The 2018–19 Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes) was the 33rd edition of Northern Ireland's football knockout cup competition for national league clubs, and the fifth edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. This season's League Cup was contested by all 36 clubs of the three divisions of the Northern Ireland Football League. The competition began on 4 August 2018 with the first round, and concluded on 16 February 2019 with the final. The competition was sponsored by McLean Bookmakers.NI Football League
Dungannon Swifts were the defending champions, after they defeated Ballymena United 3–1 in the 2018 final to win the competition for the first time and record the first ever senior trophy win since their formation in 1949. This season, Linfield were the eventual winners, defeating Ballymena United 1–0 in the final. Linfield were playing in the League Cup final for a record 13th time, and lifted the trophy for a record tenth time overall and the first time since they won the 2008 final 11 years earlier. Ballymena United appeared in the League Cup final for the third consecutive year - their fourth appearance in five years - and were consigned to defeat in the final for the second successive year and the third time in five years.
Format and schedule The competition was played in a straight knockout format and was open to the 36 members of the Northern Ireland Football League. Replays were not used in the competition, with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary.
RoundFirst match dateFixturesClubs First round 4 August 2018 4 36 → 32 Second round 28 August 2018 16 32 → 16 Third round 9 October 2018 8 16 → 8 Quarter-finals 13 November 2018 4 8 → 4 Semi-finals 11 December 2018 2 4 → 2 Final 16 February 2019 1 2 → 1
Results The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.
First round The matches took place on 4 August 2018.
Second round The matches took place on 28 August 2018 and 12 September 2018. The top 16 league clubs from the previous season were seeded in this round in order to avoid drawing each other.
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|28 August 2018
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|12 September 2018
SeededUnseededArds (1) Ballinamallard United (2) Ballymena United (1) Carrick Rangers (2) Cliftonville (1) Coleraine (1) Crusaders (1) Dungannon Swifts (1) Glenavon (1) Glentoran (1) Harland & Wolff Welders (2) Institute (1) Linfield (1) Newry City (1) Portadown (2) Warrenpoint Town (1)Annagh United (3) Ballyclare Comrades (2) Dergview (2) Dollingstown (3) Knockbreda (2) Larne (2) Limavady United (2) Lisburn Distillery (3) Loughgall (2) Lurgan Celtic (3) Moyola Park (3) Newington YC (3) Portstewart (3) PSNI (2) Sport & Leisure Swifts (3) Tobermore United (3)Clubs in bold = Second round winners
Third round The matches took place on 9 October 2018 and 30 October 2018.
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|9 October 2018
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|30 October 2018
Quarter-finals The matches took place on 13 November 2018, 20 November 2018, and 4 December 2018.
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|13 November 2018
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|20 November 2018
|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|4 December 2018
Semi-finals Both matches took place on 11 December 2018.
Final The final was played on 16 February 2019 at Windsor Park.
References