The 2020 FAI Cup was the 100th edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. This edition featured clubs exclusively from the League of Ireland Premier Division and the First Division, whereas usually non-league teams are involved. The number of teams was reduced due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions also meant that crowds were restricted or prohibited from attending.[1] The competition began on 10 August 2020 with the first of four rounds and concluded on 6 December 2020 with the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 2010.
| Extra.ie FAI Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland |
| Venue(s) | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| Dates | 10 August 2020 – 6 December 2020 |
| Teams | 19 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Dundalk (12th title) |
| Runner-up | Shamrock Rovers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 18 |
| Goals scored | 67 (3.72 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | David McMillan (8 goals) |
The Cup holders were Premier Division side Shamrock Rovers and they again reached the final where they were defeated 4-2 by Dundalk after extra-time.[2]
The winners of the FAI Cup earns automatic qualification for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League and would begin play in the first qualifying round. If they have already qualified for European competition through position in the 2020 Premier Division, the spot will go to league's fourth place finisher Sligo Rovers.
First round edit
The draw for the first round took place on 13 July 2020. Thirteen teams were drawn out to receive a bye into the second round and will join the winners of the first round matches. [3]
Teams in bold advanced to the Second Round.
| Premier Division | First Division |
|---|---|
| 10 August 2020 | Finn Harps | 1–0 | St Patrick's Athletic | Ballybofey |
| 19:45 GMT | Ryan Connolly  5'David Webster  19'Adrian Delap 74'Mark Coyle 82' |
Report | Darragh Markey 34' David Titov 77' |
Stadium: Finn Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Neil Doyle |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 11 August 2020 | Dundalk | 1–0 | Waterford | Dundalk |
| 19:45 GMT | Seán Hoare 17' |
Report | Kurtis Byrne 80' |
Stadium: Oriel Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Paul McLoughlin |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 11 August 2020 | Cork City | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Longford Town | Cork |
| 19:45 GMT | Graham Cummins  67'Ricardo Dinanga 94'Ricardo Dinanga 120+1' |
Report | Stadium: Turners Cross Attendance: N/A Referee: Ray Matthews | |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
Second round edit
The draw for the second round took place on 12 August 2020 and was broadcast live on the Football Association Ireland Facebook page with Republic of Ireland senior manager Stephen Kenny conducting proceedings.[4] 6 of the 8 games from the second round will be shown live on the new streaming service WATCHLOI.[5]
Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
| Premier Division | First Division |
|---|---|
| 28 August 2020 | Athlone Town | 5–3 (a.e.t.) | Wexford | Athlone |
| 19:45 GMT | Lee Duffy 37' Ronan Manning 52'Taner Dogan 54'Scott Delaney 66'Scott Delaney 80'Lee Duffy 94'Jack Reynolds 102'Adam Lennon 103'Bradley Okaidja 118' |
Report | Jack Doherty 18' (pen.) Conor English 20'Tom Murphy 52'James Carroll 67'James Carroll 83'Karl Manahan 90+1' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Michael Connolly |
| 28 August 2020 | Galway United | 2–5 | Shelbourne | Galway |
| 19:45 GMT | Enda Curran 14' Maurice Nugent 35'Enda Curran 53'Michael Place 73' |
Report | Colin McCabe 18' Dayle Rooney 33'Ciarán Kilduff 71'Daniel Byrne 76'Ryan Brennan 79'Georgie Poynton 80'Dayle Rooney 84'Aaron Dobbs 90' |
Stadium: Eamonn Deacy Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Damien MacGraith |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 29 August 2020 | Drogheda United | 0–2 | Derry City | Drogheda |
| 17:00 GMT | Jake Hyland 13' Mark Hughes 25'Chris Lyons 69' |
Report | Conor McCormack 13' Ibrahim Meite 65'Joe Thomson 70'Ciaron Harkin 89'Stephen Mallon 90' |
Stadium: United Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Derek Tomney |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 29 August 2020 | Bray Wanderers | 0–2 | Finn Harps | Bray |
| 19:45 GMT | Killian Cantwell 50' Paul Keegan 50'Ryan Graydon 61' |
Report | Alexander Kogler 12' Alexander Kogler 30'Mark Russell 38'Ryan Connolly 62' |
Stadium: Carlisle Grounds Attendance: N/A Referee: Rob Hennessy |
| 30 August 2020 | Cobh Ramblers | 0–2 | Dundalk | Cobh |
| 17:00 GMT | Lee Devitt 70' Greg Henry 71' |
Report | Dane Massey 29' David McMillan 75' (pen.) |
Stadium: St Colman's Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Alan Patchell |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 30 August 2020 | UCD | 1–3 | Sligo Rovers | Belfield, Dublin |
| 19:45 GMT | Paul Doyle 8' Michael Gallagher 58' |
Report | Kyle Callan-McFadden 16' Ryan De Vries 23'Ronan Coughlan 67'Jesse Devers 80'Niall Morahan 84'Teemu Penninkangas 90' |
Stadium: UCD Bowl Attendance: N/A Referee: Adriano Reale |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 31 August 2020 | Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | Cork City | Tallaght, Dublin |
| 17:45 GMT | Daniel Lafferty 38' Graham Burke 42'Gary O'Neill 48'Daniel Lafferty 68'Dylan Watts 78' |
Report | Charlie Fleming 20' Gearóid Morrissey 48'Connor Simpson 62'Henry Ochieng 83' |
Stadium: Tallaght Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Neil Doyle |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 31 August 2020 | Bohemians | 2–0 | Cabinteely | Phibsborough, Dublin |
| 19:45 GMT | Promise Omochere 32' Dinny Corcoran 41' |
Report | Paul Fox 21' Alex Aspil 50' |
Stadium: Dalymount Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Robert Harvey |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
Quarter-finals edit
The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 18 September 2020 after the league game of Sligo Rovers vs. Bohemians live on RTÉ2. Former Sligo Rovers FAI Cup winning captain Conor O'Grady drew the games.
