| EA Sports Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  Republic of Ireland | 
| Dates | 9 March – 19 September | 
| Teams | 24 | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | St. Patrick's Athletic | 
| Runner-up | Galway United | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 23 | 
The 2015 League of Ireland Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2015 EA Sports Cup, was the 42nd season of the League of Ireland's secondary knockout competition. The EA Sports Cup features teams from the SSE Airtricity League Premier and First Divisions, as well as some intermediate level teams.
Teams
| Pool 1 | Pool 2 | Pool 3 | Pool 4 | 
|---|---|---|---|
Clubs denoted with * received a bye into Second Round
First round
The draw for the First Round took place on 10 February 2015. [1] The First Round games were played on 9 and 10 March 2015.
| 9 March 2014 | Galway United | 3–2 | Finn Harps | Eamonn Deacy Park | 
| 19:45 | Padraic Cunningham  21' Gary Shanahan  36' Jake Keegan  66' (pen.) | Report | Brian McGroary  57' Keith Cowan  75' | Attendance: 250 (Est.) Referee: Robert Hennessy | 
| 9 March 2014 | UCD | 0–1 | Cabinteely | UCD Bowl | 
| 19:45 | Report | Shane O'Neill  90+3' | Attendance: 206 Referee: Ben Connolly | 
| 10 March 2014 | Bohemians | 3–0 | Athlone Town | Dalymount Park | 
| 19:45 | Marc Griffin  29' Marc Griffin  44' Jake Hyland  73' | Report | Attendance: 300 (Est.) Referee: Adriano Reale | 
| 10 March 2014 | Drogheda United | 0–1 | Shelbourne | Hunky Dorys Park | 
| 19:45 | Report | Mark Sandford  49' | Attendance: ??? Referee: Tomas Connolly | 
| 10 March 2014 | Sligo Rovers | 8–0 | Mayo League | Showgrounds | 
| 19:45 | Morten Nielsen  27' Gary Armstrong  45+1' Gary Armstrong  50' Sander Puri  56' Rafaele Cretaro  60' (pen.) Liam Flatley  64' Liam Flatley  85' Liam Flatley  89' | Report | Attendance: ??? Referee: Ray Matthews | 
| 10 March 2014 | Wexford Youths | 1–2 | UCC | Ferrycarraig Park | 
| 19:45 | Peter Higgins  86' | Report | Ian Mylod  17' Ian Mylod  22' | Attendance: ??? Referee: Brian Nolan | 
| 10 March 2014 | Cobh Ramblers | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Limerick | St Colman's Park | 
| 20:00 | Ronan Stanton  5' Ryan Goldsmith  95' Kynan Rocks  98' | Report | Dean Clarke  14' Paul O'Conor  105' | Attendance: 200 (Est.) Referee: Anthony Matthews | 
| 10 March 2014 | Crumlin United | 4–2 | Bray Wanderers | Pearse Park | 
| 20:00 | Kevin Dempsey  26' (pen.) James Lee  29' Greg Moorehouse  66' Greg Moorehouse  88' | Report | Ryan McEvoy  6' Graham Kelly  33' | Attendance: 100 (Est.) Referee: Paul Tuite | 
Second round
The draw for the second round took place on 18 March.[2] The draw was regionalised, based on geographical pools. Ties were played on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 April.
| 6 April 2014 | Waterford United | 0–2 | Cork City | RSC | 
| 15:00 | Report | Ross Gaynor  47' (pen.) Gavan Holohan  65' Rob Lehane  78' | Attendance: 408 Referee: Sean Grant | 
| 6 April 2014 | Sligo Rovers | 0–2 (a.e.t.) | Derry City | Showgrounds | 
| 16:00 | Daniel Ledwith  77' | Report | Seamus Sharkey  103' Mark Timlin  113' | Attendance: 837 Referee: Ray Matthews | 
| 6 April 2014 | Galway United | 4–2 | Cockhill Celtic | Eamonn Deacy Park | 
| 15:00 | Andy O'Connell  21' Ryan Connolly  41' Padraic Cunningham  58' Padraic Cunningham  66' Gary Shanahan  71' | Report | James Bradley  4' Mark Moran  90+1' | Attendance: 200 (Est.) Referee: Robert Hennessey | 
| 6 April 2014 | Cabinteely | 0–2 | Shamrock Rovers | Stradbrook Road | 
| 19:00 | Report | Sean O'Connor  58' Brandon Miele  64' | Attendance: 1,000 (Est.) Referee: Adriano Reale | 
| 7 April 2014 | Dundalk | 1–0 | Shelbourne | Oriel Park | 
| 19:45 | John Mountney  11' | Report | Attendance: 697 Referee: Rob Harvey | 
| 7 April 2014 | Bohemians | 3–1 | Longford Town | Dalymount Park | 
| 19:45 | Jason Byrne  28' James O'Brien  38' Kealan Dillon  78' | Report | Ayman Ben Mohamed  13' | Attendance: 440 Referee: David McKeon | 
| 7 April 2014 | Crumlin United | 1–4 | St Patrick's Athletic | Richmond Park | 
| 19:45 | Patrick Cannon  55' | Report | Sam Verdon  15' Ross Carrig  67' (o.g.) James Chambers  71' Sam Verdon  74' | Attendance: 487 Referee: Rob Rogers | 
| 7 April 2014 | UCC | 3–2 | Cobh Ramblers | The Mardyke | 
| 20:00 | Cian Hill  27' Cian Murphy  52' Sean O'Mahony  90+4' | Report | Robert Waters  88' Robert Waters  90+3' | Attendance: 430 (Est.) Referee: Anthony Buttimer | 
Quarter finals
The draw for the quarter-finals took place on Wednesday 15 April. The draw was an open draw, following on from previous draws made on a regional basis. Ties were played Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 May.
