Qualifiers
The following clubs qualified to take part in this year's competition. The eight unseeded clubs entered in the first round, while the four seeded clubs entered in the quarter-finals.
Seeded teams
| Unseeded teams
|
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | Crusaders |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Shamrock Rovers (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | Drogheda United |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 66 (3.14 per match) |
The 2013 Setanta Sports Cup was the eighth staging of the Setanta Sports Cup, an annual football competition featuring clubs from Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. It commenced on 11 February 2013 and ended on 11 May 2013 with the final played at the Tallaght Stadium, Dublin.
Crusaders were the defending champions, after they defeated Derry City 5–4 on penalties in the 2012 final, when the match ended 2–2 after extra time. However, this season they went out 4–1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to Cork City. Shamrock Rovers were the eventual winners for the second time overall, following a comfortable 7–1 win over Drogheda United in the final. This season's competition was notable for the fact that all four semi-finalists represented the Republic of Ireland. It was also the sixth time in the eight competitions played thus far that the winner had been a League of Ireland club.
The following clubs qualified to take part in this year's competition. The eight unseeded clubs entered in the first round, while the four seeded clubs entered in the quarter-finals.
Seeded teams
| Unseeded teams
|
The first round draw was made on 6 December 2012. Four League of Ireland and four IFA Premiership clubs played each other in the first round over two games with the winners qualifying for the quarter-finals. The first legs were played on 11 February 2013 and the second legs were played on 18 February 2013. [1]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cork City  | 6–2 |  Cliftonville | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Drogheda United | 8–2 | Portadown | 3–2 | 5–0 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | Coleraine | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | Glentoran | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Cork City | 4 – 0 | Cliftonville |
|---|---|---|
G. Morrissey  16'Turner 26' (pen.), 45+1'}Kavanagh 69' | Report |
| Coleraine | 0 – 2 | Shamrock Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Quigley 5' 73'McCabe 53'Sullivan 66'Kilduff 90' |
Shamrock Rovers won 2−1 on aggregate.
| Glentoran | 1 – 0 | St Patrick's Athletic |
|---|---|---|
| Murray 62' | Report | Fagan 42' |
Glentoran won 1−0 on aggregate.
| Cliftonville | 2 – 2 | Cork City |
|---|---|---|
| Boyce 38' Garrett 87' | Report | Horgan 15' Furlong 52'Morrissey 72'Spillane  90+2' |
Cork City won 6−2 on aggregate.
| Portadown | 0 – 5 | Drogheda United |
|---|---|---|
| Murray 10' McNeill 61'Ramsey 64'Burns 89' | Report | Byrne 1' O'Conor 12'Brennan 55'Cassidy 78'Hand 90+3' |
Drogheda United won 8−2 on aggregate.
The winners of the four first-round games joined the four seeded teams in the quarter-finals. The first legs were played on 26 February and 4 March, while the second legs were played on 4 and 11 March 2013.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork City | 4–1 | Crusaders | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Derry City | 2–3 | Drogheda United | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 7–2 | Linfield | 4–1 | 3–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 8–0 | Glentoran | 5–0 | 3–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 5 – 0 | Glentoran |
|---|---|---|
| Lynch 2', 38' Elding 20'Connolly 36'McMillan 53' | Report |
| Derry City | 1 – 1 | Drogheda United |
|---|---|---|
| Patterson 10' 43' | Report | Prendergast 4' O'Brien 53'Sava 66' |
| Crusaders | 1 – 3 | Cork City |
|---|---|---|
| Heatley 89' | Report | Morrissey 55' D Horgan 62'Kavanagh 67'Magowan 89' (o.g.) |
Cork City won 4−1 on aggregate.
Sligo Rovers won 8−0 on aggregate.
| Drogheda United | 2 – 1 | Derry City |
|---|---|---|
| Prendergast 68' R. Brennan 90+4' | Report | McEleney 37' McBride 48'Rafter 64' |
Drogheda United won 3−2 on aggregate.
Shamrock Rovers won 7−2 on aggregate.
The first legs of the semi-finals will be played on 16 April and the second legs on 22 April.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drogheda United | 2−1 | Sligo Rovers | 2−0 | 0−1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3−3 | Cork City | 1−1 | 2−2 |
| Drogheda United | 2 − 0 | Sligo Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| O'Neill 24' Cassidy 35'Grimes 52' | Report |
| Cork City | 2 − 2 | Shamrock Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Horgan 45+1' Kavanagh 63'87' | Report | Foran 29' Rice 32'72'Dennehy 54'90+3' |
3–3 on aggregate. Shamrock Rovers won on away goals
| Sligo Rovers | 1 − 0 | Drogheda United |
|---|---|---|
| Cawley 30' 46' Ventre 71' | Report | O'Neill 24' Cassidy 39' |
Drogheda United won 2−1 on aggregate.
| Shamrock Rovers | 7 − 1 | Drogheda United |
|---|---|---|
| Chambers 11' O'Connor 13'Sheppard 45'Finn 55', 56'Dennehy 75', 88' | Report | O'Neill 65' |