2019–20 Northern Ireland Football League Cup
Football tournament season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2019–20 Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes) was the 34th edition of Northern Ireland's football knock-out cup competition for national league clubs, and the sixth edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. This season's League Cup was contested by 35 of the 36 clubs that started the season in the three divisions of the Northern Ireland Football League. The competition began on 10 August 2019 with the first round, and concluded on 15 February 2020 with the final. The competition was sponsored by McLean Bookmakers.[1]
BetMcLean League Cup | |
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Tournament details | |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Dates | 10 August 2019 – 15 February 2020 |
Teams | 35 |
Defending champions | Linfield |
Final positions | |
Champions | Coleraine (2nd win) |
Runner-up | Crusaders |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 34 |
Goals scored | 146 (4.29 per match) |
Linfield were the defending champions, having beaten Ballymena United 1–0 in the 2019 final to lift the League Cup for a record tenth time.[2] However, their defence of the cup came to an end after a defeat against Coleraine in the semi-finals. Coleraine would go on to win the cup for the second time, with a 2–1 win over Crusaders in the final. This was their first League Cup title in 32 years, since winning the 1987–88 competition - a new record for the longest gap between League Cup titles. Crusaders suffered defeat in a League Cup final for the sixth time - another new record in the competition.