1945–46 Southern League Cup (Scotland)
# 1945–46 Southern League Cup (Scotland)

The 1945–46 Southern League Cup was the sixth and final edition of the regional war-time football tournament. The North Eastern League and North Eastern League Cup had ended the previous season, teams from those competitions joined the Southern League and Southern League Cup. With the Southern League now acting effectively as a national league the competition was split into two Divisions, The league cup was therefore also split into two divisions.

Aberdeen won the tournament, defeating Rangers 3–2 in the final at Hampden Park before a crowd of 135,000. This was the last edition of the competition, but the trophy itself was used again for the 1946 Victory Cup played only a few weeks later (won by Rangers), therefore Aberdeen only possessed the cup for a short time. The same teams met in first official Scottish League Cup final the following year.

## Group stage

### Division A

**Group A**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Heart of Midlothian | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 8 |
| St Mirren | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 6 |
| Falkirk | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 5 |
| Hamilton Academical | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 |

**Group B**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rangers | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 11 |
| Morton | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 7 |
| Motherwell | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 5 |
| Queen of the South | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 1 |

**Group C**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeen | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 8 |
| Hibernian | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 8 |
| Partick Thistle | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Kilmarnock | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 4 |

**Group D**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Clyde | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 8 |
| Celtic | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 7 |
| Third Lanark | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 6 |
| Queen's Park | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 3 |

### Division B

**Group A**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| East Fife | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 10 |
| Alloa Athletic | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 8 |
| Raith Rovers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 6 |
| Cowdenbeath | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 26 | −16 | 0 |

**Group B**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ayr United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 |
| Dundee United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 |
| Stenhousemuir | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 4 |
| Dumbarton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 2 |

**Group B**

**Play-off**

| Ayr United | 1 – 0 | Dundee United | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| - | - | - | - |

**Group C**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Airdrieonians | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 8 |
| St Johnstone | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 6 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5 |
| Albion Rovers | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 5 |

**Group D**

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dundee | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 5 |
| Stirling Albion | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 |
| Arbroath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 |

## Quarter-finals

| Aberdeen | 2 – 0 | Ayr United |
| - | - | - |
| Airdrieonians | 1 – 0 | Clyde |
| Heart of Midlothian | 3 – 0 | East Fife |
| Rangers | 3 – 1 | Dundee |

## Semi-finals

| Aberdeen | 2 – 2 | Airdrieonians | Ibrox Park, Glasgow |
| - | - | - | - |
| Rangers | 2 – 1 | Heart of Midlothian | Hampden Park, Glasgow |

### Replay

| Aberdeen | 5 – 3 | Airdrieonians | Iibrox Park, Glasgow |
| - | - | - | - |

## Final

### Teams

Aberdeen: :

| GK | George Johnstone |
| - | - |
| RB | Willie Cooper |
| LB | Pat McKenna |
| RH | Andy Cowie |
| CH | Frank Dunlop |
| LH | George Taylor |
| OR | Alex Kiddie |
| IR | George Hamilton |
| CF | Stan Williams |
| IL | Archie Baird |
| OL | Willie McCall |

Rangers: :

| GK | John Shaw |
| - | - |
| RB | Dougie Gray |
| LB | Jock Shaw |
| RH | Charlie Watkins |
| CH | George Young |
| LH | Scot Symon |
| OR | Willie Waddell |
| IR | Willie Thornton |
| CF | Billy Arnison |
| IL | Jimmy Duncanson |
| OL | Jimmy Caskie |
