| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Dates | 30 July 2011 – 18 March 2012 | 
| Teams | 42 | 
| Defending champions | Rangers | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Kilmarnock | 
| Runner-up | Celtic | 
The 2011–12 Scottish League Cup was the 66th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish League Cup, also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was won by Kilmarnock
Format
The competition is a single elimination knock-out competition. In each round, fixtures are determined by random draw, with the First Round to Third Round seeded according to last season's league positions (higher 50% of finishers drawn v lower 50% of finishers, alternating which is at home with each tie drawn).
Fixtures are played to a finish, with extra time and then penalties used in the event of ties. The competition is open to all clubs in the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League. Clubs involved in European competitions are given a bye to the third round to avoid congestion of fixtures.
- First round: The 30 sides from the previous season's Scottish Football League enter (including Dunfermline, promoted to the SPL).
 - Second round: The 15 winners of the First Round are joined by 7 of the 8 of last season's SPL sides not in Europe (including Hamilton, relegated to the First Division).
 - Third round: The 11 winners of the Second Round are joined by Kilmarnock plus the 4 SPL sides in Europe.
 - Quarter-finals: The 8 winners of the third round play.
 - Semi-finals: The 4 winners of the quarter-finals play.
 - Final: The 2 winners of the semi-finals play.
 
Adjustments from the previous editions
The Cup is now sponsored by the Scottish Government.[1]
Schedule
- Round 1: Saturday 30 July
 - Round 2: Tuesday 23 & Wednesday 24 August
 - Round 3: Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 September
 - Quarter-finals: Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 October
 - Semi-finals: Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 January 2012, Hampden Park, Glasgow
 - Final: Sunday 18 March, Hampden Park, Glasgow
 
