2022–23 Scottish Cup


The 2022–23 Scottish Cup was the 138th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition.
The defending champions, Rangers, who beat Heart of Midlothian in the 2022 Scottish Cup final, were defeated by Celtic in the semi-finals. VAR was used for the first time in the tournament.
Celtic lifted the trophy for the record-extending 41st time after defeating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–1 in the final to complete a domestic treble.

Calendar

The calendar for the 2022–23 Scottish Cup was announced by the Scottish Football Association on 29 July 2022. Starting this season, replays were abolished after the preliminary round. From the first round, matches tied after 90 minutes will go to extra time, and if still tied, to penalty kicks.
RoundOriginal dateNumber of fixturesClubsNew EntriesLeagues entering at this round
Preliminary round27 August 202224126 → 1025046 licensed clubs and 4 qualifiers
First round17 September 202230102 → 723418 Highland League teams
16 Lowland League teams
Second round22 October 20222072 → 521010 League Two teams
Third round26 November 20222052 → 322010 Championship teams
10 League One teams
Fourth round21 January 20231632 → 161212 Premiership teams
Fifth round11 February 2023816 → 8-
Quarter-finals11 March 202348 → 4-
Semi-finals29 & 30 April 202324 → 2-
[|Final]3 June 202312 → 1-

Preliminary round

The preliminary round took place on the weekend of 27 August 2022. In total, 50 clubs entered the competition at this stage. They were drawn into 24 ties, with two clubs receiving a bye to the first round.
Benburb, Bonnyton Thistle, [Kilwinning Rangers F.C.|Rangers F.C.|Kilwinning Rangers], Rutherglen Glencairn, St Andrews United, Syngenta, and Tayport took part for the first time, along with Lochee United and Pollok who were qualifiers in previous seasons, having each gained their Club Licence.
Carnoustie Panmure, Drumchapel United, Invergordon, and Tower Hearts also qualified to take part in the competition for the first time.

Draw

The draw for the preliminary round was made on 2 August 2022. Two clubs, except the four qualifiers, were eligible to receive a bye to the first round.
Teams in bold advanced to the first round.
East of Scotland LeagueWest of Scotland LeagueOthers

Premier Division
First Division
Second Division
Premier Division
First Division
Second Division
Third Division
Fourth Division
Central Scottish Amateur League
  • Tower Hearts
Midlands League
North Caledonian League
South of Scotland League
Jeanfield Swifts and Tynecastle received a bye to the first round.

First round

The first round took place on the weekend of 17 September 2022. Along with the 26 teams advancing from the preliminary round, there were 34 new entries at this stage - 18 from the Highland Football League and 16 from the Lowland Football League. The draw for the first round was made on 29 August 2022 at 15:00.
Teams in bold advanced to the second round.
Highland LeagueLowland LeagueEast of Scotland LeagueWest of Scotland LeagueOther

  • Berwick Rangers
  • Bo'ness United
  • Broomhill
  • Caledonian Braves
  • Civil Service Strollers
  • Cowdenbeath
  • Cumbernauld Colts
  • Dalbeattie Star
  • East Kilbride
  • East Stirlingshire
  • Edinburgh University
  • Gala Fairydean Rovers
  • Gretna 2008
  • The Spartans
  • Tranent Juniors
  • University of Stirling
  • Premier Division
    First Division
    Second Division
    Premier Division
    First Division
    Second Division
    Midlands League
    South of Scotland League
    Pollok's match against Huntly on 16 September 2022 was originally to be aired on BBC Scotland but the broadcaster pulled out citing an "exceptional demand" on their resources following the death of Elizabeth II.

