeSports & the SPFL YouTube channel.
North[]
Group A[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart of Midlothian | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round |
| 2 | Stirling Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | Possible Second Round |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Cove Rangers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 3 | |
| 5 | Peterhead | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 |
Group B[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundee United | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round |
| 2 | Arbroath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 | Possible Second Round |
| 3 | Kelty Hearts | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | |
| 4 | Elgin City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 3 | |
| 5 | East Fife | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Group C[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundee | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round |
| 2 | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | Possible Second Round |
| 3 | Ross County | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Montrose | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | |
| 5 | Template:Fb team Brora Rangers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
Group D[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raith Rovers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round |
| 2 | Livingston | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | Possible Second Round |
| 3 | Cowdenbeath | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Alloa Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Brechin City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 3 |
South[]
Group E[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AYR | HAM | ALB | EDI | FAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayr United | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Hamilton Academical | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | 0–1 | — | p2–2 | — | — | ||
| 3 | Albion Rovers | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 5 | p0–0 | — | — | p1–1 | — | ||
| 4 | Edinburgh City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | Falkirk | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 3 | — | 1–2 | 5–1 | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
Group F[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MOT | QPK | QOS | AIR | ANN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motherwell | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Queen's Park | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 | 0–1 | — | — | 0–0p | — | ||
| 3 | Queen of the South | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | – | 0–1 | — | 4–1 | — | ||
| 4 | Airdrieonians | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | 2–0 | — | — | — | 1–1p | ||
| 5 | Annan Athletic | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
Group G[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KIL | STR | GMO | EKI | CLY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 8 | Qualification for the second round | — | 2–1 | p1–1 | — | — | |
| 2 | Stranraer | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | — | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | ||
| 3 | Greenock Morton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 6 | — | — | — | p0–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | East Kilbride | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | 3–0 | — | — | — | 2–2p | ||
| 5 | Clyde | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
Group H[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STM | DNF | PAR | STE | DUM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Mirren | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 12 | Qualification for the second round | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | — | |
| 2 | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 9 | — | — | — | 4–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 3 | Partick Thistle | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | — | 2–4 | — | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Stenhousemuir | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | — | — | ||
| 5 | Dumbarton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | 0–3 | — | — | 1–2 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
Best runners-up[]
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round |
| 2 | B | Arbroath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | D | Livingston | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | |
| 4 | A | Stirling Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | |
| 5 | C | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | |
| 6 | E | Hamilton Academical | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | |
| 7 | F | Queen's Park | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 | |
| 8 | G | Stranraer | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
Knockout phase[]
Second round[]
Draw and seeding[]
Aberdeen, Celtic, Hibernian, Rangers and St Johnstone entered the competition at this stage, after receiving a bye for the group stage due to their participation in UEFA club competitions.
The five UEFA-qualifying clubs and the three group winners with the best record were seeded for the draw.
The draw for the second round took place on 25 July 2021.
Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
|---|---|
- Notes
- † denotes teams playing in the Championship.
Matches[]
| 13 August 2021 | Rangers | 5–0 | Dunfermline Athletic | Glasgow | |
| 19:30 | Lundstram  3'Wright 17'Hagi 19'Roofe 33', 58' (pen.)
|
Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 41,467 Referee: Willie Collum |
| 14 August 2021 | Ayr United | 1–1 (3–4 pen)
|
Dundee United | Ayr | |
| 15:00 | Adeloye 56'
|
Clark 80' (pen.)
