| William Hill Scottish Cup | |
| Year: | 2011-12 |
| Num Teams: | 81[1] |
| Winners: | Heart of Midlothian |
| Second: | Hibernian |
| Scoring Leader: | Rudi Skacel (5) |
| Prev Season: | 2010–11 |
| Next Season: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 Scottish Cup was the 127th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 24 September 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012.[2] It was sponsored by William Hill in the first season of a three-year partnership, known as the William Hill Scottish Cup.[3] The winner of the competition qualified for the play-off round[4] of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Heart of Midlothian won 5–1 against city rivals Hibernian at Hampden Park.[5]
| Round | Draw date | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Replays | ||||||||
| align=left | First round | align=left | Monday 29 August 2011 | align=left | Saturday 24 September 2011 | 17 | 1 | 81 → 64 | |
| align=left | Second round | align=left | Wednesday 28 September 2011 | align=left | Saturday 22 October 2011 | 16 | 4 | 64 → 48 | |
| align=left | Third round | align=left | Wednesday 26 October 2011 | align=left | Saturday 19 November 2011 | 16 | 4 | 48 → 32 | |
| align=left | Fourth round | align=left | Tuesday 22 November 2011 | align=left | Saturday 7 January 2012 | 16 | 3 | 32 → 16 | |
| align=left | Fifth round | align=left | Monday 9 January 2012 | align=left | Saturday 4 February 2012 | 8 | 3 | 16 → 8 | |
| align=left | Quarter-finals | align=left | Monday 6 February 2012 | align=left | Saturday 10 March 2012 | 4 | 1 | 8 → 4 | |
| align=left | Semi-finals | align=left | Sunday 11 March 2012 | align=left | Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 April 2012 | 2 | N/A | 4 → 2 | |
| align=left | Final | align=left | N/A | align=left | Saturday 19 May 2012 | 1 | N/A | 2 → 1 | |
The first round draw was conducted on 29 August 2011 at Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow.[7]
This round is populated entirely by non-league clubs:
Golspie Sutherland received a bye into the Second Round.Source:
Source:
The second round draw was conducted on 28 September 2011 at the William Hill shop in West Campbell Street in Glasgow.[8]
The 17 winners and 1 bye from the First Round enter here, along with the 10 SFL Third Division clubs (Alloa Athletic, Annan Athletic, Berwick Rangers, Clyde, East Stirlingshire, Elgin City, Montrose, Peterhead, Queen's Park, Stranraer), Highland League champions (Buckie Thistle), Highland League runners-up (Deveronvale), East of Scotland League champions (Spartans) and South of Scotland League champions (Threave Rovers).
At a hearing of the SFA Judicial Panel on 10 November 2011, Spartans were expelled from the competition for fielding an unregistered and therefore ineligible player in their Second Round tie against Culter. Culter were re-instated to the Third round.[9] [10] Source: BBC
† Spartans expelled for fielding an ineligible player. Culter progress to the Third Round.[10]
Source: BBC Sport
The Third Round draw was conducted on 26 October 2011 at Musselburgh Racecourse.[11]
The 16 winners from the Second Round enter here, along with the 10 SFL Second Division clubs (Airdrie United, Albion Rovers, Arbroath, Brechin City, Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton, East Fife, Forfar Athletic, Stenhosemuir, Stirling Albion) and 6 SFL First Division clubs (Ayr United, Dundee, Greenock Morton, Livingston, Partick Thistle, Ross County)Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport
The fourth round draw was conducted on 22 November 2011 at 10:30am at Hampden Park live on Sky Sports News.[12]
The 16 winners from the third round entered here, along with the 12 SPL clubs (Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Dunfermline Athletic, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers, St Johnstone, St Mirren) and four SFL First Division clubs who were exempt from playing in the third round (Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Queen of the South, Raith Rovers).
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport
The fifth round draw was conducted on 9 January 2012 at 2:30pm at Hampden Park live on Sky Sports News.[13]
The 16 winners from the fourth round entered here.Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport
The Quarter-finals draw was conducted on 6 February 2012 at 2:30pm at Hampden Park live on Sky Sports News.[14] Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport
The Semi-final draw was conducted on 11 March 2012 at Fir Park live on Sky Sports 3 & Sky Sports 3 HD following the Motherwell vs Aberdeen tie.[15] Source: BBC Sport
See main article: 2012 Scottish Cup Final. Source: BBC Sport
The Scottish Cup Player of the Round was decided by the fans, who cast their vote to choose a winner from a list of nominations on the official Scottish Cup Facebook page.[16]
| Round | Player of the Round | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | Andy Leishman (Auchinleck Talbot) | ||
| R5 | Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) | [17] | |
| QF | Rory Fallon (Aberdeen) | ||
| SF | Rudi Skacel (Heart of Midlothian) | ||
| F | Rudi Skacel (Heart of Midlothian) |
From round four onwards, selected matches from the Scottish Cup are broadcast live in Ireland and the UK by BBC Scotland and Sky Sports. BBC Scotland has the option to show one tie per round with Sky Sports showing two ties per round with one replay also. Both channels will screen the final live.
These matches were broadcast live on television.
| Round | Sky Sports | BBC Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth round | Arbroath vs Rangers Peterhead vs Celtic Dunfermline Athletic vs Inverness CT (replay) | Dundee vs Kilmarnock | |
| Fifth round | Inverness CT vs Celtic Hearts vs St Johnstone | Rangers vs Dundee United | |
| Quarter-finals | Dundee United vs Celtic Motherwell vs Aberdeen St Mirren vs Hearts (replay) | ||
| Semi-finals | Aberdeen vs Hibernian Celtic vs Hearts | Aberdeen vs Hibernian | |
| Final | Hibernian vs Hearts | Hibernian vs Hearts |
From round 4 onwards, Premium Sports showed matches live in the USA and Caribbean. Setanta Sports Australia show matches live in Australia.