2016–17 Scottish League Cup

2016–17 Scottish League Cup
Country  Scotland
Dates 15 July 2016 – 27 November 2016
Teams 44
Champions Celtic
Runners-up Aberdeen
Matches played 95
Goals scored 291 (3.06 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Martyn Waghorn
(7 goals)[1]
← 2015–16 2017–18 →
All statistics correct as of 27 November 2016.

The 2016–17 Scottish League Cup was the 71st season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. It is also known as the Betfred Cup for sponsorship reasons.

The format for the 2016–17 competition has changed from the previously used knockout-rounds. Instead, it began with eight groups of five teams which included all Scottish Professional Football League clubs (including East Stirlingshire, who were relegated from the league at the end of the 2015–16 season), excluding those competing in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, as well as the top 2015–16 Highland Football League club (Cove Rangers) and the highest placed team from the 2015–16 Lowland Football League (Edinburgh City, who were promoted to the SPFL at the end of the 2015–16 season).

Celtic won the final 3-0 against Aberdeen on 27 November 2016.[2]

Schedule

Round First match date Fixtures Clubs
Group stage 16 July 2016[3] 80 44 → 16
Second round 9 August 2016[4] 8 16 → 8
Quarter finals 20 September 2016[4] 4 8 → 4
Semifinals 22 October 2016[4] 2 4 → 2
Final 27 November 2016[5] 1 2 → 1

Format

The competition began with eight groups of five teams. The four clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League (Celtic) and Europa League (Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian) qualifying rounds were given a bye through to the second round. The 40 teams competing in the group stage consisted of the other nine teams that competed in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, nine from the 2015–16 Scottish Championship and all of the teams that competed in the 2015–16 Scottish League One and 2015–16 Scottish League Two, as well as the 2015–16 Highland Football League and the 2015–16 Lowland Football League champions.[3]

The winners of each of the 8 groups, as well as the 4 best runners-up have progressed to the second round (last 16), which will include the four UEFA qualifying clubs.[3] At this stage, the competition reverts to the traditional knock-out format.[3] The four group winners with the highest points total and the clubs entering at this stage were seeded, with the four group winners with the lowest points unseeded along with the four 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.[3] The traditional point system of awarding 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw was used, however, for each group stage match that finished in a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.[3]

Group stage

The group stage was made up of nine teams from the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, nine teams from the 2015–16 Scottish Championship and 10 teams from each of the 2015–16 Scottish League One and 2015–16 Scottish League Two, as well as the winners of the 2015–16 Highland Football League and 2015–16 Lowland Football League.[3] The 40 teams were divided into two sections: North and South; with each section containing four top seeded teams, four second seeded teams and 12 unseeded teams. Each section was drawn into four groups with each group being made up of 1 top seed, 1 second seed and 3 unseeded sides.[6]

The draw for the group stages took place on Friday 27 May 2016 at 7:30pm BST at the BT Sport Studio in London and was shown live on BT Sport Europe.[7]

