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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 knockout 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.
| JBE League Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  Northern Ireland |
| Teams | 40 |
| Defending champions | Cliftonville |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Cliftonville (5th win) |
| Runner-up | Ards |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 39 |
| Goals scored | 142 (3.64 per match) |
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.
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The competition was played in a straight knockout 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 → 1 |
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The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.
First round
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 & Leisure Swifts (3) |
| Tobermore United (3) | 0–2 | Newington YC (3) |
Second round
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.
Third round
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.
| 14 October 2015 | Annagh United (2) | 0 – 2 | Ards (2) | Tandragee Road, Portadown |
| 19:45 BST | NIFL | Arthurs  27'Warwick 49' |
Referee: Raymond Hetherington |
| 14 October 2015 | Coleraine (1) | 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (3 – 1 p) | Harland & Wolff Welders (2) | The Showgrounds, Coleraine |
| 19:45 BST | McLaughlin 40' |
NIFL | Deans 19' |
Referee: Ross Dunlop |
| 14 October 2015 | Crusaders (1) | 3 – 4 (a.e.t.) | Institute (2) | Seaview, Belfast |
| 19:45 BST | O'Flynn 22' Mitchell 50' (pen.), 90+3' (pen.) |
NIFL | Curry 3' Friel 44'McKibbin 85' (o.g.)Brown 116' |
Referee: Steven Taylor |
| 14 October 2015 | Dungannon Swifts (1) | 3 – 3 (a.e.t.) (3 – 4 p) | Cliftonville (1) | Stangmore Park, Dungannon |
| 19:45 BST | McElroy 85', 105' Teggart 92' |
NIFL | J.Donnelly 9', 98' M.Donnelly 102' |
Referee: Raymond Crangle |
| 14 October 2015 | Glentoran (1) | 3 – 1 | Carrick Rangers (1) | The Oval, Belfast |
| 19:45 BST | Gordon 3', 73' Allen 87' |
NIFL | McCaul 14' |
Referee: Mervyn Smyth |
| 14 October 2015 | Limavady United (3) | 0 – 1 | Ballymena United (1) | The Showgrounds, Limavady |
| 19:45 BST | NIFL | Taylor 30' |
Referee: John Deighan |
| 14 October 2015 | Linfield (1) | 0 – 1 | Ballinamallard United (1) | Windsor Park, Belfast |
| 19:45 BST | NIFL | Lafferty 70' |
Referee: Evan Boyce |
| 14 October 2015 | Portadown (1) | 1 – 2 | Warrenpoint Town (1) | Shamrock Park, Portadown |
| 19:45 BST | Conaty 18' |
NIFL | Miskelly 53' (o.g.) Murray 57' (pen.) |
Referee: Ian McNabb |
Quarter-finals
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.
| 18 November 2015 | Ards (2) | 2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (7 – 6 p) | Ballinamallard United (1) | Clandeboye Park, Bangor |
| 19:45 GMT | McAllister 70' McKee 107' |
BBC Sport | Currie 7' Courtney 96' |
| 18 November 2015 | Ballymena United (1) | 1 – 2 | Coleraine (1) | The Showgrounds, Ballymena |
| 19:45 GMT | McVey 89' |
BBC Sport | McLaughlin 15', 71' |
| 18 November 2015 | Cliftonville (1) | 3 – 2 | Glentoran (1) | Solitude, Belfast |
| 19:45 GMT | McDaid 58' Catney 63'McCullough 66' (o.g.) |
BBC Sport | Addis 12' Allen 69' |
| 18 November 2015 | Institute (2) | 1 – 2 | Warrenpoint Town (1) | Riverside Stadium, Drumahoe |
| 19:45 GMT | Brown 28' |
BBC Sport | M.Hughes 40' D.Hughes 63' (pen.) |
Semi-finals
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.
| 15 December 2015 | Ards (2) | 2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (5 – 3 p) | Coleraine (1) | Clandeboye Park, Bangor |
| 19:45 GMT | McKee 65', 85' |
NIFL | McLaughlin 19', 50' |
Referee: Keith Kennedy |
| Penalties | ||||
Cully  Lambe Dorrian Carson McKee |
Morrow Higgins McLaughlin  Kane |
|||
| 15 December 2015 | Warrenpoint Town (1) | 0 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Cliftonville (1) | Milltown, Warrenpoint |
| 19:45 GMT | NIFL | J.Donnelly 92' |
Referee: Arnold Hunter |
Final
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.
| Ards (2) | 0 – 3 | Cliftonville (1) |
|---|---|---|
| NIFL | M. Donnelly 35' McDaid 62'Garrett 83' |
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