The 1997–98 Irish League Cup (known as the

Wilkinson Sword Wilkinson Sword is a formerly British brand for razors and other personal care products sold in Europe, owned by the US company Edgewell Personal Care. The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in County Durham, ...

League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th edition of the

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

's secondary football knock-out cup competition. It concluded on 9 September 1997 with the final.

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

were the defending champions after their first League Cup win last season; a 1–0 victory over

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

in the previous final. This season they went out in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Linfield, who lifted their fourth League Cup with a 1–0 victory over arch-rivals

in the final, condemning the Glens to their second successive League Cup final defeat. This was the last competition to feature clubs from the

Irish League B Division The NIFL Premier Intermediate League is the third division of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and the highest intermediate division in Northern Ireland, occupying level three in ...

. From the following season onwards, the competition would only be open to senior clubs in the top two divisions.

First round

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player. Cookstown United were reinstated.

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Irish League Cup 1997–98 in Northern Ireland association football 1997–98 domestic association football cups 1997-98