The 2016–17 Scottish Cup was the 132nd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in what was the sixth season of a nine-year partnership, after contract negotiations saw the initial five-year contract extended for an additional four years in October 2015.
The defending champions were Hibernian, who defeated Rangers in the 2016 final, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Aberdeen.
Celtic beat Aberdeen 2–1 in the final to complete a domestic treble without losing a game in any domestic competition.
Media coverage From round four onwards, selected matches from the Scottish Cup are broadcast live in the UK and Ireland by BBC Scotland and Sky Sports. BBC Scotland has the option to show one tie per round with Sky Sports showing two ties per round with one replay; also, Sky Sports show both semi-finals live with one also on BBC Scotland & both channels screen the final live.
Calendar The calendar for the 2016–17 Scottish Cup qualifying rounds, as announced by Scottish Football Association.
Round Main date Number of fixtures Clubs New Entries Preliminary round 1 13 August 2016 5 93 → 88 10 Preliminary round 2 3 September 2016 6 88 → 82 7 First round 24 September 2016 18 82 → 64 30 Second round 22 October 2016 16 64 → 48 14 Third round 26 November 2016 16 48 → 32 16 Fourth round 21 January 2017 16 32 → 16 16 Fifth round 11 February 2017 8 16 → 8 None Quarter-finals 4 March 2017 4 8 → 4 None Semi-finals 22 & 23 April 2017 2 4 → 2 None Final 27 May 2017 1 2 → 1 None
Preliminary rounds
The draw for the preliminary rounds took place at the Coldstream Museum on Monday 18 July 2016.
17 clubs were involved in the draw, of which seven received a bye to the second preliminary round, while the other 10 entered the first preliminary round. The teams competing in these rounds were made up of teams from the East of Scotland Football League (3), South of Scotland Football League (5), North Caledonian Football League (1), Scottish Junior Football Association (6) and the Scottish Amateur Football Association (2).
There were three parts to the draw. The first part determined which seven clubs, from the 10 eligible, would receive a bye to the second preliminary round. The three clubs which did not receive a bye into the second preliminary round entered in the first preliminary round. Five ties were drawn in the first preliminary round to be played on Saturday, 13 August 2016. The final part of the draw saw six ties drawn in the second preliminary round to be played on Saturday, 3 September 2016.
Preliminary round 1
Draw Teams in Bold advanced to the first round. Clubs eligible for a byeClubs participating in the First Preliminary Round DrawBanks O’Dee Burntisland Shipyard Coldstream Edusport Academy Girvan Glasgow University Golspie Sutherland Linlithgow Rose Threave Rovers Wigtown & BladnochAuchinleck Talbot(2015–16 West Super League winners) Beith Juniors (2015–16 Scottish Junior Cup winners) Bonnyrigg Rose (2015–16 East Superleague winners) Colville Park (2015–16 Scottish Amateur Cup winners) Leith Athletic (2015–16 EoSFL winners) Newton Stewart St Cuthbert Wanderers (2015–16 SoSFL winners)
The following teams received a bye to the second preliminary round: Banks O’Dee, Burntisland Shipyard, Coldstream, Girvan, Golspie Sutherland, Linlithgow Rose and Threave Rovers.
Matches
Replay
Preliminary round 2
Matches
Replay
First round
The first round took place on the weekend of 24 September 2016. Along with the six winners from the second preliminary round, there were 30 new entries at this stage, 14 from the Lowland Football League and 16 from the Highland Football League. From the first round, teams were permitted to use an additional fourth substitute in the extra time period should a replayed tie go to extra time.
Draw
The draw for the first round was made on Monday, 5 September at 2:30pm. The draw took place at Edinburgh College and was made by Hibernian's cup winning captain David Gray. It was streamed live on the Scottish Cup's official Facebook page.
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the second round.
Lowland Football LeagueHighland Football LeagueOtherBSC Glasgow Civil Service Strollers Cumbernauld Colts Dalbeattie Star East Kilbride Edinburgh University Gala Fairydean Rovers Gretna 2008 Hawick Royal Albert Preston Athletic Selkirk Stirling University Vale of Leithen Whitehill WelfareBrora Rangers Buckie Thistle Clachnacuddin Deveronvale Forres Mechanics Fort William Fraserburgh Huntly Inverurie Loco Works Keith Lossiemouth Nairn County Rothes Strathspey Thistle Turriff United Wick AcademyEast of Scotland teams Leith Athletic SJFA teams Banks O'Dee Beith Juniors Bonnyrigg Rose Girvan Linlithgow Rose
Matches
Replays
Second round The second round took place on the weekend of 22 October. Along with the 18 winners from the first round, there were 14 new entries at this stage, two from the Lowland Football League, two from the Highland Football League and 10 from Scottish League Two.
Draw The draw for the second round was hosted by Highland Football League champions Cove Rangers and took place at the Aberdeen Altens Hotel on Monday, 26 September at 6pm. Scottish Football Association president, Alex McRea oversaw the draw which was made by Nigg Community Council chairperson Alan Strachan.
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the third round.
