2016–17 Scottish League Cup
# 2016–17 Scottish League Cup

The 2016–17 Scottish League Cup (also known as the Betfred Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 71st season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.

The format for the 2016–17 competition changed from the previously used knockout-rounds. Instead, it began with eight groups of five teams which included all 2015–16 Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs, excluding those competing in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, as well as the winners of the 2015–16 Highland Football League (Cove Rangers) and the 2015–16 Lowland Football League (Edinburgh City).

Celtic won the final 3–0 against Aberdeen on 27 November 2016.

## Schedule

| Round | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs |
| - | - | - | - |
| Group stage | 16 July 2016 | 80 | 44 → 16 |
| Second round | 9 August 2016 | 8 | 16 → 80 |
| Quarter finals | 20 September 2016 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semifinals | 22 October 2016 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 27 November 2016 | 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 (Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian) qualifying rounds were given a bye through to the second round. The 40 teams competing in the group stage consisted of the other nine teams that competed in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, nine from the 2015–16 Scottish Championship and all of the teams that competed in the 2015–16 Scottish League One and 2015–16 Scottish League Two, as well as the 2015–16 Highland Football League and the 2015–16 Lowland Football League champions.

The winners of each of the 8 groups, as well as the 4 best runners-up have progressed to the second round (last 16), which will include 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. The traditional point system of awarding 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw was used, however, for each group stage match that finished in a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.

## Group stage

The group stage was made up of nine teams from the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, nine teams from the 2015–16 Scottish Championship and 10 teams from each of the 2015–16 Scottish League One and 2015–16 Scottish League Two, as well as the winners of the 2015–16 Highland Football League and 2015–16 Lowland Football League. The 40 teams were divided into two sections: North and South; with each section containing four top seeded teams, four second seeded teams and 12 unseeded teams. Each section was drawn into four groups with each group being made up of 1 top seed, 1 second seed and 3 unseeded sides.

The draw for the group stages took place on Friday 27 May 2016 at 7:30pm BST at the BT Sport Studio in London and was shown live on BT Sport Europe.

### North

**Group A**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PET | EFI | DND | FOR | DUM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Peterhead (Q) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | East Fife | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | | 2–1 | — | p1–1 | — | — |
| 3 | Dundee | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 7 | | — | — | — | 7–0 | 6–2 |
| 4 | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 5 | | — | 2–0 | — | — | p2–2 |
| 5 | Dumbarton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 2 | | 3–3p | 0–2 | — | — | — |

**Group B**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STJ | FAL | STI | BRE | ELG |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | St Johnstone (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 10 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | 3–0 | 4–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Falkirk | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | | — | — | — | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Stirling Albion | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | | — | 1–0 | — | — | 4–1 |
| 4 | Brechin City | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 5 | | p1–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — |
| 5 | Elgin City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 3 | | 1–3 | — | — | 4–2 | — |

**Group C**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ICT | DUN | DNF | COW | ARB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Inverness CT (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 10 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | 1–1p | — | — | 7–0 |
| 2 | Dundee United (Q) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 2–0 | 6–1 | — |
| 3 | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | | 1–5 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Cowdenbeath | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 3 | | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | — | — |
| 5 | Arbroath | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 1 | | — | 1–1p | — | 0–2 | — |

**Group D**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ALL | RAI | ROS | COV | MON |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Alloa Athletic (Q) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 3–2 | 4–0 | — |
| 2 | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | | 0–1 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 3 | Ross County | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 7 | | — | 1–1p | — | 7–0 | — |
| 4 | Cove Rangers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 3 | | — | 1–2 | — | — | 3–0 |
| 5 | Montrose | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 | | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | — | — |

### South

**Group E**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAR | QOS | AIR | QPA | STE |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Partick Thistle (Q) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | Queen of the South (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 2–0 | — | 1–0 |
| 3 | Airdrieonians | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 5 | | 0–1 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | | — | 0–2 | p3–3 | — | — |
| 5 | Stenhousemuir | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | | 1–4 | — | — | 0–2 | — |

