The 2015–16 Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the JBE League Cup for sponsorship purposes)[1] was the 30th edition of Northern Ireland's football knock-out cup competition for national league clubs, and the third edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. This season's League Cup was sponsored by JBE Mechanical Electrical,[1] and was contested by the 40 clubs in the NIFL Premiership, NIFL Championship 1 and NIFL Championship 2. The number of participants fell by one this season following Ballymoney United's relegation from the 2014–15 NIFL Championship 2 to regional football. The competition began on 18 August 2015 with the first round, and concluded on 13 February 2016 with the final at Solitude.
For the third consecutive season Cliftonville were the defending champions, following their 3–2 win over Ballymena United in the 2015 final. This secured the trophy for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall.[2] This season they once again pulled off a successful defence of the Cup, defeating second-tier side Ards 3–0 in the final. In doing so, they became the first club ever to appear in, and win four consecutive League Cup finals.[3]Ards reached the final for the first time in 21 years, and the third time overall. This marked only the second occasion in the competition's history that a club from outside the top flight had reached the final, the first being Portadown (then of the second tier) in the 2009 final. Ards' previous final appearance had also been against Cliftonville, when they won the Cup 2–0 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in 1994–95.
The competition was played in a straight knock-out format and was open to the 40 members of the NIFL Premiership, NIFL Championship 1 and NIFL Championship 2. The top 16 ranked clubs from last season received byes into the second round, which included the 12 members of the 2014–15 NIFL Premiership and the top four ranked clubs from the 2014–15 NIFL Championship. Of the remaining 24 Championship clubs, 16 of them entered the competition in the first round, with the other eight given byes into the second round. Replays were not used in the competition, with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary.
The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.
First roundedit
The draw for the first round was made randomly and included 24 of the 28 NIFL Championship clubs, with the top four ranked clubs from the 2014–15 NIFL Championship not entering until the second round. 8 of the 24 Championship clubs received a bye into the second round, leaving the remaining 16 Championship clubs in the first round to play a total of eight ties. The draw took place on 6 August 2015, with the matches played on 18 August 2015. The eight clubs to receive byes were: Annagh United, Dergview, Dollingstown, Dundela, Limavady United, Lisburn Distillery, Lurgan Celtic and PSNI.[4]
The second round draw was made on 22 August 2015, with the matches played on 1, 2 and 15 September 2015.[5] The second round draw was made up of the remaining 32 clubs, with a seeding system in place for this round only. The 16 highest-ranked clubs from the 2014–15 league season were seeded, including the 12 members of the 2014–15 NIFL Premiership along with the top four clubs from the 2014–15 NIFL Championship. The eight winners from the first round matches and the eight clubs that received byes into the second round were unseeded.
The 16 winners from the second round matches entered this round. With no seeding, the third round fixtures were determined by a random draw, and took place on 14 October 2015. Limavady United were the lowest-ranked club to reach the third round, as the last remaining representative from the third tier.
The 8 winners from the third round matches entered the quarter-finals. As the only two clubs from outside the top-flight to reach the quarter-finals, the two second-tier sides – Ards and Institute – were the lowest-ranked sides remaining in the competition.
The 4 quarter-final winners entered this round. The semi-final draw took place on 21 November 2015, with the matches played on 15 December 2015. As the only club from outside the top-flight to reach the semi-finals, Ards were the lowest-ranked side remaining in the competition at this stage.
The final was played on 13 February 2016 at Solitude. Cliftonville became the first club ever to reach four consecutive League Cup finals, and the first club ever to win four consecutive Cups. Ards became only the second club from outside the top flight to reach the final in the competition's history, and the first since Portadown (who were in the second tier at the time) did so in 2008–09.