Scottish League TwoLowland Football LeagueHighland Football LeagueOtherAnnan Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Clyde Cowdenbeath Edinburgh City Elgin City Forfar Athletic Montrose Stirling AlbionBSC Glasgow Cumbernauld Colts East Kilbride East Stirlingshire Gala Fairydean Rovers Gretna 2008 Hawick Royal Albert Preston Athletic Spartans Stirling University Whitehill WelfareBrora Rangers Buckie Thistle Cove Rangers Formartine United Forres Mechanics Huntly Wick AcademySJFA teams Banks O' Dee Beith Juniors Linlithgow Rose Bonnyrigg Rose
Matches
Replays
Third round The third round took place on the weekend of 26 November 2016. Along with the 16 winners from the second round, there were to be 16 new entries, 10 from Scottish League One and six from the Scottish Championship, at this stage.
Draw The draw for the third round was made at 6pm on Tuesday, 25 October. The draw took place at Cappielow and was hosted by Greenock Morton. Chief Executive of the Greenock Morton Community Trust, Warren Hawke helped make the draw.
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the fourth round.
Scottish ChampionshipScottish League OneScottish League TwoOtherAyr United Dumbarton Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton Queen of the South St MirrenAirdrieonians Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Brechin City East Fife Livingston Peterhead Queen's Park Stenhousemuir StranraerAnnan Athletic Arbroath Clyde Edinburgh City Elgin City Montrose Stirling AlbionLowland Football League East Kilbride Hawick Royal Albert Spartans Highland Football League Buckie Thistle Formartine United Forres Mechanics Wick Academy SJFA teams Beith Juniors Bonnyrigg Rose
Matches
A total of nine third round ties were postponed due to frozen pitches. The St Mirren-Spartans, Beith Juniors-Greenock Morton, Clyde-Arbroath, Albion Rovers-Queen of the South and Stirling Albion-Wick Academy matches were postponed on Friday, 25 November, a day before they were due to take place after failing pitch inspections due to the freezing weather. These games were subsequently rearranged for 29 November, 3 and 6 December. The Queen's Park-Montrose match was originally scheduled for 29 November due to the League Cup final taking place at Hampden Park, Queen's Park's home ground, on 27 November. A further three games were postponed after failing early pitch inspections on Saturday, 26 November. These were the East Fife-Edinburgh City, Stranraer-East Kilbride and Brechin City-Ayr United matches. The Formartine United-Annan Athletic match originally passed a pitch inspection at 7am but was postponed after failing a supplementary inspection at 10:30am after temperatures in Pitmedden hadn't risen as expected.
Replays
Notes
Fourth round The fourth round took place on the weekend of 21 January 2017. Along with the 16 winners from the third round, there were 16 new entries, four from the Scottish Championship and 12 from the Scottish Premiership, at this stage. Ayr United became the first Scottish club to make four substitutions in a single match in their fourth round replay with Queen's Park. The Scottish FA's rule change at the start of the season to allow a fourth substitute to be used if a match went to extra time was used for the first time when Michael Rose replaced Nicky Devlin in the 121st minute of the match on 24 January 2017.
Draw The draw for the fourth round was made at 6:35pm on Monday, 28 November. The draw was made at Rugby Park and hosted by Kilmarnock. It was made by Kilmarnock's 1997 Scottish Cup winning midfielder Gary Holt, alongside the Scottish Football Association President, Alan McRae, and Liz Poole-Adams from competition sponsors William Hill.
Teams in italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the fifth round.
Scottish PremiershipScottish ChampionshipScottish League OneScottish League TwoOtherAberdeen Celtic Dundee Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Motherwell Partick Thistle Rangers Ross County St JohnstoneAyr United Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Falkirk Greenock Morton Hibernian (holders) Raith Rovers St MirrenAlbion Rovers Alloa Athletic East Fife Livingston Queen's Park Stenhousemuir StranraerClyde Elgin City Stirling AlbionHighland Football League Formartine United SJFA teams Bonnyrigg Rose
Matches
Replays
Notes
Fifth round The fifth round took place on the weekend of 11 February 2017.
Draw The draw for the fifth round was made live on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the Albion Rovers-Celtic match on 22 January 2017. The draw was made by former Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs and Celtic fan Rod Stewart, who memorably performed his part of the draw in an enthusiastic manner.
Teams in italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
Scottish PremiershipScottish ChampionshipScottish League OneScottish League TwoAberdeen Celtic Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Partick Thistle Rangers Ross County St JohnstoneAyr United Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton Hibernian St MirrenEast FifeClyde
Matches
Replays
Quarter-finals The quarter-finals took place on the weekend of 4 March 2017.
Draw The draw for the quarter-finals was made live on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the Rangers-Greenock Morton match on 12 February 2017. The draw was conducted by seven-time Scottish Cup winner Alex McLeish.
Teams in italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.
Scottish PremiershipScottish ChampionshipAberdeen Celtic Hamilton Academical Partick Thistle RangersAyr United Hibernian St Mirren
Matches
Semi-finals The semi-finals took place on the weekend of 22 April 2017.
Draw The draw for the semi-finals was made live on Sky Sports News on 5 March 2017. The draw was made by Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld and Aberdeen's 1990 Scottish Cup winning manager Alex Smith.
Teams in Bold advanced to the final.
Scottish PremiershipScottish ChampionshipAberdeen Celtic RangersHibernian
Matches
Final
Statistics
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1David GormleyClyde8Wayne McIntoshBonnyrigg Rose3John McLeodBuckie Thistle7Josh MorrisHawick Royal Albert5Sean JamiesonBonnyrigg Rose66Moussa DembéléCeltic5Lee FraserForres MechanicsShane SutherlandElgin City9Peter MacDonald Clyde4Fraser McLarenBonnyrigg RoseJoao Pereira VitoriaEast Kilbride
Broadcasting rights