The 2018 Scottish Challenge Cup final, also known as the IRN-BRU Cup final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match that took place on 24 March 2018 at McDiarmid Park, between Dumbarton and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It was the 27th 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 fifth since the SPFL was formed. The match was won by Inverness CT 1–0 with a stoppage time winner, marking their second win in the tournament since its inception and their first silverware since the 2014–15 Scottish Cup.
Route to the final
The competition is a knock-out tournament and was contested by 56 teams from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in 2017–18. Two teams from the Republic of Ireland were added to the competition in 2017–18, following the addition of teams from Wales and Northern Ireland in 2016–17.
Those participating were the 30 clubs that played in the 2017–18 Championship, League One and League Two of the Scottish Professional Football League along with the top four teams from the 2016–17 Highland and Lowland Leagues. The top two teams from the 2016–17 Welsh Premier League and 2016–17 NIFL Premiership and the U20s squads of the teams competing in the 2016–17 Premiership were also invited to compete. Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers, as the League of Ireland's highest-ranked non-European participants in 2016, were also invited.
Dumbarton Round Opposition Score First round Rangers Under-20s (h) 2–1 Second round Connah's Quay Nomads (h) 2–1 Third round Stranraer (h) 2–1 Quarter-final Raith Rovers (h) 2–0 Semi-final The New Saints (a) 2–1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness received a bye to the second round, as the team that had finished 12th in the 2016–17 Scottish Premiership.
Round Opposition Score Second round Aberdeen Under-20s (a) 4–2 Third round Peterhead (h) 3–0 Quarter-final Falkirk (h) 1–0 Semi-final Crusaders (h) 3–2
Match details
Dumbarton: GK1 Scott GallacherRB2 David SmithCB4 Andy Dowie (c) CB55 Craig BarrLB3 Christopher McLaughlin CM6 Stuart CarswellCM14 Kyle HuttonAM21 Danny HandlingFW10 Tom Walsh FW7 Calum Gallagher FW23 Iain Russell Substitutes:GK19 Jamie EwingsMF5 Grant GallagherMF8 David WilsonFW9 Mark Stewart DF15 Dougie HillMF20 Dimitris Froxylias MF31 Liam Burt Manager: Stephen AitkenInverness Caledonian Thistle: GK28 Mark RidgersRB17 Collin SeedorfCB5 Gary Warren (c)CB23 Coll Donaldson LB3 Carl Tremarco RM7 Liam PolworthCM11 Iain VigursLM4 Joe ChalmersFW14 George OakleyFW20 Connor Bell FW15 Jake Mulraney Substitutes:GK1 Ryan EssonMF10 Aaron Doran MF16 Riccardo CalderMF18 Zak ElbouzediMF24 Charlie TraffordMF27 Daniel MacKay FW32 Jack BrownManager: John RobertsonMan of the match: Coll Donaldson Assistant referees: David Roome & Daniel McFarlane
Fourth official: David MunroMatch rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions.
References