1977–78 Irish Cup

The 1977–78 Irish Cup was the 98th edition of Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition. It began on 4 February 1978, and concluded on 29 April 1978 with the final.

1977–78 Irish Cup
Country Northern Ireland
Teams16
ChampionsLinfield (31st win)
Runners-upBallymena United
Matches played18
Goals scored71 (3.94 per match)

The defending champions were Coleraine, after they defeated Linfield 4–1 in the 1976–77 final.[1] However, Linfield gained revenge by knocking the holders out with a 2–1 win in the first round. Linfield went on to win the cup for the 31st time, defeating Ballymena United 3–1 in the final.[2]

First round
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Ards 5–2 Dungannon Swifts
Ballymena United 6–2 Downpatrick Rec.
Cliftonville 1–3 Bangor
Dundela 1–21 Crusaders
Glenavon 1–3 Larne
Glentoran 5–1 RUC
Linfield 2–1 Coleraine
Portadown 5–3 Distillery

1This tie required a replay, after the first game was a 2–2 draw.[2]

Quarter-finals
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Ballymena United 1–0 Ards
Bangor 0–6 Portadown
Crusaders 1–0 Larne
Linfield 4–3 Glentoran

Semi-finals
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Ballymena United 1–1
(4–1 p)2		 Crusaders
Linfield 2–1 Portadown

2This tie was eventually decided by a penalty shoot-out in the second replay, after all three games ended as 1–1 draws.[2]

Final
Linfield3 – 1Ballymena United
Dornan  14'
Garrett  39'
Raferty  83'		 Report Nelson  67'

References
  1. "Northern Ireland Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  2. "Northern Ireland 1977/78". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
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