^ ab"JBE TO SPONSOR LEAGUE CUP". nifootballleague.com. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
^"League Cup final: Ballymena Utd 2-3 Cliftonville". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"League Cup final: Cliftonville beat Ards 3-0 at Solitude". BBC Sport. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^"JBE LEAGUE CUP ROUND ONE DRAW". NI Football League. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
^"JBE LEAGUE CUP SECOND ROUND DRAW". nifootballleague.com. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
January 01, 1970
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The 2015 16 Northern Ireland Football League Cup known as the JBE League Cup for sponsorship purposes 1 was the 30th edition of Northern Ireland s football knock out cup competition for national league clubs and the third edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup This season s League Cup was sponsored by JBE Mechanical Electrical 1 and was contested by the 40 clubs in the NIFL Premiership NIFL Championship 1 and NIFL Championship 2 The number of participants fell by one this season following Ballymoney United s relegation from the 2014 15 NIFL Championship 2 to regional football The competition began on 18 August 2015 with the first round and concluded on 13 February 2016 with the final at Solitude 2015 16 Northern Ireland Football League CupJBE League CupTournament detailsCountry Northern IrelandTeams40Defending championsCliftonvilleFinal positionsChampionsCliftonville 5th win Runner upArdsTournament statisticsMatches played39Goals scored142 3 64 per match 2014 152016 17 For the third consecutive season Cliftonville were the defending champions following their 3 2 win over Ballymena United in the 2015 final This secured the trophy for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall 2 This season they once again pulled off a successful defence of the Cup defeating second tier side Ards 3 0 in the final In doing so they became the first club ever to appear in and win four consecutive League Cup finals 3 Ards reached the final for the first time in 21 years and the third time overall This marked only the second occasion in the competition s history that a club from outside the top flight had reached the final the first being Portadown then of the second tier in the 2009 final Ards previous final appearance had also been against Cliftonville when they won the Cup 2 0 on penalties after a 0 0 draw in 1994 95 Contents 1 Format and schedule 2 Results 2 1 First round 2 2 Second round 2 3 Third round 2 4 Quarter finals 2 5 Semi finals 2 6 Final 3 See also 4 External links 5 ReferencesFormat and schedule editThe competition was played in a straight knock out format and was open to the 40 members of the NIFL Premiership NIFL Championship 1 and NIFL Championship 2 The top 16 ranked clubs from last season received byes into the second round which included the 12 members of the 2014 15 NIFL Premiership and the top four ranked clubs from the 2014 15 NIFL Championship Of the remaining 24 Championship clubs 16 of them entered the competition in the first round with the other eight given byes into the second round Replays were not used in the competition with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary Round Draw date First match date Fixtures Clubs First round 6 August 2015 18 August 2015 8 40 32 Second round 22 August 2015 1 September 2015 16 32 16 Third round 5 September 2015 14 October 2015 8 16 8 Quarter finals 17 October 2015 18 November 2015 4 8 4 Semi finals 21 November 2015 15 December 2015 2 4 2 Final N A 13 February 2016 1 2 1Results editThe league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses First round edit The draw for