1880–81 Irish Cup

1880–81 Irish Cup
Country Ireland Ireland
Teams 7
Champions Moyola Park (1st title)
Runners-up Cliftonville
Matches played 7
Goals scored 26 (3.71 per match)

The 1880–81 Irish Cup was the inaugural edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in Irish football. The competition began on 5 February 1881 with the first round and ended on 9 April 1881 with the final. Moyola Park were the very first winners of the competition, and they have never won it since.[1]

The competition was played in a straight knock-out format. If a match ended level at full time, a replay was required to decide the winner. The very first Irish Cup replay was between Cliftonville and Knock on 26 March 1881. William Morrow of Moyola Park scored the very first goal in an Irish Cup final during his club's 1–0 win over Cliftonville to lift the trophy.

First round

The draw for the first round was made on 10 January 1881, with the matches played on Saturday, 5 February 1881. Alexander received a bye into the semi-finals as a result of the odd number of seven participants.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Knock 11–0 Distillery
Moyola Park 2–0 Avoniel
Oldpark 0–2 Cliftonville

Semi-finals

The 3 first round winners entered this round, along with Alexander. The matches took place on Saturday, 12 March 1881.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Moyola Park 3–0 Alexander
Cliftonville 2–2 Knock

Replay

The match took place on Saturday, 26 March 1881.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Knock 1–2 Cliftonville

Final

The inaugural Irish Cup final was played on 9 April 1881 at the Cliftonville Cricket Ground, Belfast.[1]

9 April 1881
Moyola Park 1 – 0 Cliftonville
Morrow  75' Report
Cliftonville Cricket Ground, Belfast
Attendance: 1,500

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Irish Football Club Project: Irish Challenge Cup 1880/81". Irish Football Club Project. Retrieved 10 September 2014.

External links