1998–99 Irish League Cup

1998–99 Irish League Cup
Coca-Cola League Cup
Country  Northern Ireland
Teams 18
Champions Linfield (5th win)
Runners-up Glentoran
Matches played 17
Goals scored 67 (3.94 per match)

The 1998–99 Irish League Cup (known as the Coca-Cola League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th edition of Northern Ireland's secondary football knock-out cup competition. It concluded on 4 May 1999 with the final.

Linfield were the defending champions after their fourth League Cup win last season; a 1–0 victory over Glentoran in the previous final. This season they became the first club ever to successfully defend the trophy. In a repeat of the previous final, Linfield once again came out on top with a 2–1 victory against Glentoran in the final, lifting the cup for the fifth time and condemning the Glens to defeat in the final for the third season running, which is a record for successive final defeats in the competition that still stands.[1][2]

The competition was re-structured this season, allowing only the 10 top-flight clubs and the 8 second-tier clubs to enter. This reduced the number of clubs taking part from 32 down to 18.

Preliminary round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Newry Town 0–1 Larne
Omagh Town 4–3 Limavady United

First round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Ballyclare Comrades 1–4 Glenavon
Ballymena United 2–3 Linfield
Carrick Rangers 2–1 Coleraine
Crusaders 3–1 Larne
Bangor 3–4 Ards
Portadown 0–2 Cliftonville
Glentoran 8–0 Dungannon Swifts
Omagh Town 2–3 Distillery

Quarter-finals

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Carrick Rangers 3–1 Ards
Crusaders 1–2 Cliftonville
Glenavon 1–2 Linfield
Glentoran 2–1 Distillery

Semi-finals

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Cliftonville 1–2 Linfield
Glentoran 1–0 Carrick Rangers

Final

References