1976–77 Irish Cup

The 1976–77 Irish Cup was the 97th edition of Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition. It began on 5 February 1977, and concluded on 23 April 1977 with the final.

1976–77 Irish Cup

Country	Northern Ireland
Teams	16
Champions	Coleraine (4th win)
Runners-up	Linfield
Matches played	20
Goals scored	66 (3.3 per match)
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The defending champions were Carrick Rangers after they defeated Linfield 2–1 in the 1975–76 final - one of the biggest shocks in the Cup's history.[1] However, this season they went out in the first round to eventual winners Coleraine, who defeated Linfield 4–1 in the final to condemn the Blues to defeat in the Irish Cup final for the third successive season (a record that still stands), and the fourth time in five years. It was a repeat of the 1974–75 final two years earlier, which was also won by Coleraine.[2]

First round

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Bangor	0–0	Ards
Carrick Rangers	2–5	Coleraine
Chimney Corner	0–2	Larne
Cliftonville	0–2	Glenavon
Distillery	4–1	Ballymena United
Dundela	0–6	Portadown
Dungannon Swifts	1–5	Crusaders
Glentoran	1–1	Linfield

Replays

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ards	0–0	Bangor
Linfield	3–0	Glentoran

Second replay

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Bangor	1–3	Ards

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ards	0–6	Linfield
Crusaders	0–1	Coleraine
Glenavon	0–3	Distillery
Portadown	1–3	Larne

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Coleraine	0–0	Distillery
Larne	1–1	Linfield

Replays

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Distillery	0–3	Coleraine
Linfield	3–2	Larne

Final

23 April 1977

Coleraine	4 – 1	Linfield
Beckett  19' Dickson  74' Moffatt  75' Guy  89'	Report	Lemon  32'

The Oval, Belfast

References

1. "Northern Ireland Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. rsssf.com. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
2. "Irish Cup 1976/77". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 2015-10-31. Retrieved 13 January 2013.