| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Dates | 30 July 2011 – 18 March 2012 |
| Teams | 42 |
| Defending champions | Rangers |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Kilmarnock |
| Runners-up | Celtic |
The2011–12Scottish League Cup was the 66th season of Scotland's second-most prestigiousfootball knockout competition, the Scottish League Cup, also known as theScottish Communities League Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was won byKilmarnock
The competition is asingle elimination knock-out competition. In each round, fixtures are determined by random draw, with the First Round to Third Round seeded according to last season's league positions (higher 50% of finishers drawn v lower 50% of finishers, alternating which is at home with each tie drawn).
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.
The Cup is now sponsored by theScottish Government.[1]
The First round draw was conducted on Thursday 2 June 2011 at 2:15pm atRavenscraig Sports Centre inMotherwell.[2] All matches were played on Saturday 30 July 2011 at 15:00.
| Saturday, 30 July | Airdrie United | 5–0 | Stirling Albion | New Broomfield |
| 15:00 | Graeme Owens 32' (pen.),78' (pen.)Ryan Donelly 35',81'Jamie Bain 88' | Attendance: 705 Referee: Hilland |
| Saturday, 30 July | Albion Rovers | 2–4 | Falkirk | Cliftonhill |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Alloa Athletic | 0–3 | Morton | Recreation Park |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Annan Athletic | 1–2 | Dunfermline Athletic | Galabank |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Brechin City | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Clyde | Glebe Park |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Cowdenbeath | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–4p) | Stenhousemuir | Central Park |
| 15:00 | Attendance: 293 Referee: McKendrick |
| Saturday, 30 July | Dumbarton | 0–4 | Dundee | Strathclyde Homes Stadium |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | East Fife | 2–1 | Elgin City | Bayview Stadium |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | East Stirlingshire | 0–3 | Ayr United | Ochilview Park |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Forfar Athletic | 2–0 | Peterhead | Station Park |
| 15:00 |
| Saturday, 30 July | Livingston | 6–0 | Arbroath | Almondvale Stadium |
| 15:00 | Boulding 2' Russell 7',22'Jacobs 33'Talbot 66'McNulty 72' | Attendance: 804 Referee:Allan |
| Saturday, 30 July | Montrose | 1–4 | Raith Rovers | Links Park |
| 15:00 | Winter 20' | Williamson 31' Walker 52'Baird 54'Thomson 77' | Attendance: 614 Referee:Colvin |
| Saturday, 30 July | Partick Thistle | 1–3 | Berwick Rangers | Firhill Stadium |
| 15:00 | Cairney 28' | Gray 33' Noble 73'Currie 79' (pen.) | Attendance: 1,255 Referee:McLean |
| Saturday, 30 July | Queen of the South | 2–1 | Stranraer | Palmerston Park |
| 15:00 | Carmichael 19' Brighton 78' | Gallacher 15' | Attendance: 1,511 Referee:O'Reilly |
| Saturday, 30 July | Ross County | 2–1 | Queen's Park | Victoria Park |
| 15:00 | McMenamin 58' Flynn 75' | Daly 5' | Attendance: 949 Referee:McDermott |
The Second round draw took place at 1:00pm on Tuesday 2 August at the Highland Football Academy,Dingwall.[3] The ties are due to be played on Tuesday 23/ Wednesday 24 August 2011.
| 23 August | Hibernian | 5–0 | Berwick Rangers | Easter Road, Edinburgh |
| 19:45 | Scott 11',58' Sodje 38'O'Connor 51'Sproule 87' | Attendance: 4,936 Referee: Stephen Finnie |
| 23 August | East Fife | 2–1 | Dunfermline Athletic | Bayview Stadium, Methil |
| 19:45 | Linn 4' Dalziel 54' | Buchanan 12' | Attendance: 1,262 Referee: Craig Charleston |
| 24 August | St Johnstone | 3–0 | Livingston | McDiarmid Park, Perth |
| 19:45 | Wright 13' Sandaza 18',25' | Attendance: 2,439 Referee: Steve Conroy |
| 23 August | Airdrie United | 2–0 | Raith Rovers | New Broomfield, Airdrie |
| 19:45 | Holmes 27' Donnelly 41' | Attendance: 683 Referee: George Salmond |
| 24 August | Falkirk | 3–1 | Stenhousemuir | Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk |
| 19:30 | Ferguson 47' (o.g.) Sibbald 49'El Alagui 90+1' | Paton 25' | Attendance: 2,134 Referee: Alan Muir |
| 24 August | Ayr United | 1–0 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Somerset Park, Ayr |
| 19:30 | Malone 60' | Attendance: 987 Referee: Brian Winter |
| 23 August | Queen of the South | 3–0 | Forfar Athletic | Palmerston Park, Dumfries |
| 19:45 | Brighton 29' Johnston 58'Clark 61' | Attendance: 1,008 Referee: Collum |
| 23 August | Greenock Morton | 3–4 | St Mirren | Cappielow, Greenock |
| 19:30 | Tidser 17' MacDonald 27'Jackson 79' | Teale 8' Thompson 55',66'Hasselbaink 60' (pen.) | Attendance: 4,959 Referee: Murray |
| 23 August | Hamilton Academical | 1–2 | Ross County | New Douglas Park, Hamilton |
| 19:45 | Chambers 2' (pen.) | Gardyne 65' Craig 82' | Attendance: 828 Referee: Tumilty |
| 24 August | Clyde | 0–4 | Motherwell | Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld |
| 19:45 | Higdon 17' Law 41'Hateley 51'Lawless 85' | Attendance: 1,778 Referee: Richmond |
| 23 August | Aberdeen | 1–0 | Dundee | Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen |
| 19:45 | Mackie 16' | Attendance: 5,722 Referee: McKendrick |
The Third round draw was conducted on Monday 29 August. The top 5 teams of last yearsScottish Premier League will join the 11 winners from the second round. The 8 ties will be played on 20/21 September.