| Premier Division | First Division |
|---|---|
| 31 October 2020 | Athlone Town | 4–1 | Shelbourne | Athlone |
| 15:00 | Dean George 4' Scott Delaney 20'Ciaran Grogan 49'Dean George 66'Dean George 78'Dean George 78' |
Report | Ciaran Kilduff 8' Alex O'Hanlon 45+1'Dan Byrne 59'Oscar Brennan 83' |
Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Damien McGrath |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 20 November 2020 | Finn Harps | 2–3 | Shamrock Rovers | Ballybofey |
| 17:30 | Barry McNamee 15' Stephen Folan 21'Mark McGinley 54' |
Report | Joey O'Brien 41' Aaron McEneff  51' (pen.)Aaron McEneff 52' (pen.)Aaron McEneff 55' (pen.)Graham Burke 71'Thomas Oluwa 89' |
Stadium: Finn Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Rob Hennessey |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 20 November 2020 | Bohemians | 1–4 | Dundalk | Phibsborough, Dublin |
| 19:45 | Andre Wright 15' (pen.) Rob Cornwall 27'Conor Levingston 41'Michael Barker 57'Michael Barker 72' |
Report | Michael Duffy 2' Cameron Dummigan 10'Chris Shields 26'David McMillan 35' (pen.)David McMillan 38'Nathan Oduwa 87' |
Stadium: Dalymount Park Attendance: N/A Referee: Robert Harvey |
| Note: Live coverage on RTÉ2 | ||||
| 25 November 2020 | Sligo Rovers | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p) | Derry City | Sligo |
| 19:30 | David Cawley 31' Garry Buckley 55'Regan Donelon 77' |
Report | Ciaran Coll 50' Conor McCormack 120' |
Stadium: The Showgrounds Attendance: N/A Referee: Neil Doyle |
| Penalties | ||||
Ronan Coughlan  Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe Alex Cooper Garry Buckley |
Conor Clifford Conor McCormack Walter Figueira Ibrahim Meite |
|||
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
Semi-finals edit
The draw for the semi-finals took place at 6pm on 30 October 2020 live on RTE 2FM.[6]
| Premier Division | First Division |
|---|---|
|
|
| 29 November 2020 | Shamrock Rovers | 2–0 | Sligo Rovers | Tallaght, Dublin |
| 14:00 | Aaron McEneff 4' Ronan Finn 40'Aaron McEneff 45+1' |
Report | David Cawley 26' Ronan Coughlan 82' |
Stadium: Tallaght Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Paul McLaughlin |
| Note: Live coverage on www.watchloi.ie | ||||
| 29 November 2020 | Athlone Town | 0–11 | Dundalk | Athlone |
| 19:05 | David Brookes 34' Scott Delaney 47'Ciaran Grogan 63'Dean George 88' |
Report | Michael Duffy 4' 9' Andy Boyle 13'John Mountney 29'Patrick McEleney 36'David McMillan 39' 64'Chris Shields 55'Nathan Oduwa 60' Jordan Flores 74'Sean Murray 83' 70' |
Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium Attendance: N/A Referee: Rob Hennessey |
| Note: Live coverage on RTÉ2 | ||||
Final edit
| 6 December 2020 | Shamrock Rovers | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Dundalk | Ballsbridge, Dublin |
| 18:40 | Dylan Watts 16' Joey O'Brien 45+3'Aaron Greene 49'Liam Scales 71'Roberto Lopes 74'Graham Burke 98' |
Report |
|
Stadium: Aviva Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Rob Harvey |
| Note: Live coverage on RTÉ2 | ||||
References edit
- ^ "FAI announces first round fixtures and byes for second round". RTÉ.ie. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "McMillan hits hat-trick as Dundalk win classic Cup final after extra time". The 42. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ "Dundalk to host Waterford in FAI Cup first round". RTÉ.ie. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "FAI Cup second round draw to take place on Wednesday". RTÉ.ie. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Rovers Cup clash with Cork to be shown live on WatchLOI". RTÉ.ie. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "The Full Draw for the Extra.ie FAI Cup Semi-Finals Has Been Made". 30 October 2020.