**Group F**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RAN | MOT | STR | ANN | EST |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rangers (Q) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 12 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | Motherwell (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round | 0–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 3 | Stranraer | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | | — | 0–3 | — | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Annan Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | — |
| 5 | East Stirlingshire | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 | | 0–3 | — | — | 0–2 | — |

**Group G**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HAM | AYR | STM | LIV | EDI |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Hamilton Academical (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |
| 2 | Ayr United (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Qualification for the Second Round | 2–1 | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| 3 | St Mirren | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 | | — | 1–0 | — | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Livingston | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | | — | 0–2 | 2–3 | — | — |
| 5 | Edinburgh City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | | 2–4 | — | — | 0–3 | — |

**Group H**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GMO | KIL | CLY | ALB | BER |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Morton (Q) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 11 | Qualification for the Second Round | — | — | 1–0 | — | 2–0 |
| 2 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | | 0–2 | — | — | 0–0p | — |
| 3 | Clyde | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | | — | 1–2 | — | — | p1–1 |
| 4 | Albion Rovers | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 5 | | 0–0p | — | 1–2 | — | — |
| 5 | Berwick Rangers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 | | — | 2–3 | — | 0–0p | — |

### Best runners-up

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dundee United (Q) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Qualification to the Second Round |
| 2 | Motherwell (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification to the Second Round |
| 3 | Queen of the South (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Qualification to the Second Round |
| 4 | Ayr United (Q) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Qualification to the Second Round |
| 5 | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | |
| 6 | East Fife | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | |
| 8 | Falkirk | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | |

## Knockout phase

### Second round

**Draw and seeding**

The following teams qualified and will compete in the second round of the 2016–17 Scottish League Cup. Aberdeen, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian entered the competition at this stage, after receiving a bye for the group stage due to their participation in UEFA club competitions.

The draw for the second round took place at Tannadice Park following the conclusion of the Dundee United–Dunfermline Athletic match on 31 July, and was shown live on BT Sport. The four UEFA-qualifying clubs and the four group winners with the best record were seeded for the draw.

Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.

| Seeded | Unseeded |
| - | - |
| Aberdeen Alloa Athletic* Celtic Heart of Midlothian Hibernian† Morton† Partick Thistle Rangers | Ayr United† Dundee United† Hamilton Academical Inverness CT Motherwell Peterhead* Queen of the South† St Johnstone |

**Draw and seeding**

**Notes**

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

**Matches**

All times are BST (UTC+1).

### Quarter-finals

**Draw and seeding**

The quarter-final draw took place at Celtic Park following the conclusion of the Celtic–Motherwell match on 10 August, and was shown live on BT Sport. The draw was unseeded and ties scheduled for the midweek of 20/21 September.

Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.

| Premiership | Championship | League One |
| - | - | - |
| Aberdeen Celtic Rangers St Johnstone | Dundee United Morton Queen of the South | Alloa Athletic |

### Semi-finals

**Draw and seeding**

The semi-final draw took place at Pittodrie Stadium following the conclusion of the Aberdeen–St Johnstone match on 22 September and was shown live on BT Sport. The draw was unseeded and ties are scheduled for the weekend of 22 October.

Teams in Bold advanced to the final.

| Premiership | Championship |
| - | - |
| Aberdeen Celtic Rangers | Morton |

## Top goalscorers

    As of matches played on 23 October 2016

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Martyn Waghorn | Rangers | 7 |
| 2 | Brian Graham | Ross County | 6 |
| 2 | Greg Stewart | Dundee | 6 |
| 4 | Moussa Dembélé | Celtic | 5 |
| 4 | Danny Swanson | St Johnstone | 5 |
| 6 | Scott Boden | Inverness CT | 4 |
| 6 | Andy Geggan | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 |
| 6 | Blair Henderson | Stirling Albion | 4 |
| 6 | Rory McAllister | Peterhead | 4 |
| 6 | Simon Murray | Dundee United | 4 |
| 6 | Jai Quitongo | Morton | 4 |
| 6 | Cammy Smith | Dundee United | 4 |
| 6 | Iain Vigurs | Inverness CT | 4 |
