The 2018

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 EA Sports Cup, was the 45th season of the League of Ireland's secondary knockout competition. The EA Sports Cup features teams from the SSE Airtricity League

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

and

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Divisions, as well as some intermediate level teams.

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

won the cup for a record 11th time.

Teams

''Clubs denoted with * received a bye into Second round''

First round

All teams were divided into four pools based on geographical location. Two random teams per pool received a bye into the second round. The draw for the first round took place on 9 February 2018. Ties were scheduled to begin on 5 March 2018 but were subsequently postponed due to the aftermath of extreme weather from a

cold wave A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in tem ...

known as the

Beast from the East ''Beast from the East'' is a live album recorded by the American heavy metal band Dokken in Japan in April 1988, during tour in support of their album '' Back for the Attack''. It was released on November 16, 1988. The album features live vers ...

combined with Storm Emma. Rescheduled ties were set for various dates across March and April 2018.

Second round

The draw for the Second round took place on 22 March 2018 and was made on a regional pool basis. Ties were scheduled for Easter Monday 2 April 2018. Four second round fixtures were postponed due to heavy rainfall causing unplayable pitches. Rearranged fixtures were set for 9 April, 23 April and 24 April.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter finals took place on 10 April 2018 and was an open draw, unlike previous rounds which were drawn on a geographic pooled basis. Ties are due to be played on 7/8 May 2018.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi finals of the 2018 EA Sports Cup was made on 13 May 2018. Both ties were played on 6 August 2018.

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

The final of the League of Ireland Cup took place on 16 September 2018. Home advantage was decided by a coin toss, which Derry City won.

References

EA Sports Cup first round draw courtesy of '' sseairtricityleague.ie''

First round draw postponements courtesy of '' extratime.ie''

EA Sports Cup second round draw courtesy of '' extratime.ie''

Second round postponements courtesy of ''irishmirror.ie''

Quarter-final draw courtesy of '' sseairtricityleague.ie''

Semi-final draw courtesy of '' fai.ie'' {{2018–19 in European football (UEFA) 2018 League of Ireland, Cup 3 League of Ireland Cup seasons