|
Stadium: Somerset Park Attendance: 2,196 Referee: Nick Walsh | ||
| Penalties | |||||
Muirhead  Reading  McGinty McAllister Afolabi
|
McNulty Mulgrew Pawlett Robson Clark
|
| 14 August 2021 | Dundee | 1–0 | Motherwell | Dundee | |
| 15:00 | Ashcroft 78'
|
Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 3,700 Referee: Kevin Clancy |
| 14 August 2021 | Livingston | 1–1 (4–3 pen)
|
St Mirren | Livingston | |
| 15:00 | Forrest 41'
|
McCarthy 82'
|
Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Attendance: 1,855 Referee: David Munro | ||
| Penalties | |||||
| Shinnie Kelly Jacobs Sibbald Obileye Holt
|
Main McGrath Shaughnessy MacPherson Erwin McAllister
|
| 15 August 2021 | Raith Rovers | 2–1 | Aberdeen | Kirkcaldy | |
| 12:00 | Varian 48' Zanatta 78'
|
Emmanuel-Thomas 13'
|
Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 3,297 Referee: Steven McLean |
| 15 August 2021 | Arbroath | 2–2 (2–3 pen)
|
St Johnstone | Arbroath | |
| 14:00 | Nouble 31' O'Brien 93'
|
Middleton 59' McCart 105'
|
Stadium: Gayfield Park Attendance: 1,842 Referee: Colin Steven | ||
| Penalties | |||||
| Little Henderson Hilson Low Linn
|
Craig Hendry Booth Kerr McCann
|
| 15 August 2021 | Hibernian | 2–0 | Kilmarnock | Edinburgh | |
| 14:00 | Magennis 51' Nisbet 73'
|
Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 5,990 Referee: Bobby Madden |
| 15 August 2021 | Celtic | 3–2 | Heart of Midlothian | Glasgow | |
| 15:00 | Édouard 29' Welsh 34'Furuhashi 63'
|
Boyce 57' (pen.) McEneff 90+2'
|
Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 42,361 Referee: John Beaton |
Quarter-finals[]
Draw[]
Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.
Matches[]
| 22 September 2021 | Rangers | 2–0 | Livingston | Glasgow | |
| 19:45 | Roofe 48' Morelos 63'
|
Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 35,579 Referee: Don Robertson |
| 22 September 2021 | Dundee | 0–2 | St Johnstone | Dundee | |
| 19:45 | Rooney 70' Crawford 84'
|
Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 4,707 Referee: Steven McLean |
| 23 September 2021 | Celtic | 3–0 | Raith Rovers | Glasgow | |
| 19:45 | Jota 26' Abada 40'Turnbull 47'
|
Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 26,714 Referee: David Munro |
| 23 September 2021 | Dundee United | 1–3 | Hibernian | Dundee | |
| 19:45 | Pawlett 58'
|
Newell 3' Allan 37'Boyle 45' (pen.)
|
Stadium: Tannadice Park Attendance: 5,395 Referee: Willie Collum |
Semi-finals[]
Draw[]
The draw for the semi-finals took place on 23 September 2021 live on Premier Sports following the Celtic v Raith Rovers match.
Matches[]
| 20 November 2021 | Celtic | 1–0 | St Johnstone | Glasgow | |
| 17:15 | Forrest 73'
|
Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 42,298 Referee: Nick Walsh |
| 21 November 2021 | Rangers | 1–3 | Hibernian | Glasgow | |
| 16:00 | Arfield 40'
|
Boyle 9', 21', 38' (pen.)
|
Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 45,014 Referee: Kevin Clancy |
Final[]
- Main article: 2021 Scottish League Cup Final (December)
| 19 December 2021 15:00 |
Hibernian | 1–2 | Celtic | Hampden Park Attendance: 48,540 Referee: John Beaton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanlon 51'
|
Report | Furuhashi 52', 72'
|
Media coverage[]
The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by Premier Sports who will broadcast between 12 and 16 Betfred Cup live matches per season as well as highlights.
The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:
| Round | Date | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 9 July 2021 | Kelty Hearts v Dundee United |
| 13 July 2021 | Heart of Midlothian v Cove Rangers | |
| 14 July 2021 | Queen's Park v Motherwell | |
| 18 July 2021 | ||
| 21 July 2021 | Airdrieonians v Motherwell | |
| 25 July 2021 | St Mirren v Partick Thistle Heart of Midlothian v Inverness CT | |
| Second Round | ||
| Quarter-finals | ||
| Semi-finals | ||
| Final |
- Notes
Top goalscorers[]
- As of 9 July 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lawrence Shankland
|
Dundee United | 1 |
| Callum Smith
|
Hamilton Academical |
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| 2021–22 in Scottish football |
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| Scotland
|