the first round was made randomly and included 24 of the 28 NIFL Championship clubs with the top four ranked clubs from the 2014 15 NIFL Championship not entering until the second round 8 of the 24 Championship clubs received a bye into the second round leaving the remaining 16 Championship clubs in the first round to play a total of eight ties The draw took place on 6 August 2015 with the matches played on 18 August 2015 The eight clubs to receive byes were Annagh United Dergview Dollingstown Dundela Limavady United Lisburn Distillery Lurgan Celtic and PSNI 4 Team 1 Score Team 2 Ballyclare Comrades 2 2 1 Wakehurst 3 Banbridge Town 3 3 1 Armagh City 2 Glebe Rangers 3 1 0 Coagh United 3 Larne 2 3 1 Loughgall 2 Moyola Park 3 2 0 Donegal Celtic 2 Portstewart 3 0 3 Knockbreda 2 Queen s University 3 1 7 Sport amp Leisure Swifts 3 Tobermore United 3 0 2 Newington YC 3 Second round edit The second round draw was made on 22 August 2015 with the matches played on 1 2 and 15 September 2015 5 The second round draw was made up of the remaining 32 clubs with a seeding system in place for this round only The 16 highest ranked clubs from the 2014 15 league season were seeded including the 12 members of the 2014 15 NIFL Premiership along with the top four clubs from the 2014 15 NIFL Championship The eight winners from the first round matches and the eight clubs that received byes into the second round were unseeded Team 1 Score Team 2 1 September 2015 Ballinamallard United 1 5 0 Banbridge Town 3 Carrick Rangers 1 1 1 aet 5 4p Lurgan Celtic 2 Coleraine 1 3 1 Ballyclare Comrades 2 Crusaders 1 3 1 Knockbreda 2 Dergview 2 1 2 Ards 2 Dollingstown 3 0 4 Harland amp Wolff Welders 2 Glentoran 1 1 0 PSNI 3 Institute 2 5 2 Sport amp Leisure Swifts 3 Larne 2 1 4 aet Portadown 1 Limavady United 3 2 1 Bangor 2 Linfield 1 5 0 Glebe Rangers 3 Moyola Park 3 1 4 aet Ballymena United 1 2 September 2015 Cliftonville 1 2 1 Dundela 3 Newington YC 3 0 3 Dungannon Swifts 1 Warrenpoint Town 1 5 1 Lisburn Distillery 2 15 September 2015 Glenavon 1 3 3 aet 2 3p Annagh United 2 Seeded Unseeded Ards Ballinamallard United Ballymena United Bangor Carrick Rangers Cliftonville Coleraine Crusaders Dungannon Swifts Glenavon Glentoran Harland amp Wolff Welders Institute Linfield Portadown Warrenpoint Town Annagh United Ballyclare Comrades Banbridge Town Dergview Dollingstown Dundela Glebe Rangers Knockbreda Larne Limavady United Lisburn Distillery Lurgan Celtic Moyola Park Newington YC PSNI Sport amp Leisure Swifts Third round edit The 16 winners from the second round matches entered this round With no seeding the third round fixtures were determined by a random draw and took place on 14 October 2015 Limavady United were the lowest ranked club to reach the third round as the last remaining representative from the third tier Annagh United 2 v Ards 2 14 October 2015Annagh United 2 0 2Ards 2 Tandragee Road Portadown19 45 BST NIFL Arthurs nbsp 27 Warwick nbsp 49 Referee Raymond Hetherington Coleraine 1 v Harland amp Wolff Welders 2 14 October 2015Coleraine 1 1 1 a e t 3 1 p Harland amp Wolff Welders 2 The Showgrounds Coleraine19 45 BST McLaughlin nbsp 40 NIFL Deans nbsp 19 Referee Ross Dunlop Crusaders 1 v Institute 2 14 October 2015Crusaders 1 3 4 a e t Institute 2 Seaview Belfast19 45 BST O Flynn nbsp 22 Mitchell nbsp 50 pen 90 3 pen NIFL Curry nbsp 3 Friel nbsp 44 McKibbin nbsp 85 o g Brown nbsp 116 Referee Steven Taylor Dungannon Swifts 1 v Cliftonville 1 14 October 2015Dungannon Swifts 1 3 3 a e t 3 4 p Cliftonville 1 Stangmore Park Dungannon19 45 BST McElroy nbsp 85 105 Teggart nbsp 92 NIFL J Donnelly nbsp 9 98 M Donnelly nbsp 102 Referee Raymond Crangle Glentoran 1 v Carrick Rangers 1 14 October 2015Glentoran 1 3 1Carrick