Seeded Teams:Aberdeen,Celtic,Dundee United,Heart of Midlothian,Kilmarnock,Motherwell andRangers andSt Johnstone.
Unseeded Teams:Airdrie United,Ayr United,East Fife,Falkirk,Hibernian,Queen of the South,Ross County andSt Mirren
| 20 September 2011 | St Johnstone | 0–2 | St Mirren | McDiarmid Park |
| 19:45 | Adams 39' (o.g.) Goodwin 45' | Attendance: 2,296 Referee: Craig Thomson |
| 21 September 2011 | Ross County | 0–2 | Celtic | Victoria Park |
| 19:15 | Hooper 13' Boyd 51' (o.g.) | Attendance: 5,367 Referee: Calum Murray |
| 20 September 2011 | Kilmarnock | 5–0 | Queen of the South | Rugby Park |
| 19:45 | Harkins 2' Heffernan 41',59',70'Hutchinson 74' | Attendance: 3,091 Referee: Steven O'Reilly |
| 21 September 2011 | Falkirk | 3–2 | Rangers | Falkirk Stadium |
| 19:45 | El Alagui 58',73' Millar 90+3' | Goian 83' Jelavić 87' | Attendance: 6,493 Referee: Brian Winter |
| 20 September 2011 | Motherwell | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (6–7p) | Hibernian | Fir Park |
| 19:45 | Lasley 30' Higdon 40' | O'Connor 19',87' | Attendance: 3,909 Referee: Willie Collum |
| 21 September 2011 | Ayr United | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–1p) | Heart of Midlothian | Somerset Park |
| 19:45 | Wardlaw 63' | Robinson 49' |
| 20 September 2011 | Aberdeen | 3–3 (a.e.t.) (3–4p) | East Fife | Pittodrie |
| 19:45 | McArdle 40' Mackie 47'Fallon 90+2' | Wallace 31' Park 54'Floan 57' | Attendance: 3,964 Referee: Steven Mclean |
| 20 September 2011 | Airdrie United | 0–2 | Dundee United | Excelsior Stadium |
| 19:45 | Dow 11' Daly 76' | Attendance: 1,252 Referee: Madden |
The Quarter-finals draw was conducted on Thursday 22 September. The 4 ties will be played on 25/26 October.
| 25 October 2011 | Dundee United | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5p) | Falkirk | Tannadice Park |
| 19:45 | Russell 73' Daly 96' | Report | El Alagui 70' Graham 118' | Attendance: 4,188 Referee:Calum Murray |
| Penalties | ||||
Russell Daly Flood  Douglas Gunning | Fulton El Alagui Weatherston Higginbotham Murdoch | |||
| 25 October 2011 | Kilmarnock | 2–0 | East Fife | Rugby Park |
| 19:45 | Sissoko 73' Harkins 81' | Report | Ogleby 45'  | Attendance: 4,029 Referee:Mike Tumilty |
| 25 October 2011 | St Mirren | 0–1 | Ayr United | St Mirren Park |
| 19:45 | Report | Smith 81' | Attendance: 4,570 Referee:Stevie O'Reilly |
| 26 October 2011 | Hibernian | 1–4 | Celtic | Easter Road |
| 19:15 | Majstorović 4' (o.g.) Sproule 72' | Report | Forrest 46',58' Stokes 64'Hooper 69' | Referee: William Collum |
The draw for the semi-finals took place at Hampden Park on 1 November 2011 at 2pm. Celtic beat Falkirk 3–1, while Ayr United took on Kilmarnock in an historicAyrshire derby. Kilmarnock won 1–0. The Ayrshire derby was the first such game to take place in such a late stage of a major tournament.[4][5]
| 28 January 2012 | Ayr United | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Kilmarnock | Hampden Park |
| 13:00 | BBC Sport | Shiels 109' | Attendance: 25,057 Referee:Steven McLean |
| 29 January 2012 | Falkirk | 1–3 | Celtic | Hampden Park |
| 15:00 | Fulton 40' | BBC Sport | Brown 27' (pen.) Stokes 56',86' | Attendance: 30,000 Referee:Euan Norris |
| 18 March 2012 | Celtic | 0–1 | Kilmarnock | Hampden Park |
| 15:00 | Report | Van Tornhout 84' | Attendance: 49,572 Referee:William Collum |