| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Dates | 31 July 2010 – 20 March 2011 |
| Teams | 42 |
| Defending champions | Rangers |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Rangers |
| Runners-up | Celtic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 41 |
| Goals scored | 171 (4.17 per match) |
| Awards | |
| Best player | Anthony Stokes (5) |
The2010–11Scottish League Cup is the 65th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish League Cup, also known as theCo-operative Insurance Cup for sponsorship reasons. The competition started in July 2010 with the First Round and ended in Spring 2011 with the Final.Rangers are the current title holder, having beatenCeltic in the2011 final.
The competition is asingle elimination knock-out competition. In each round, fixtures are determined by random draw. Fixtures are played to a finish, withextra time and then penalties used in the event of ties. The competition is open to all clubs in theScottish Premier League andScottish Football League. Clubs involved in European competitions are given a bye to the third round to avoid congestion of fixtures.
Club Entry Points – The format of the first and second rounds was adjusted for this season. Previously the club promoted into the SPL entered in the Second Round alongside the other non-European SPL sides, with the side relegated to the First Division entering in the first round alongside the other SFL sides. However, this situation has been reversed, meaning Inverness Caledonian Thistle entered the tournament in the First Round – despite being promoted to SPL; and Falkirk entered in the second round – despite being relegated.
The 2009–10 tournament had seen both such sides enter in the first round, plus 11th in the SPL – as there were 6 Scottish clubs in Europe.
Unless a Scottish side wins the Europa League or unless the country secures one of the three "Fair Play" places, there will only be 4 clubs in Europe during 2011–12. As a result, both such sides plus 2nd in the First Division entered in the second round.
Semi-Finals – Following discussions between the SPL and SFL, it was agreed that one or both semi-finals would take place on a weekend, and not on midweek as in previous years. This practice had been the source of criticism – as it forced fans to travel to a neutral venue for a prestigious Semi-Final on a weekday evening in January or February. The details will be confirmed after the quarter-finals.
| Round | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Saturday/Sunday 31 July/1 August 2010 | 15 | 42 → 27 |
| Second round | Tuesday/Wednesday 24/25 August 2010 | 11 | 27 → 16 |
| Third round | Tuesday/Wednesday 21/22 September 2010 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-finals | Tuesday/Wednesday 26/27 October 2010 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday/Sunday 29/30 January 2011 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | Sunday 20 March 2011 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
The First round draw was conducted on 28 May 2010.[1]
Source:[2]
The Second round draw was conducted on 6 August 2010.[3]
Source:[2]
The Third round draw was conducted on 31 August 2010.[4]
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 7–2 | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Kilmarnock | 3–1 | Hibernian |
| Aberdeen | 3–2 | Raith Rovers |
| Falkirk | 4–3 | Heart of Midlothian |
| Celtic | 6–0 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Ross County | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Dundee United |
| St Johnstone | 3–0 | Queen of the South |
| Brechin City | 0–2 | Motherwell |
Source:[2]
The Quarter-finals draw was conducted on 23 September 2010.[5] Ties were played on 26 and 27 October.
| Kilmarnock | 0–2 | Rangers |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Little 25'Naismith 61' |
Source:[2]
The Semi-finals draw was conducted on 29 October 2010.
A team, player and young player were chosen by the Scottish sports press as the top performers in each round.
| Round | Team | Player | Young player | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Greenock Morton | Stewart Kean (Greenock Morton) | Marc McCusker (Clyde) | [6][7][8][9] |
| R2 | Brechin City | Gregory Tade (Raith Rovers) | Ryan Flynn (Falkirk) | [10][11][12] |
| R3 | Jonathan Page (Motherwell) | [13] | ||
| QF | Paul Hartley (Aberdeen) | [14] | ||
| SF |