North section

Seeding

Teams in Bold qualified for the second round

Top seeds Second seeds Unseeded

01. St Johnstone
02. Ross County
03. Inverness CT
04. Dundee

09. Dundee United
10. Falkirk
11. Raith Rovers
12. Dumbarton

Groups

Group A
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PET EFI DND FOR DUM
1 Peterhead (Q) 4 2 1 0 1 8 6 +2 8 Qualification to the Second Round — — 2–1 2–0 —
2 East Fife (X) 4 2 1 0 1 5 4 +1 8 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up 2–1 — 1–1
(4–2 p)		 — —
3 Dundee 4 2 0 1 1 15 5 +10 7 — — — 7–0 6–2
4 Forfar Athletic 4 1 1 0 2 4 11 −7 5 — 2–0 — — 2–2
(5–3 p)
5 Dumbarton 4 0 0 2 2 7 13 −6 2 3–3
(5–6 p)		 0–2 — — —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group B
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification STJ FAL STI BRE ELG
1 St Johnstone (Q) 4 3 0 1 0 11 2 +9 10 Qualification to the Second Round — 3–0 4–0 — —
2 Falkirk (X) 4 2 0 0 2 5 4 +1 6 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up — — — 2–0 3–0
3 Stirling Albion 4 2 0 0 2 6 7 −1 6 — 1–0 — — 4–1
4 Brechin City 4 1 1 0 2 5 8 −3 5 1–1
(4–2 p)		 — 2–1 — —
5 Elgin City 4 1 0 0 3 6 12 −6 3 1–3 — — 4–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group C
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification INV DUN DNF COW ARB
1 Inverness CT (Q) 4 3 0 1 0 15 3 +12 10 Qualification to the Second Round — 1–1
(1–4 p)		 — — 7–0
2 Dundee United (X) 4 2 2 0 0 10 3 +7 10 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up — — 2–0 6–1 —
3 Dunfermline Athletic 4 2 0 0 2 7 7 0 6 1–5 — — — 3–0
4 Cowdenbeath 4 1 0 0 3 4 11 −7 3 1–2 — 0–3 — —
5 Arbroath 4 0 0 1 3 1 13 −12 1 — 1–1
(3–5 p)		 — 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 31 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group D
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALO RAI ROS COVE MON
1 Alloa Athletic (Q) 4 4 0 0 0 10 2 +8 12 Qualification to the Second Round — — 3–2 4–0 —
2 Raith Rovers (X) 4 2 1 0 1 5 4 +1 8 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up 0–1 — — — 2–1
3 Ross County 4 2 0 1 1 11 4 +7 7 — 1–1
(3–4 p)		 — 7–0 —
4 Cove Rangers 4 1 0 0 3 4 13 −9 3 — 1–2 — — 3–0
5 Montrose 4 0 0 0 4 1 8 −7 0 0–2 — 0–1 — —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.

South section

Seeding

Teams in Bold qualified for the second round

Top seeds Second seeds Unseeded

05. Motherwell
06. Partick Thistle
07. Hamilton Academical
08. Kilmarnock

13. Rangers
14. Greenock Morton
15. St Mirren
16. Queen of the South

Groups

Group E
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAR QOS AIR QPA STE
1 Partick Thistle (Q) 4 4 0 0 0 9 2 +7 12 Qualification to the Second Round — 2–1 — 2–0 —
2 Queen of the South (X) 4 3 0 0 1 6 2 +4 9 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up — — 2–0 — 1–0
3 Airdrieonians 4 1 1 0 2 5 7 −2 5 0–1 — — — 2–1
4 Queen's Park 4 1 0 1 2 5 7 −2 4 — 0–2 3–3
(7–8 p)		 — —
5 Stenhousemuir 4 0 0 0 4 2 9 −7 0 1–4 — — 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group F
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RAN MOT STR ANN EST
1 Rangers (Q) 4 4 0 0 0 10 0 +10 12 Qualification to the Second Round — — 3–0 2–0 —
2 Motherwell (X) 4 3 0 0 1 9 3 +6 9 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up 0–2 — — — 3–0
3 Stranraer 4 2 0 0 2 5 8 −3 6 — 0–3 — — 3–1
4 Annan Athletic 4 1 0 0 3 4 7 −3 3 — 1–3 1–2 — —
5 East Stirlingshire 4 0 0 0 4 1 11 −10 0 0–3 — — 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group G
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HAM AYR STM LIV EDC
1 Hamilton Academical (Q) 4 3 0 0 1 10 5 +5 9 Qualification to the Second Round — — 3–0 2–1 —
2 Ayr United (X) 4 3 0 0 1 5 2 +3 9 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up 2–1 — — — 1–0
3 St Mirren 4 3 0 0 1 7 5 +2 9 — 1–0 — — 3–0
4 Livingston 4 1 0 0 3 6 7 −1 3 — 0–2 2–3 — —
5 Edinburgh City 4 0 0 0 4 2 11 −9 0 2–4 — — 0–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.
Group H
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GMO KIL CLY ALB BER
1 Morton (Q) 4 3 1 0 0 5 0 +5 11 Qualification to the Second Round — — 1–0 — 2–0
2 Kilmarnock (X) 4 2 0 1 1 5 5 0 7 Possible Second Round as one of the 4 best runners up 0–2 — — 0–0
(3–5 p)		 —
3 Clyde 4 1 1 0 2 4 5 −1 5 — 1–2 — — 1–1
(6–5 p)
4 Albion Rovers 4 0 2 1 1 1 2 −1 5 0–0
(3–4 p)		 — 1–2 — —
5 Berwick Rangers 4 0 0 2 2 3 6 −3 2 — 2–3 — 0–0
(4–5 p)		 —
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Advances to Best runners-up.

