2017 Scottish Challenge Cup final

2017 Scottish Challenge Cup final

Official match day programme
Event	2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup
Dundee United St Mirren 2 1
Date	25 March 2017
Venue	Fir Park, Motherwell
Referee	Nick Walsh
Attendance	8,089
Weather	Sunny
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The 2017 Scottish Challenge Cup final, also known as the Irn-Bru Cup final for sponsorship reasons, is a football match that took place on 25 March 2017 at Fir Park, between Dundee United and St Mirren. ^[1] It was the 26th final of the Scottish Challenge Cup since it was first organised in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the now defunct Scottish Football League and the fourth since the Scottish Professional Football League was formed. Both teams progressed through four elimination rounds to reach the final. The match was won by Dundee United 2–1, marking their first win in the tournament since its inception and their first silverware since the 2009–10 Scottish Cup. ^{[2] [3]}

Route to the final

See also: 2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup

The competition is a knock-out tournament and was contested by 52 teams from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2016-17. ^[4] Those participating were the 30 clubs that played in the 2016–17 Championship, League One and League Two of the Scottish Professional Football League along with the top four teams from the 2015–16 Highland and Lowland Leagues (East Stirlingshire, who were relegated from the SPFL, took the place of the Lowland League champions Edinburgh City, who promoted in their place). The top two teams from the 2015–16 Welsh Premier League and 2015–16 NIFL Premiership and the U20s squads of the teams competing in the 2016–17 Premiership were also invited to compete. ^[4] For the first three rounds, the draw was divided into two geographical regions – north and south. These draws were seeded to avoid U20s teams and Highland and Lowland League sides from being drawn against each other. ^[5] From round four onwards, the draw was regionalised to keep Welsh and Northern Irish teams apart.

As both clubs play in the Championship, they received a bye to the third round.

Dundee United

Round	Opposition	Score
Third round	Peterhead (h)	3–2 ( a.e.t. )
Fourth round	Stranraer (a)	1–0
Quarter-final	Dunfermline Athletic (a)	1–0
Semi-final	Queen of the South (a)	3–2

St Mirren

Round	Opposition	Score
Third round	Albion Rovers (a)	4–3 ( a.e.t. )
Fourth round	Hibernian (a)	2–1
Quarter-final	Ayr United (h)	2–1
Semi-final	The New Saints (h)	4–1

Match details

25 March 2017

12:30

Final

Dundee United	2–1	St Mirren
Andreu 37' Mikkelsen 75'	SPFL report	Loy 38'

Fir Park , Motherwell

Attendance: 8,089

Referee: Nick Walsh

Dundee United

St Mirren

Dundee United: GK 1 Cammy Bell (c) RB 8 Stewart Murdoch CB 14 William Edjenguélé CB 4 Mark Durnan LB 24 Jamie Robson CM 16 Charlie Telfer CM 14 Willo Flood RW 22 Ali Coote  89' AM 19 Tony Andreu LW 23 Nick van der Velden  58' CF 9 Simon Murray  80' Substitutes: GK 21 Luis Zwick DF 3 Paul Dixon DF 5 Coll Donaldson  89' DF 6 Lewis Toshney DF 20 Frank van der Struijk MF 11 Alex Nicholls  80' FW 18 Thomas Mikkelsen  58' Manager: Ray McKinnon

St Mirren: GK 21 Billy O'Brien RB 3 Gary Irvine CB 6 Gary MacKenzie CB 15 Jack Baird LB 44 Adam Eckersley RM 42 Kyle Magennis  84' CM 10 Stevie Mallan CM 22 Stephen McGinn (c) LM 17 Lewis Morgan CF 16 Rory Loy CF 9 John Sutton Substitutes: GK 1 Jamie Langfield DF 2 Stelios Demetriou DF 4 Andy Webster MF 23 Pål Fjelde MF 35 Darren Whyte MF 36 Connor O'Keefe  84' FW 50 Ryan Watters Manager: Jack Ross

Man of the Match: Tony Andreu

Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions.

References

1. "Fir Park to host IRN-BRU Cup Final". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
2. "Dundee United 2 St. Mirren 1". BBC Sport. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
3. "Dundee United 2 St Mirren 1 as Thomas Mikkelsen is the hero as Terrors win Irn-Bru Cup - 3 things we learned". Daily Record. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
4. "Northern Irish and Welsh sides to join top flight U20s in Challenge Cup". www.stv.tv/sport. STV. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
5. "IRN-BRU Cup - First Round Draw". spfl.co.uk. SPFL. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2017.