| 18 May 2015 | Galway United | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Bohemians | Eamonn Deacy Park | 
| 19:45 | Jake Keegan  93' | Report | Attendance: 600 (Est.) Referee: Padraig Sutton | 
| 18 May 2015 | UCC | 0–5 | Dundalk | The Mardyke | 
| 20:00 | Report | Ciaran O'Connor  3' Jake Kelly  13' Paddy Barrett  36' Paddy Barrett  55' Kurtis Byrne  78' | Attendance: 650 (Est.) Referee: David Keeler | 
| 19 May 2015 | Cork City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–5 p) | St Patrick's Athletic | Turners Cross | 
| 19:45 | Liam Kearney  64' | Report | Jack Bayly  60' | Attendance: 930 Referee: Sean Grant | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Garry Buckley  Mark O'Sullivan  Ross Gaynor  Billy Dennehy  | Killian Brennan  Conan Byrne  James Chambers  Conor McCormack  Chris Forrester  | |||
| 19 May 2015 | Derry City | 0–1 | Shamrock Rovers | The Brandywell | 
| 19:45 | Report | Sean O'Connor  35' | Attendance: 750 (Est.) Referee: Rob Harvey | 
Semi finals
Ties were played Monday 3 August.
| 3 August 2015 | Shamrock Rovers | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p) | St Patrick's Athletic | Tallaght Stadium | 
| 16:00 | Ryan Brennan  120+2' | Report | Killian Brennan  82' Morgan Langley  120+2' | Attendance: 2,200 (Est.) Referee: Paul Tuite | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Gary McCabe  Danny North  Michael Drennan  David O'Connor  | Killian Brennan  Aaron Greene  Conan Byrne  James Chambers  Ian Morris  | |||
| 3 August 2015 | Galway United | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | Dundalk | Eamonn Deacy Park | 
| 17:00 | Alex Byrne  113' | Report | Ronan Finn  44' Darren Meenan  78' | Referee: Ray Matthews | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Stephen Walsh  David O'Leary  Jake Keegan  Colm Horgan  | Ronan Finn  David McMillan  Daryl Horgan  John Mountney  | |||
Final
The EA Sports Cup Final was played on Saturday 19 September. The match took place at Eamonn Deacy Park, following a coin-toss for home advantage, and was screened live on Setanta Sports. St Patrick's Athletic won the tie on penalties, following a scoreless draw.[3][4][5]
| 19 September 2015 | Galway United | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | St Patrick's Athletic* | Eamonn Deacy Park | 
| 18.05 | Report | Attendance: 3,662 Referee: Paul McLaughlin | ||
| Penalties | ||||
| Ryan Connolly  Jake Keegan  Stephen Walsh  Colm Horgan  Andy O'Connell  | Jack Bayly  James Chambers (Irish footballer)  Chris Fagan (Irish footballer)  Ian Morris  Sean Hoare  | |||
References
- ↑ "Euro clubs receive bye in EA Sports Cup". rte.ie. 10 February 2015.
- ↑ "EA Sports Cup second-round draw: Sligo Rovers to host Derry City - Goal.com". www.goal.com.
- ↑ "St Patrick's Athletic crowned EA Sports Cup champions after penalty drama". Irish Independent. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ↑ "Galway United 0 St Patrick's Athletic 0". Goal.com. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ↑ "St Patrick's Athletic scoop EA Sports Cup for the third time in their history after penalty shootout win over Galway United". Irish Mirror. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.