2022 Scottish Challenge Cup final

2022 Scottish Challenge Cup final

Event	2021–22 Scottish Challenge Cup
Raith Rovers Queen of the South 3 1
Date	3 April 2022
Venue	Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
Referee	Grant Irvine
Attendance	4,452
← 2020 2023 →

The 2022 Scottish Challenge Cup final, also known as the SPFL Trust Trophy final for sponsorship reasons, ^[1] was a football match that took place on 3 April 2022 between Raith Rovers and Queen of the South. ^[2] It was the 29th 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 seventh since the SPFL was formed. It was the first final played since 2019, as the 2020 final and the 2020–21 competition were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Route to the final

See also: 2021–22 Scottish Challenge Cup

The competition is a knock-out tournament and was contested by 50 teams from Scotland in 2021–22. In previous years clubs from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have competed, ^{[3] [4] [5]} but the competition was restricted to Scottish clubs in 2021–22 to reduce unnecessary travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[6]

Raith Rovers

As a 2020–21 Scottish Championship club, Raith Rovers were given a bye to the second round.

Round	Opposition	Score
Second round	Forfar Athletic (h)	1–0
Third round	East Fife (h)	3–1
Quarter-final	Inverness Caledonian Thistle (a)	0–0 ( a.e.t. ) 5–4 ( p )
Semi-final	Kilmarnock (a)	2–1

Queen of the South

As a 2020–21 Scottish Championship club, Queen of the South were given a bye to the second round.

Round	Opposition	Score
Second round	Broomhill (h)	3–0
Third round	Partick Thistle (h)	2–0
Quarter-final	Greenock Morton (h)	2–1
Semi-final	Cove Rangers (a)	1–0

Match details

3 April 2022

16:15 GMT

Final

Raith Rovers	3–1	Queen of the South
Poplatnik 16', 70' Ross 78'	Report	Roy 45+3'

Excelsior Stadium , Airdrie

Attendance: 4,452

Referee: Grant Irvine

Raith Rovers

Queen of the South

GK 1 Jamie MacDonald RB 2 Reghan Tumilty CB 4 Frankie Musonda CB 3 Liam Dick  83' LB 21 Sean Mackie RM 7 Aidan Connolly CM 16 Sam Stanton CM 8 Ross Matthews LM 22 Ethan Ross  87' FW 99 Matej Poplatnik FW 18 Ethon Varian  56' Substitutes: GK 17 Robbie Thomson DF 5 Christophe Berra DF 14 David McKay  83' DF 29 Greig Young MF 13 Brad Spencer MF 25 Aaron Arnott  87' FW 10 Lewis Vaughan FW 11 Dario Zanatta  56' Manager: John McGlynn

GK 1 Josh Rae RB 3 Alex Cooper CB 16 Euan East CB 2 Darragh O'Connor LB 33 Willie Gibson RM 8 Josh Todd CM 6 Harry Cochrane CM 15 Calvin McGrory LM 10 Lee Connelly  81' FW 9 Ally Roy FW 7 Ruari Paton  81' Substitutes: GK 30 Charlie Cowie DF 13 Josh Debayo DF 20 Roberto Nditi DF 29 Matthew Henderson MF 14 Ben Liddle MF 18 Kieran McKechnie  81' FW 17 Niyah Joseph FW 44 Rúben Soares Júnior  81' Manager: Willie Gibson

Man of the match: Matej Poplatnik

Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.

References

1. "Challenge Cup to be rebranded SPFL Trust Trophy from season 2021/22". The Edinburgh Reporter. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
2. "Raith Rovers 3–1 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
3. "IRN-BRU Cup expanded for 2017/18". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. 7 June 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
4. "Sutton United & Boreham Wood to enter Irn Bru Scottish Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
5. "Northern Irish and Welsh sides to join top flight U20s in Challenge Cup". www.stv.tv/sport. STV. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
6. "SPFL Trust Trophy format & dates". SPFL. Retrieved 20 May 2021.