Rangers 1 The Oval Belfast19 45 BST Gordon nbsp 3 73 Allen nbsp 87 NIFL McCaul nbsp 14 Referee Mervyn Smyth Limavady United 3 v Ballymena United 1 14 October 2015Limavady United 3 0 1Ballymena United 1 The Showgrounds Limavady19 45 BST NIFL Taylor nbsp 30 Referee John Deighan Linfield 1 v Ballinamallard United 1 14 October 2015Linfield 1 0 1Ballinamallard United 1 Windsor Park Belfast19 45 BST NIFL Lafferty nbsp 70 Referee Evan Boyce Portadown 1 v Warrenpoint Town 1 14 October 2015Portadown 1 1 2Warrenpoint Town 1 Shamrock Park Portadown19 45 BST Conaty nbsp 18 NIFL Miskelly nbsp 53 o g Murray nbsp 57 pen Referee Ian McNabb Quarter finals edit The 8 winners from the third round matches entered the quarter finals As the only two clubs from outside the top flight to reach the quarter finals the two second tier sides Ards and Institute were the lowest ranked sides remaining in the competition Ards 2 v Ballinamallard United 1 18 November 2015Ards 2 2 2 a e t 7 6 p Ballinamallard United 1 Clandeboye Park Bangor19 45 GMT McAllister nbsp 70 McKee nbsp 107 BBC Sport Currie nbsp 7 Courtney nbsp 96 Ballymena United 1 v Coleraine 1 18 November 2015Ballymena United 1 1 2Coleraine 1 The Showgrounds Ballymena19 45 GMT McVey nbsp 89 BBC Sport McLaughlin nbsp 15 71 Cliftonville 1 v Glentoran 1 18 November 2015Cliftonville 1 3 2Glentoran 1 Solitude Belfast19 45 GMT McDaid nbsp 58 Catney nbsp 63 McCullough nbsp 66 o g BBC Sport Addis nbsp 12 Allen nbsp 69 Institute 2 v Warrenpoint Town 1 18 November 2015Institute 2 1 2Warrenpoint Town 1 Riverside Stadium Drumahoe19 45 GMT Brown nbsp 28 BBC Sport M Hughes nbsp 40 D Hughes nbsp 63 pen Semi finals edit The 4 quarter final winners entered this round The semi final draw took place on 21 November 2015 with the matches played on 15 December 2015 As the only club from outside the top flight to reach the semi finals Ards were the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition at this stage Ards 2 v Coleraine 1 15 December 2015Ards 2 2 2 a e t 5 3 p Coleraine 1 Clandeboye Park Bangor19 45 GMT McKee nbsp 65 85 NIFL McLaughlin nbsp 19 50 Referee Keith KennedyPenaltiesCully nbsp Lambe nbsp Dorrian nbsp Carson nbsp McKee nbsp Morrow nbsp Higgins nbsp McLaughlin nbsp Kane nbsp Warrenpoint Town 1 v Cliftonville 1 15 December 2015Warrenpoint Town 1 0 1 a e t Cliftonville 1 Milltown Warrenpoint19 45 GMT NIFL J Donnelly nbsp 92 Referee Arnold Hunter Final edit The final was played on 13 February 2016 at Solitude Cliftonville became the first club ever to reach four consecutive League Cup finals and the first club ever to win four consecutive Cups Ards became only the second club from outside the top flight to reach the final in the competition s history and the first since Portadown who were in the second tier at the time did so in 2008 09 13 February 201617 30 GMTArds 2 0 3Cliftonville 1 NIFL M Donnelly nbsp 35 McDaid nbsp 62 Garrett nbsp 83 Solitude BelfastReferee Andrew DaveySee also edit2015 16 NIFL Premiership 2015 16 NIFL Championship 2015 16 Irish CupExternal links editNIFL official siteReferences edit a b JBE TO SPONSOR LEAGUE CUP nifootballleague com 6 August 2015 Retrieved 18 August 2015 League Cup final Ballymena Utd 2 3 Cliftonville BBC Sport 24 January 2015 Retrieved 25 January 2015 League Cup final Cliftonville beat Ards 3 0 at Solitude BBC Sport 13 February 2016 Retrieved 16 February 2016 JBE LEAGUE CUP ROUND ONE DRAW NI Football League 6 August 2015 Retrieved 18 August 2015 JBE LEAGUE CUP SECOND ROUND DRAW nifootballleague com 22 August 2015 Retrieved 22 August 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2015 16 Northern Ireland Football League Cup amp oldid 1225963083, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