Fixtures and results
First round
The First round draw was conducted on Thursday 2 June 2011 at 2:15pm at Ravenscraig Sports Centre in Motherwell.[2] All matches were played on Saturday 30 July 2011 at 15:00.
| Saturday, 30 July | Airdrie United | 5–0 | Stirling Albion | New Broomfield | 
| 15:00 | Owens (pens) 32,78, Donelly 35, 81, Bains 88 | Attendance: 705 Referee: Hilland  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Albion Rovers | 2–4 | Falkirk | Cliftonhill | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Alloa Athletic | 0–3 | Morton | Recreation Park | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Annan Athletic | 1–2 | Dunfermline Athletic | Galabank | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Brechin City | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Clyde | Glebe Park | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Cowdenbeath | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)  | Stenhousemuir | Central Park | 
| 15:00 | Attendance: 293 Referee: McKendrick  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Dumbarton | 0–4 | Dundee | Strathclyde Homes Stadium | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | East Fife | 2–1 | Elgin City | Bayview Stadium | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | East Stirlingshire | 0–3 | Ayr United | Ochilview Park | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Forfar Athletic | 2–0 | Peterhead | Station Park | 
| 15:00 | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Livingston | 6–0 | Arbroath | Almondvale Stadium | 
| 15:00 | Boulding  Russell Jacobs Talbot McNulty  | 
Attendance: 804 Referee: Allan  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Montrose | 1–4 | Raith Rovers | Links Park | 
| 15:00 | Winter  | 
Williamson  Walker Baird Thomson  | 
Attendance: 614 Referee: Colvin  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Partick Thistle | 1–3 | Berwick Rangers | Firhill Stadium | 
| 15:00 | Cairney  | 
Gray  Noble Currie  | 
Attendance: 1,255 Referee: McLean  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Queen of the South | 2–1 | Stranraer | Palmerston Park | 
| 15:00 | Carmichael  Brighton  | 
Gallacher  | 
Attendance: 1,511 Referee: O'Reilly  | 
| Saturday, 30 July | Ross County | 2–1 | Queen's Park | Victoria Park | 
| 15:00 | McMenamin  Flynn  | 
Daly  | 
Attendance: 949 Referee: McDermott  | 
Second round
The Second round draw took place at 1:00pm on Tuesday 2 August at the Highland Football Academy, Dingwall.[3] The ties are due to be played on Tuesday 23/ Wednesday 24 August 2011.
| 23 August | Hibernian | 5–0 | Berwick Rangers | Easter Road, Edinburgh | 
| 19:45 | Scott  Sodje O'Connor Sproule  | 
Attendance: 4,936 Referee: Stephen Finnie  | 
| 23 August | East Fife | 2–1 | Dunfermline Athletic | Bayview Stadium, Methil | 
| 19:45 | Linn  Dalziel  | 
Buchanan  | 
Attendance: 1,262 Referee: Craig Charleston  | 
| 24 August | St Johnstone | 3–0 | Livingston | McDiarmid Park, Perth | 
| 19:45 | Wright  Sandaza  | 
Attendance: 2,439 Referee: Steve Conroy  | 
| 23 August | Airdrie United | 2–0 | Raith Rovers | New Broomfield, Airdrie | 
| 19:45 | Holmes  Donnelly  | 
Attendance: 683 Referee: George Salmond  | 
| 24 August | Falkirk | 3–1 | Stenhousemuir | Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk | 
| 19:30 | Ferguson  Sibbald El Alagui  | 
Paton  | 
Attendance: 2,134 Referee: Alan Muir  | 
| 24 August | Ayr United | 1–0 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Somerset Park, Ayr | 
| 19:30 | Malone  | 
Attendance: 987 Referee: Brian Winter  | 
| 23 August | Queen of the South | 3–0 | Forfar Athletic | Palmerston Park, Dumfries | 
| 19:45 | Brighton  Johnston Clark  | 
Attendance: 1,008 Referee: Collum  | 
| 23 August | Greenock Morton | 3–4 | St Mirren | Cappielow, Greenock | 
| 19:30 | Tidser  MacDonald Jackson  | 
Teale  Thompson Hasselbaink  | 
Attendance: 4,959 Referee: Murray  | 
| 23 August | Hamilton Academical | 1–2 | Ross County | New Douglas Park, Hamilton | 
| 19:45 | Chambers  | 
Gardyne  Craig  | 
Attendance: 828 Referee: Tumilty  | 
| 24 August | Clyde | 0–4 | Motherwell | Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld | 
| 19:45 | Higdon  Law Hateley Lawless  | 
Attendance: 1,778 Referee: Richmond  | 
| 23 August | Aberdeen | 1–0 | Dundee | Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen | 
| 19:45 | Mackie  | 
Attendance: 5,722 Referee: McKendrick  | 
Third round
The Third round draw was conducted on Monday 29 August. The top 5 teams of last years Scottish Premier League will join the 11 winners from the second round. The 8 ties will be played on 20/21 September.
Seeded Teams: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Rangers and St Johnstone.
Unseeded Teams: Airdrie United, Ayr United, East Fife, Falkirk, Hibernian, Queen of the South, Ross County and St Mirren
| 20 September 2011 | St Johnstone | 0–2 | St Mirren | McDiarmid Park | 
| 19:45 | Adams  Goodwin  | 
Attendance: 2,296 Referee: Craig Thomson  | 
| 21 September 2011 | Ross County | 0–2 | Celtic | Victoria Park | 
| 19:15 | Hooper  Boyd  | 
Attendance: 5,367 Referee: Calum Murray  | 
| 20 September 2011 | Kilmarnock | 5–0 | Queen of the South | Rugby Park | 
| 19:45 | Harkins  Heffernan Hutchinson  | 
Attendance: 3,091 Referee: Steven O'Reilly  | 
| 21 September 2011 | Falkirk | 3–2 | Rangers | Falkirk Stadium | 
| 19:45 | El Alagui  Millar  | 
Goian  Jelavić  | 
Attendance: 6,493 Referee: Brian Winter  | 
| 20 September 2011 | Motherwell | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (6–7 p)  | Hibernian | Fir Park | 
| 19:45 | Lasley  Higdon  | 
O'Connor  | 
Attendance: 3,909 Referee: Willie Collum  | 
| 21 September 2011 | Ayr United | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–1 p)  | Heart of Midlothian | Somerset Park | 
| 19:45 | Wardlaw  | 
Robinson  | 
| 20 September 2011 | Aberdeen | 3–3 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)  | East Fife | Pittodrie | 
| 19:45 | McArdle  Mackie Fallon  | 
Wallace  Park Floan  | 
Attendance: 3,964 Referee: Steven Mclean  | 
| 20 September 2011 | Airdrie United | 0–2 | Dundee United | Excelsior Stadium | 
| 19:45 | Dow  Daly  | 
Attendance: 1,252 Referee: Madden  | 
Quarter-finals
The Quarter-finals draw was conducted on Thursday 22 September. The 4 ties will be played on 25/26 October.
| 25 October 2011 | Dundee United | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)  | Falkirk | Tannadice Park | 
| 19:45 | Russell  Daly  | 
Report | El Alagui  Graham  | 
Attendance: 4,188 Referee: Calum Murray  | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Russell  Daly Flood Douglas Gunning  | 
Fulton  El Alagui Weatherston Higginbotham Murdoch  | 
|||
| 25 October 2011 | Kilmarnock | 2–0 | East Fife | Rugby Park | 
| 19:45 | Sissoko  Harkins  | 
Report | Ogleby  | 
Attendance: 4,029 Referee: Mike Tumilty  | 
| 25 October 2011 | St Mirren | 0–1 | Ayr United | St Mirren Park | 
| 19:45 | Report | Smith  | 
Attendance: 4,570 Referee: Stevie O'Reilly  | 
| 26 October 2011 | Hibernian | 1–4 | Celtic | Easter Road | 
| 19:15 | Majstorović  Sproule  | 
Report | Forrest  Stokes Hooper  | 
Referee: William Collum | 
Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals took place at Hampden Park on 1 November 2011 at 2pm. Celtic beat Falkirk 3–1, while Ayr United took on Kilmarnock in an historic Ayrshire derby. Kilmarnock won 1–0. The Ayrshire derby was the first such game to take place in such a late stage of a major tournament.[4][5]
| 28 January 2012 | Ayr United | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Kilmarnock | Hampden Park | 
| 13:00 | BBC Sport | Shiels  | 
Attendance: 25,057 Referee: Steven McLean  | 
| 29 January 2012 | Falkirk | 1–3 | Celtic | Hampden Park | 
| 15:00 | Fulton  | 
BBC Sport | Brown  Stokes  | 
Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Euan Norris  | 
Final
| 18 March 2012 | Celtic | 0–1 | Kilmarnock | Hampden Park | 
| 15:00 | Report | Van Tornhout  | 
Attendance: 49,572 Referee: William Collum  | 
References
- ↑ "Scottish Communities League Cup". Retrieved 2 June 2011.
 - ↑ "First Minister launches Communities Cup". Scottish Football League. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
 - ↑ "Scottish Communities League Cup Second Round Draw". Scottish Football League. 2 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
 - ↑ "SCLC Semi-Final Draw date announced - The Scottish Football League". Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
 - ↑ "BBC to show Falkirk v Celtic tie". BBC News.
 
External links
- Official site
 - Results Soccerway