Best runners-up

Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Dundee United (Q) 4 2 2 0 0 10 3 +7 10 Qualification to the Second Round
2 Motherwell (Q) 4 3 0 0 1 9 3 +6 9
3 Queen of the South (Q) 4 3 0 0 1 6 2 +4 9
4 Ayr United (Q) 4 3 0 0 1 5 2 +3 9
5 Raith Rovers 4 2 1 0 1 5 4 +1 8
6 East Fife 4 2 1 0 1 5 4 +1 8
7 Kilmarnock 4 2 0 1 1 5 5 0 7
8 Falkirk 4 2 0 0 2 4 4 0 6
Updated to match(es) played on 31 July 2016. Source: BBC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

Tiebreakers: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots[8]

Knockout phase

Second round

Draw and seeding

The following teams qualified and will compete in the second round of the 2016–17 Scottish League Cup. Aberdeen, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian entered the competition at this stage, after receiving a bye for the group stage due to their participation in UEFA club competitions.

The draw for the second round took place at Tannadice Park following the conclusion of the Dundee United–Dunfermline Athletic match on 31 July, and was shown live on BT Sport. The four UEFA-qualifying clubs and the four group winners with the best record were seeded for the draw.[9]

Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.

Seeded Unseeded

Matches

All times are BST (UTC+1).

Quarter-finals

Draw and seeding

The quarter-final draw took place at Celtic Park following the conclusion of the Celtic–Motherwell match on 10 August, and was shown live on BT Sport. The draw was unseeded and ties scheduled for the midweek of September 20/21.[10]

Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.

Premiership Championship League One

Matches

Semi-finals

Draw and seeding

The semi-final draw took place at Pittodrie Stadium following the conclusion of the Aberdeen–St Johnstone match on 22 September and was shown live on BT Sport. The draw was unseeded and ties are scheduled for the weekend of October 22.[4][11]

Teams in Bold advanced to the final.

Premiership Championship

Matches

Final

27 November 2016
15:00
Aberdeen 0–3 Celtic
SPFL report Rogic  16'
Forrest  37'
Dembélé  64' (pen.)
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 49,629
Referee: John Beaton

Top goalscorers

As of matches played on 23 October 2016[1]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Martyn Waghorn Rangers 7
2 Scotland Brian Graham Ross County 6
Scotland Greg Stewart Dundee
4 France Moussa Dembélé Celtic 5
Scotland Danny Swanson St Johnstone
6 England Scott Boden Inverness CT 4
Scotland Andy Geggan Dunfermline Athletic
Scotland Blair Henderson Stirling Albion
Scotland Rory McAllister Peterhead
Scotland Simon Murray Dundee United
Scotland Jai Quitongo Morton
Scotland Cammy Smith Dundee United
Scotland Iain Vigurs Inverness CT

References

  1. 1 2 "2016 Scottish League Cup scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Aberdeen 0-3 Celtic: Tomas Rogic, James Forrest and Moussa Dembele hand Brendan Rodgers first trophy as Hoops boss with Betfred Cup win". Daily Mail. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "New League Cup format and TV deal". SPFL. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Betfred Cup group stage fixtures". SPFL. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "2016/17 League Cup Final in November". SPFL. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Betfred Cup draw format & numbers". SPFL. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Betfred Cup draw live on BT Sport". SPFL. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Betfred Cup Format 2016/17". spfl.co.uk. SPFL. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Betfred Cup 2nd-round draw on Sunday". spfl.co.uk. SPFL. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Betfred Cup quarter-final draw details". spfl.co.uk. SPFL. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Betfred Cup semi-final draw tonight". spfl.co.uk. SPFL. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.

External links

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