    Matches

    ;Notes

    Second round

    The second round took place on the weekend of 22 October 2022. Along with the 30 winners from the first round, there were 10 new entries at this stage - all from League Two. The draw for the second round was made on 18 September 2022 at 18:00, live on the Scottish Cup YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
    Teams in bold advanced to the third round.
    League TwoHighland LeagueLowland LeagueEast of Scotland LeagueWest of Scotland LeagueOther

  • Brechin City
  • Buckie Thistle
  • Formartine United
  • Fraserburgh
  • Turriff United
  • Wick Academy
  • Bo'ness United
  • Broomhill
  • Caledonian Braves
  • Dalbeattie Star
  • East Kilbride
  • Gretna 2008
  • The Spartans
  • University of Stirling
  • Premier Division
    First Division
    Premier Division
    First Division
    Second Division
    Midlands League

    Third round

    The third round took place on the weekend of 26 November 2022. Along with the 20 winners from the second round, there were 20 new entries at this stage - all from League One and the Championship. The draw for the third round was made on 24 October 2022 at 16:00, live on the Scottish Cup YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
    Teams in Italics were unknown at the time of the draw. Teams in bold advanced to the fourth round.
    Dunipace were drawn against Championship club Cove Rangers, representing the biggest league position gap between two teams in the competition's history since the pyramid system was introduced. Drumchapel United's win over FC Edinburgh from League One was also a record for the biggest league position gap for a lower ranked winning club.
    ChampionshipLeague OneLeague TwoTier 5Other

  • Airdrieonians
  • Alloa Athletic
  • Clyde
  • Dunfermline Athletic
  • Edinburgh
  • Falkirk
  • Kelty Hearts
  • Montrose
  • Peterhead
  • Queen of the South
  • Albion Rovers
  • Dumbarton
  • Elgin City
  • Forfar Athletic
  • Stenhousemuir
  • Stirling Albion
  • Highland League
    Lowland League
    East of Scotland League Premier Division
    West of Scotland League Premier Division
    East of Scotland League First Division
    West of Scotland League First Division

    Fourth round

    The fourth round took place on the weekend of 21 January 2023. Along with the 20 winners from the third round, there are 12 new entries at this stage - all from the Premiership. The draw for the fourth round was made on 28 November 2022 following the Ayr United v Pollok match, live on BBC Scotland.
    Teams in bold advanced to the fifth round. Queen's Park won 2-0 at Inverness in their fourth round match, but were expelled from the competition because they fielded an ineligible player.
    PremiershipChampionshipLeague OneLeague TwoOther

  • Arbroath
  • Ayr United
  • Cove Rangers
  • Dundee
  • Greenock Morton
  • Hamilton Academical
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
  • Partick Thistle
  • Queen's Park
  • Raith Rovers
  • Alloa Athletic
  • Dunfermline Athletic
  • Falkirk
  • Dumbarton
  • Elgin City
  • Stenhousemuir
  • Lowland League
    East of Scotland League Premier Division
    West of Scotland League Premier Division
    West of Scotland League First Division

    Matches

    ;Notes
    B- Queen's Park fielded an ineligible player in their fourth round match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and were removed from the competition. The match had originally finished 2–0 to Queen's Park.

    Fifth round

    The fifth round took place on the weekend of 11 February 2023. The draw was made on 22 January 2023 and broadcast live across the Scottish Cup social channels.
    Teams in Italics were unknown at the time of the draw.
    Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
    PremiershipChampionshipOther

  • Ayr United
  • Hamilton Academical
  • Partick Thistle
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
  • Raith Rovers
  • League One
    League Two
    West of Scotland League Premier Division

    Quarter-finals

    The quarter-finals took place on the weekend of 11 March 2023. The draw was made on 13 February 2023 and broadcast live across the Scottish Cup social channels.
    PremiershipChampionshipLeague One

  • Ayr United
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
  • Raith Rovers
  • Falkirk
  • Teams in Italics were unknown at the time of the draw.
    Teams in bold advanced to the semi-finals.

    Semi-finals

    The semi-finals took place on the weekend of 29 April 2023. The draw was made on 13 March 2023, following the Falkirk v Ayr United match live on BBC Scotland.
    PremiershipChampionshipLeague One

  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
  • Falkirk
  • Teams in bold advanced to the Final.

    Broadcasting

    The Scottish Cup is broadcast by Viaplay Sports and BBC Scotland. Viaplay Sports has the first two picks of the fourth and fifth rounds, the quarter-finals as well as first pick of one semi-final and airs the final non-exclusively. BBC Scotland broadcast one match per round from the first round onwards and two matches per round from the fourth round to the quarter-finals, as well as one semi-final and the final.
    The following matches were selected for live coverage on UK television: