The 2018–19 Scottish Cup was the 134th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in what was the eighth season of a nine-year partnership, after contract negotiations saw the initial five-year contract extended for an additional four years in October 2015.[1]
The cup was won for the third consecutive occasion, and a record 39th in total, by the defending champions, Celtic who had won the 2018 Scottish Cup Final on 19 May 2018.[2]
The draw for the preliminary rounds took place on Monday, 16 July 2018 at Hampden Park and was made by Scottish National Team Head Coaches Alex McLeish and Shelley Kerr.[4]
There were three parts to the draw. The first part determined which five clubs, from the 14 eligible, received a bye to the second preliminary round. The clubs which did not receive a bye into the second preliminary round entered the first preliminary round. Seven ties were then drawn in the first preliminary round to be played on Saturday, 11 August 2018. The final part of the draw saw six ties drawn in the second preliminary round to be played on Saturday, 1 September 2018.
Clubs with a valid Club Licence at the date of the draw were eligible for a bye to the second preliminary round.[5] Teams in Bold advanced to the first round.
Clubs eligible for a bye
Clubs participating in the first preliminary round draw
The first round took place on the weekend of 22 September 2018. Along with the six winners from the second preliminary round, there were 30 new entries at this stage - 16 from the Highland Football League and 14 from the Lowland Football League.[5]
Draw
The draw for the first round took place on Saturday, 1 September 2018 at Hampden Park and was made by former Scottish Cup winner Robbie Neilson and boxer Charlie Flynn. Selkirk withdrew from the competition before the draw was made so one team received a bye to the second round.[7]
The second round took place on the weekend of 20 October 2018. Along with the 17 winners and one bye from the first round, there were 14 new entries at this stage - two each from the Highland Football League and the Lowland Football League and all 10 from League Two.[5]
Stadium: Beechwood Park Attendance: 650 Referee: Chris Fordyce
Third round
The third round took place on the weekend of 24 November 2018. Along with the 16 winners from the second round, there were 16 new entries at this stage - all 10 from League One, and six from the Championship.[5]
Draw
The draw for the third round took place at Hampden Park on 20 October 2018 at 5:45pm.[14]
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the fourth round.
The fourth round took place on the weekend of 19 January 2019. Along with the 16 winners from the third round, there were 16 new entries at this stage - the remaining four clubs from the Championship, and all 12 from the Premiership.[5]
Draw
The draw for the fourth round took place at Hampden Park on 24 November 2018 at 5:45pm.[34]
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the fifth round.
The quarter-finals took place on the weekend of 2 March 2019.
Draw
The draw for the quarter-finals took place at Victoria Park on 11 February 2019 following the Ross County v Inverness Caledonian Thistle match live on BBC Two Scotland.[36]
Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.
The following is the bracket which the Scottish Cup resembled. Numbers in parentheses next to the match score represent the results of a replay, and numbers in parentheses next to the replay score represents the results of a penalty shoot-out.
Fourth Round 19–20 January 2019 29 January 2019 (replays)
Fifth Round 9–11 February 2019 19–20 February 2019 (replays)
From round four onwards, selected matches from the Scottish Cup are broadcast live in the UK and Ireland by BBC Scotland and Premier Sports (EIR Sport in the Republic of Ireland). BBC Scotland has the option to show two ties per round, with Premier Sports also showing two ties per round; Premier Sports show both semi-finals live with one of them also on BBC Scotland, and both channels screen the final live.[38]
The following matches are to be broadcast live on UK television: