2020–21 Scottish League Cup

The 2020–21 Scottish League Cup (also known as the Betfred Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 75th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.

2020–21 Scottish League Cup

Tournament details
Country	Scotland
Dates	6 October 2020 – 28 February 2021
Teams	44
Defending champions	Celtic
Final positions
Champions	St Johnstone
Runner-up	Livingston
Tournament statistics
Matches played	95
Goals scored	285 (3 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Alan Forrest (7 goals)
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The format for the 2020–21 competition was the same as the previous four seasons.

It began with eight groups of five teams including all 2019–20 Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs, excluding those competing in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, as well as the winners of the 2019–20 Highland Football League (Brora Rangers) and the 2019–20 Lowland Football League (Kelty Hearts).

The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition were held exclusively by Premier Sports.

St Johnstone were the winners of the Scottish League Cup, beating Livingston 1–0 in the final. It was the second major trophy in their history, after the 2014 Scottish Cup. They became the first team in nearly five years to win a Scottish domestic trophy other than Celtic.^[1]

Schedule

Round	First match date	Fixtures	Clubs
Group stage	6 October 2020[2]	80	44 → 16
Second round	28 November 2020[2]	8	16 → 80
Quarter finals	15 December 2020[2]	4	8 → 4
Semi finals	23 January 2021[2]	2	4 → 2
Final	28 February 2021[2]	1	2 → 1

Format

The competition began with eight groups of five teams. The four clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League (Celtic) and Europa League (Rangers, Motherwell, and Aberdeen) qualifying rounds were given a bye through to the second round. The 40 teams competing in the group stage consisted of the other eight teams that competed in the 2019–20 Scottish Premiership, and all of the teams that competed in the 2019–20 Scottish Championship, 2019–20 Scottish League One and 2019–20 Scottish League Two. The 2019–20 Highland Football League and the 2019–20 Lowland Football League champions also competed.

The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the four best runners-up progressed to the second round (last 16), which included the four UEFA qualifying clubs. At this stage, the competition reverts to the traditional knock-out format. The four group winners with the highest points total and the clubs entering at this stage were seeded, with the four group winners with the lowest points unseeded along with the four best runners-up.

Bonus point system

In December 2015, the SPFL announced that alongside the new group stage format, a bonus point system would be introduced to provide greater excitement and increase the number of meaningful games at this stage.^[3] The traditional point system of awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw is used, however, for each group stage match that finishes in a draw, a penalty shoot-out takes place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.

Group stage

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish League Cup group stage

The group stage was made up of eight teams from the 2019–20 Scottish Premiership, and all ten teams from each of the 2019–20 Scottish Championship, 2019–20 Scottish League One and 2019–20 Scottish League Two, as well as the winners of the 2019–20 Highland Football League and 2019–20 Lowland Football League. The 40 teams were divided into two sections – North and South – with each section containing four top seeds, four second seeds and 12 unseeded teams. Each section was drawn into four groups with each group comprising one top seed, one second seed and three unseeded teams.

The draw for the group stage took place on 10 August 2020 and was broadcast live FreeSports & the SPFL YouTube channel.^[4]

North

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HOM	RAI	ICT	EFI	COW
1	Heart of Midlothian	4	4	0	0	0	8	3	+5	12	Qualification for the Second round		—	3–1	1–0	—	—
2	Raith Rovers	4	2	1	0	1	7	7	0	8			—	—	p3–3	2–1	—
3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	4	1	1	1	1	4	4	0	6			—	—	—	1–0	p0–0
4	East Fife	4	1	0	0	3	5	6	−1	3			2–3	—	—	—	2–0
5	Cowdenbeath	4	0	0	1	3	0	4	−4	1			0–1	0–1	—	—	—

Source: ^[5]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HIB	DUN	COV	BRO	FOR
1	Hibernian	4	4	0	0	0	10	3	+7	12	Qualification for the Second round		—	4–1	—	3–1	—
2	Dundee	4	3	0	0	1	9	4	+5	9			—	—	3–0	—	3–0
3	Cove Rangers	4	1	1	0	2	4	7	−3	5			1–2	—	—	—	1–0
4	Brora Rangers	4	0	0	2	2	6	10	−4	2			—	0–2	2–2p	—	—
5	Forfar Athletic	4	0	1	0	3	3	8	−5	2			0–1	—	—	p3–3	—

Source: ^[7]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		STJ	DUN	PET	KEL	BRE
1	St Johnstone	4	3	0	1	0	12	2	+10	10	Qualification for the Second round		—	0–0p	—	—	7–0
2	Dundee United	4	2	1	0	1	7	3	+4	8			—	—	0–1	1–0	—
3	Peterhead	4	2	1	0	1	6	5	+1	8			1–3	—	—	—	3–1
4	Kelty Hearts	4	1	0	1	2	4	4	0	4			1–2	—	1–1p	—	—
5	Brechin City	4	0	0	0	4	3	18	−15	0			—	2–6	—	0–2	—

