2023 Scottish Challenge Cup final
# 2023 Scottish Challenge Cup final

The 2023 Scottish Challenge Cup final, also known as the SPFL Trust Trophy final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match that took place on 26 March 2023 between Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical. It was the 30th final of the Scottish Challenge Cup since it was first organised in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the now defunct Scottish Football League, and the eighth since the SPFL was formed. It also marked the return of non-Scottish teams to the competition for the first time since the 2019–20 edition.

## Route to the final

The competition is a knock-out tournament and was contested by 49 teams from Scotland in 2022–23, as well as 2 teams each from Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

### Raith Rovers

As a 2021–22 Scottish Championship club, Raith Rovers were given a bye to the third round. The 2023 final was Raith's fourth Challenge Cup final and third consecutive final, having split the 2020 edition with Inverness Caledonian Thistle after the final was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were reigning champions after winning the 2022 edition against Queen of the South. They also won the 2014 final against Rangers, making them undefeated in all four finals they had been involved in prior.

| Round | Opposition | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Third round | Cove Rangers (a) | 1–0 |
| Fourth round | Greenock Morton (h) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) 4–2 (p) |
| Quarter-final | Queen's Park (a) | 1–0 |
| Semi-final | Dundee (a) | 2–2 (a.e.t.) 4–3 (p) |

### Hamilton Academical

As a 2021–22 Scottish Championship club, Hamilton Academical were given a bye to the third round. This was Hamilton's first Challenge Cup final since the 2012 edition. The 2023 final was Hamilton's fifth Challenge Cup final, having won the cup in 1991 and 1992, and finishing as runners-up in 2005 and 2012.

| Round | Opposition | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Third round | Rangers B (a) | 3–0 |
| Fourth round | Inverness Caledonian Thistle (h) | 2–0 |
| Quarter-final | Clyde (h) | 3–2 |
| Semi-final | Queen of the South (h) | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |

## Match details

| Raith Rovers | Hamilton Academical |
| - | - |
| GK1 Jamie MacDonald RB4 Ross Millen CB5 Ryan Nolan 84' CB12 Tom Lang LB3 Liam Dick RM16 Sam Stanton CM6 Brad Spencer 76' CM20 Scott Brown LM23 Dylan Easton CAM10 Lewis Vaughan FW77 Esmaël Gonçalves 55' Substitutes: GK13 Andrew McNeil GK17 Robbie Thomson DF15 Kieran Ngwenya DF30 Adam Masson MF7 Aidan Connolly 55' MF22 Ethan Ross 76' FW11 Connor McBride 84' Manager: Ian Murray | GK1 Ryan Fulton CB4 Daniel O'Reilly 55' CB15 Dylan McGowan CB3 Matthew Shiels 45' RWB22 Reghan Tumilty CM14 Marley Redfern 21' CM18 Reegan Mimnaugh CM8 Scott Martin LWB11 Lewis Smith 57' CAM23 Lucas De Bolle FW9 Benny Ashley-Seal 10' Substitutes: GK31 Jamie Smith DF5 Brian Easton 57' DF12 Tom Sparrow 21' DF25 Fergus Owens DF37 Chris McGinn FW10 Dario Zanatta 45' FW16 Dylan Stephenson FW17 Jean-Pierre Tiéhi 10' FW19 Andy Winter Manager: John Rankin |
| Man of the match: Ryan Fulton (Hamilton Accies) | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. |
