Tournament details | |
---|---|
Country | Northern Ireland |
Teams | 116 |
Defending champions | Linfield |
Final positions | |
Champions | Linfield (42nd win) |
Runner-up | Crusaders |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 119 |
Goals scored | 493 (4.14 per match) |
The2011–12 Irish Cup (known as theJJB Sports Irish Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 132nd edition of theIrish Cup,Northern Ireland's premierfootball knock-out cup competition.. The competition began on 17 September 2011 with the first round and ended on 5 May 2012 with the final.
Linfield were the defending champions, after a 2–1 victory overCrusaders in last season's final.[1][2] The two clubs met again in this season's final, and Linfield successfully defended the cup to win it for the sixth time in seven seasons after defeating Crusaders 4–1. Crusaders qualified for thefirst qualifying round[3] of the2012–13 UEFA Europa League as Linfield had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League by winning the2011–12 IFA Premiership.
The draw for the first round was held on 1 September 2011.Ards Rangers,Broomhedge,Lower Maze,Newington Youth Club,Rathfriland Rangers andSirocco Works all received abye into the Second Round.[4] Matches were played on 17 and 24 September 2011.
Source:irishfa.com
The games were played on 22 October 2011.
Source:irishfa.com
The games were played on 19 November 2011.
Source:irishfa.com
All 30 clubs fromIFA Championship 1 and 2 entered the competition at this stage, as well as the 10 lower league clubs that had progressed through the previous rounds. The games were played on 10 and 17 December 2011.
Source:irishfa.com
The draw for the Fifth Round was made on 14 December 2011. All 12 clubs from theIFA Premiership entered at this stage, along with the 20 winners from the fourth round matches. The games were played on 14 January 2012. Replays were played on 24 January 2012.
Source:irishfa.com
The games were played on 11 February 2012.
Source:irishfa.com
The quarter-finals were played on 3 March 2012, with the replay played on 12 March 2012.
Donegal Celtic | 1 – 1 | Dungannon Swifts |
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Henderson![]() | Report | Forker![]() |
Linfield | 4 – 0 | Coagh United |
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Lowry![]() Thompson ![]() | Report |
Newry City | 1 – 2 | Ballymena United† |
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Haveron![]() | Report | McCutcheon![]() Davidson ![]() |
†Ballymena United were later ejected from the competition for fielding an ineligible player in this match.Newry City were consequently reinstated.[5]Ballymena United appealed the decision, but the appeal was rejected.[6]
Dungannon Swifts | 1 – 0 | Donegal Celtic |
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Lavery![]() | Report |
The semi-final draw was made on 3 March 2012. Both ties were due to be played on 31 March 2012. However, Ballymena United's appeal over their disqualification delayed Linfield's semi-final match until 14 April 2012. Newry City were confirmed as their opponents when Ballymena's appeal was rejected.
Dungannon Swifts | 0 – 1 | Crusaders |
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Report | Rainey![]() |
The final took place on 5 May 2012 atWindsor Park.