Source: ^[8]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ROS	ARB	ELG	STI	MON
1	Ross County	4	3	1	0	0	12	5	+7	11	Qualification for the Second round		—	2–1	—	3–0	—
2	Arbroath	4	3	0	0	1	9	4	+5	9			—	—	3–0	—	3–1
3	Elgin City	4	2	0	0	2	5	7	−2	6			1–4	—	—	2–0	—
4	Stirling Albion	4	1	0	0	3	3	8	−5	3			—	1–2	—	—	2–1
5	Montrose	4	0	0	1	3	5	10	−5	1			3–3p	—	0–2	—	—

Source: ^[9]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

South

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		DNF	FAL	KIL	CLY	DUM
1	Dunfermline Athletic	4	4	0	0	0	9	2	+7	12	Qualification for the Second round		—	2–0	—	3–2	—
2	Falkirk	4	3	0	0	1	9	3	+6	9			—	—	3–0	2–1	—
3	Kilmarnock	4	2	0	0	2	4	6	−2	6			0–3	—	—	—	2–0
4	Clyde	4	1	0	0	3	6	9	−3	3			—	—	0–2	—	3–2
5	Dumbarton	4	0	0	0	4	2	10	−8	0			0–1	0–4	—	—	—

Source: ^[10]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AYR	ANN	STR	HAM	ALB
1	Ayr United	4	2	1	0	1	8	5	+3	8	Qualification for the Second round		—	1–0	p1–1	—	—
2	Annan Athletic	4	2	0	1	1	9	4	+5	7			—	—	1–1p	3–1	—
3	Stranraer	4	1	1	2	0	6	5	+1	7			—	—	—	2–1	2–2p
4	Hamilton Academical	4	2	0	0	2	7	6	+1	6			2–1	—	—	—	3–0
5	Albion Rovers	4	0	1	0	3	5	15	−10	2			2–5	1–5	—	—	—

Source: ^[11]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		STM	QOS	PAR	GMO	QPK
1	St Mirren	4	2	2	0	0	8	4	+4	10	Qualification for the Second round		—	—	4–1	p1–1	—
2	Queen of the South	4	1	1	2	0	7	5	+2	7			2–2p	—	0–0p	—	—
3	Partick Thistle	4	1	2	0	1	3	4	−1	7			—	—	—	p0–0	2–0
4	Greenock Morton	4	1	0	3	0	4	3	+1	6			—	2–2p	—	—	1–0
5	Queen's Park	4	0	0	0	4	1	7	−6	0			0–1	1–3	—	—	—

Source: ^[12]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LIV	ALO	EDI	AIR	STE
1	Livingston	4	4	0	0	0	15	3	+12	12	Qualification for the Second round		—	2–1	—	4–1	—
2	Alloa Athletic	4	3	0	0	1	9	5	+4	9			—	—	2–1	—	4–2
3	Edinburgh City	4	1	0	1	2	5	9	−4	4			1–5	—	—	—	2–2p
4	Airdrieonians	4	1	0	0	3	3	7	−4	3			—	0–2	0–1	—	—
5	Stenhousemuir	4	0	1	0	3	4	12	−8	2			0–4	—	—	0–2	—

Source: ^[13]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Best runners-up

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E	Falkirk	4	3	0	0	1	9	3	+6	9	Qualification for the Second round
2	D	Arbroath	4	3	0	0	1	9	4	+5	9
3	B	Dundee	4	3	0	0	1	9	4	+5	9
4	H	Alloa Athletic	4	3	0	0	1	9	5	+4	9
5	C	Dundee United	4	2	1	0	1	7	3	+4	8
6	A	Raith Rovers	4	2	1	0	1	7	7	0	8
7	F	Annan Athletic	4	2	0	1	1	9	4	+5	7
8	G	Queen of the South	4	1	1	2	0	7	5	+2	7

Source: ^{[5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[6]

Knockout phase

Second round

Draw and seeding

Aberdeen, Celtic, Motherwell and Rangers entered the competition at this stage, after receiving a bye for the group stage due to their participation in UEFA club competitions.

The four UEFA-qualifying clubs and the four group winners with the best record were seeded for the draw.

The draw for the second round took place on 15 November 2020 following the Hibernian v Dundee match live on Premier Sports 1.^[14]

Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.

Seeded	Unseeded
Aberdeen Celtic Dunfermline Athletic† Heart of Midlothian† Hibernian Livingston Motherwell Rangers	Alloa Athletic† Arbroath† Ayr United† Dundee† Falkirk* Ross County St Johnstone St Mirren

Notes

• † denotes teams playing in the Championship.
• * denotes team playing in League One.

