| EA Sports Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Dates | 21 March – 17 September |
| Teams | 24 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Runners-up | Limerick |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 23 |
| Top goal scorer(s) | John O'Flynn,Limerick |
The 2016League of Ireland Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the2016 EA Sports Cup, was the 43rd season of the League of Ireland's secondary knockout competition. The EA Sports Cup features teams from theSSE Airtricity LeaguePremier andFirst Divisions, as well as some intermediate level teams.
| Pool 1 | Pool 2 | Pool 3 | Pool 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Clubs denoted with * received a bye into Second Round
The draw for the First Round took place on 17 February 2016.[1] The First Round games were played on 21, 22 and 28 March 2016.
| 21 March 2016 | Galway United | 3–1 | Mayo League | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| 19:45 | Pauric Cunningham 3',14',16' | JP O'Gorman 61' |
| 21 March 2016 | Shelbourne | 5–0 | Cabinteely | Tolka Park |
| Gavin Boyne 8' Sodiq Oguntula 61',66'James English 75'Mark Sandford 88' |
| 21 March 2016 | Drogheda United | 0–0* (PN) (a.e.t.) (3-4p) | Bluebell United | Hunky Dorys Park |
| 19:45 | [1] |
| 22 March 2016 | Finn Harps | 1–0 | Cockhill Celtic | Finn Park |
| 20:00 | Ethan Boyle 24' |
| 22 March 2016 | Cobh Ramblers | 2–4 | Limerick | St. Colman's Park |
| 19:15 | Markus Gustavsson 75',78' | Robbie Williams 15' Stephen Kenny 17'John O'Flynn 47',52' |
| 22 March 2016 | UCD | 0–2 | Bray Wanderers | UCD Bowl |
| 19:45 | Mark Salmon 45+1' Andrew Lewis 54' |
| 22 March 2016 | Bohemians | 3–1 | Longford Town | Dalymount Park |
| 19:45 | Peter McGlynn 3' (o.g.) Derek Prendergast 48'Jake Kelly 53' | David O'Sullivan 3' |
| 28 March 2016 | Waterford United | 4–0 | Rockmount | Waterford Regional Sports Centre |
| 14:00 | Eoin Rhodes 7',28' James Dermody 33'Dean Broaders 59' |
The draw for the Second Round took place on 23 March 2016. The games were played on 18 and 19 April 2016.
| 18 April 2016 | Cork City | 7–0 | Waterford United | Turners Cross |
| 19:45 | Danny Morrissey 46' Ian Turner 50'Gavan Holohan 54'Gearoid Morrissey 57'Mark O'Sullivan 60'Conor McCarthy 70'Mark O'Sullivan 72' |
| 18 April 2016 | Galway United | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2p) | Finn Harps | Eamon Deacy Park |
| 19:45 |
| 18 April 2016 | Dundalk | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | St Patrick's Athletic | Oriel Park |
| 19:45 | Rory Feely 113' |
| 18 April 2016 | Shelbourne | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3p) | Bohemians | Tolka Park |
| 19:45 |
| 19 April 2016 | Limerick | 4–0 | Wexford Youths | Market's Field |
| 19:15 | Aaron Greene 32' John O'Flynn 38',71'Aaron Greene 90' |
| 19 April 2016 | Derry City | 2–0 | Sligo Rovers | The Brandywell |
| 19:45 | Nathan Boyle 34',45' |
| 19 April 2016 | Bray Wanderers | 4–2 (a.e.t.) | Bluebell United | Carlisle Grounds |
| 19:45 | Ryan Brennan 27' (pen.) Ger Pender (34)Andrew Lewis 101'Dylan Connolly 115' (pen.) | Sean Byrne 40',69' |
| 19 April 2016 | Shamrock Rovers | 3–0 | Athlone Town | Tallaght Stadium |
| 19:45 | Sean Heaney 24' Sean Boyd 45'Trevor Clarke 79' |
| 2 May 2016 | Bray Wanderers | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | St Patrick's Athletic | Carlisle Grounds |
| 15:00 | Dylan Connolly 59' Gareth McDonagh 106' | Billy Dennehy 53' Jamie McGrath 96'Mark Timlin 111' | Attendance: 700 Referee: Ben Connolly |
| 2 May 2016 | Shelbourne | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (2–3p) | Shamrock Rovers | Tolka Park |
| 19:00 | Danny North (o.g.) | Dean Clarke 62' | Attendance: 779 Referee: Ray Matthews |
| 2 May 2016 | Cork City | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Derry City | Turners Cross |
| 19:45 | Mark O'Sullivan 9' | Barry McNamee 38' Dean Jarvis 95' | Attendance: 901 Referee: Sean Grant |
| 3 May 2016 | Limerick | 2–0 | Galway United | Markets Field |
| 19:15 | Paudie O'Connor 27' Shane Duggan 52' | Attendance: 1,243 Referee: Anthony Buttimer |
| 1 August 2016 | Derry City | 0–1 | Limerick | The Brandywell |
| 19:45 | Report | Stephen Kenny 15' | Referee: Robert Harvey |
| 8 August 2016 | Shamrock Rovers | 1–3 | St Patrick's Athletic | Tallaght Stadium |
| 21:45 | Dean Clarke 33' | Report | Billy Dennehy 45+2' Jamie McGrath 57'Christy Fagan 80' | Referee: D. McKeon |
| 17 September 2016 | Limerick | 1–4 | St Patrick's Athletic | Markets Field |
| 17:30 | Lee Lynch 17' | Report | Christy Fagan 65' Conan Byrne 84'Jamie McGrath 87'Graham Kelly 90+1' | Attendance: 4,362 Referee: Robert Rogers (Dublin) |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  John O'Flynn | Limerick | 4 |
| 2 | Padraic Cunningham | Galway United | 3 |
| Mark O'Sullivan | Cork City | 3 | |
| Jamie McGrath | St Patrick's Athletic | 3 | |
| 3 |  Markus Gustavsson | Cobh Ramblers | 2 |
| Sean Byrne | Waterford United | 2 | |
| Aaron Greene | Limerick | 2 | |
 Nathan Boyle | Derry City | 2 | |
| Stephen Kenny | Limerick | 2 | |
 Sodiq Oguntola | Shelbourne FC | 2 |