Matches

Livingston v Ayr United

28 November 2020	Livingston	4–0	Ayr United	Livingston
15:00	Chalmers 4' (o.g.) Fitzwater 6', 12' Forrest 44'	[15]		Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Referee: David Munro

Hibernian v Dundee

28 November 2020	Hibernian	1–0	Dundee	Edinburgh
15:00	Murphy 44'	[16]		Stadium: Easter Road Referee: Willie Collum

Arbroath v Dunfermline Athletic

28 November 2020	Arbroath	1–3	Dunfermline Athletic	Arbroath
15:00	Hilson 65'	[17]	Dow 28' E. Murray 36' O'Hara 82' (pen.)	Stadium: Gayfield Park Referee: Nick Walsh

Motherwell v St Johnstone

28 November 2020	Motherwell	1–2	St Johnstone	Motherwell
15:00	Watt 61'	[18]	Hendry 68' Wotherspoon 77'	Stadium: Fir Park Referee: Alan Muir

Alloa Athletic v Heart of Midlothian

28 November 2020	Alloa Athletic	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Heart of Midlothian	Alloa
15:00	Trouten 109' (pen.)	[19]		Stadium: Recreation Park Referee: Gavin Duncan

St Mirren v Aberdeen

28 November 2020	St Mirren	2–1	Aberdeen	Paisley
17:15	Durmuş 4' McGrath 88'	[20]	McGinn 43'	Stadium: St Mirren Park Referee: Don Robertson

Celtic v Ross County

29 November 2020	Celtic	0–2	Ross County	Glasgow
14:00		[21]	Stewart 39' (pen.) Iacovitti 84'	Stadium: Celtic Park Referee: Kevin Clancy

Falkirk v Rangers

29 November 2020	Falkirk	0–4	Rangers	Falkirk
17:00		[22]	Defoe 6' Bassey 30' Barišić 41' Tavernier 51'	Stadium: Falkirk Stadium Referee: Bobby Madden

Quarter-final

Draw

The quarter-final draw took place on 29 November 2020 following the Falkirk v Rangers match live on Premier Sports 1.^[23]

Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.

Premiership	Championship
Hibernian Livingston Rangers Ross County St Johnstone St Mirren	Alloa Athletic Dunfermline Athletic

Matches

Dunfermline Athletic v St Johnstone

15 December 2020	Dunfermline Athletic	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	St Johnstone	Dunfermline
19:45	Wilson 113'	[24]	Rooney 94'	Stadium: East End Park Referee: Don Robertson
	Penalties
	Watson Wilson Turner Dow O'Hara		Conway May Hendry Booth Craig

Alloa Athletic v Hibernian

15 December 2020	Alloa Athletic	1–2	Hibernian	Alloa
20:00	Hanlon 34' (o.g.)	[25]	Doidge 62' Jamieson 83' (o.g.)	Stadium: Recreation Park Referee: David Munro

Livingston v Ross County

16 December 2020	Livingston	2–0	Ross County	Livingston
19:45	Sibbald 4' Forrest 24'	[26]		Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Referee: Steven McLean

St Mirren v Rangers

16 December 2020	St Mirren	3–2	Rangers	Paisley
20:00	McGrath 40' (pen.), 53' McCarthy 90+2'	[27]	Goldson 7' Davis 88'	Stadium: St Mirren Park Referee: David Dickinson

Semi-final

Draw

The draw for the semi-finals took place on 16 December 2020 following the St Mirren v Rangers match live on Premier Sports 1.^[28]

Teams in Bold advanced to the final.

Premiership
Hibernian Livingston St Johnstone St Mirren

Matches

St Johnstone v Hibernian

23 January 2021	St Johnstone	3–0	Hibernian	Glasgow
17:30	Kerr 35' Rooney 49' Conway 63'	[29]		Stadium: Hampden Park Referee: Nick Walsh

Livingston v St Mirren

24 January 2021	Livingston	1–0	St Mirren	Glasgow
16:00	Robinson 9'	[30]		Stadium: Hampden Park Referee: David Munro

Final

Main article: 2021 Scottish League Cup Final (February)

St Johnstone	1–0	Livingston
Rooney 32'	[31]

28 February 2021

14:00

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee: Don Robertson

Top goalscorers

As of 28 February 2021

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Alan Forrest	Livingston	7
2	Manny Duku	Raith Rovers	5
	Stevie May	St Johnstone
4	Euan Murray	Dunfermline Athletic	4
	Ross Stewart	Ross County
	Jamie McGrath	St Mirren
7	12 players		3

Source:^[32]

Media coverage

The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by Premier Sports who will broadcast between 12 and 16 Betfred Cup live matches per season as well as highlights.

The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:

Round	Date	Match
Group Stage	6 October 2020	Heart of Midlothian v Inverness Caledonian Thistle[33]
	9 October 2020	Dunfermline Athletic v Falkirk[33]
	10 October 2020	Cove Rangers v Hibernian[33]
	13 October 2020	Heart of Midlothian v Raith Rovers[33]
	10 November 2020	St Johnstone v Dundee United[33]
	11 November 2020	St Mirren v Greenock Morton[33]
	15 November 2020	Hibernian v Dundee[33]
Second Round	28 November 2020	St Mirren v Aberdeen[34]
	29 November 2020	Celtic v Ross County Falkirk v Rangers[34]
Quarter-finals	15 December 2020	Alloa Athletic v Hibernian[35]
	16 December 2020	St Mirren v Rangers[35]
Semi-finals	23 January 2021	St Johnstone v Hibernian[36]
	24 January 2021	Livingston v St Mirren[36]
Final	28 February 2021	St Johnstone v Livingston[37]