2008–09 Scottish Challenge Cup

The 2008–09 Scottish Challenge Cup, known as the ALBA Challenge Cup due to sponsorship reasons with MG Alba, was the 18th season of the competition, competed for by all 30 members of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were St Johnstone, who defeated Dunfermline Athletic by 3–2 in the 2007 final.^[1]

2008–09 ALBA Challenge Cup

Tournament details
Country	Scotland
Teams	30
Defending champions	St Johnstone
Final positions
Champions	Airdrie United
Runners-up	Ross County
Tournament statistics
Matches played	29
Goals scored	87 (3 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The competition was won by Airdrie United who defeated Ross County 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time, the winning penalty was scored by Marc Smyth.^[2]

Schedule

Round	First match date[3]	Fixtures	Clubs
First round	26 July 2008	14	30 → 16
Second round	12 August 2008	8	16 → 80
Quarter-finals	7 September 2008	4	8 → 4
Semi-finals	12 October 2008	2	4 → 2
Final	16 November 2008	1	2 → 1

First round

The First round draw was conducted on 29 May 2008.^[4] Holders St Johnstone were drawn against Ross County away from home.

North and East Region

Raith Rovers received a random bye to the second round.^[4]

Alloa Athletic v Dundee

26 July 2008	Alloa Athletic	2–1	Dundee	Recreation Park, Alloa
15:00	Townsley 59' Stevenson 83'	Report	Antoine-Curier 88'	Attendance: 793 Referee: Chris Boyle

Arbroath v Forfar Athletic

26 July 2008	Arbroath	1–2	Forfar Athletic	Gayfield Park, Forfar
15:00	Scott 44'	Report	Kilgannon 62' (pen.) McLeish 71' (pen.)	Attendance: 563 Referee: Euan Norris

Brechin City v East Fife

26 July 2008	Brechin City	0–1	East Fife	Glebe Park, Brechin
15:00	Nimmo  78'	Report	Templeman 69'	Referee: S Nicholls

Dunfermline Athletic v Stirling Albion

26 July 2008	Dunfermline Athletic	3–0	Stirling Albion	East End Park, Dunfermline
15:00	Burke 4' Phinn 61' Williamson 74'	Report		Attendance: 1,340 Referee: Eddie Smith

Elgin City v Cowdenbeath

26 July 2008	Elgin City	0–2	Cowdenbeath	Borough Briggs, Elgin
15:00		Report	McGregor 13' McQuade 80'	Attendance: 379 Referee: G Salmond

Peterhead v Montrose

26 July 2008	Peterhead	6–0	Montrose	Balmoor, Peterhead
15:00	Bavidge 24', 78' Cumming 45' (own goal) Gunn 52', 58', 68' (pen.)	Report		Attendance: 503 Referee: Craig Charleston

Ross County v St Johnstone

26 July 2008	Ross County	2–1	St Johnstone	Victoria Park, Dingwall
15:00	Winters 53' Higgins 65'	Report	Samuel 84'	Attendance: 2,365 Referee: Craig Thomson

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

South and West Region

Greenock Morton received a random bye to the second round.^[4]

Airdrie United v Dumbarton

26 July 2008	Airdrie United	3–2	Dumbarton	Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
15:00	Noble 53' Cardle 58' di Giacomo 75'	Report	Clark 25' Carcary 43'	Attendance: 808 Referee: Calum Murray

Berwick Rangers v Queen of the South

26 July 2008	Berwick Rangers	1–5	Queen of the South	Shielfield Park, Berwick
15:00	Little 47'	Report	O'Connor 12', 58' Kean 31', 65' Barr 80'	Attendance: 655 Referee: J McKendrick

Clyde v Annan Athletic

26 July 2008	Clyde	2–0	Annan Athletic	Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld
15:00	Trouten 61' (pen.), 74'	Report		Attendance: 700 Referee: Steven O'Reilly

Livingston v Stranraer

26 July 2008	Livingston	4–0	Stranraer	Almondvale Stadium, Livingston
15:00	Griffiths 33', 72' Hamill 67' McParland 70'	Report	Nicoll  81'	Referee: C Brown

Partick Thistle v Queen's Park

26 July 2008	Partick Thistle	2–1	Queen's Park	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
15:00	Gray 7' Roberts 9'	Report	Henry 17' Sinclair  66'	Attendance: 1,382 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Stenhousemuir v Albion Rovers

26 July 2008	Stenhousemuir	0–1	Albion Rovers	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
15:00		Report	Donnelly 87' (pen.)	Attendance: 323 Referee: B Maddenn

East Stirlingshire v Ayr United

27 July 2008	East Stirlingshire	2–1	Ayr United	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
15:00	Richardson 86' Rodgers 89'	Report	Williams 15'	Attendance: 761 Referee: A Muir

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Second round

The Second round draw was conducted on 30 July 2008.^[5]

Alloa Athletic v Clyde

12 August 2008	Alloa Athletic	0–2	Clyde	Recreation Park, Alloa
19:45		Report	Clarke 58' Gibson 76'	Attendance: 414 Referee: Iain Brines

Cowdenbeath v Albion Rovers

12 August 2008	Cowdenbeath	3–2	Albion Rovers	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
19:30	McQuade 8' Gemmell 54' Fairbairn 89'	Report	Barr 30' Martin 75'	Attendance: 204 Referee: Crawford Allan

Livingston v Forfar Athletic

12 August 2008	Livingston	1–0	Forfar Athletic	Almondvale Stadium, Livingston
19:45	Griffiths 51'	Report		Attendance: 800 Referee: Calum Murray

Partick Thistle v Peterhead

12 August 2008	Partick Thistle	4 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Peterhead	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
19:30	Donnelly 52' McKeown 92', 115' Harkins 112'	Report	Gunn 23' Kozmanski 103'	Attendance: 1,133 Referee: Steve Conroy

Raith Rovers v Ross County

12 August 2008	Raith Rovers	1–2	Ross County	Stark's Park, Kirkcaldy
19:45	Weir 72'	Report	Keddie 52', 54'	Attendance: 1,080 Referee: William Collum

East Fife v Airdrie United

13 August 2008	East Fife	0–2	Airdrie United	Bayview Stadium, Methil
19:45		Report	Lynch 10' Smith 84'	Attendance: 606 Referee: Mike Tumilty

East Stirlingshire v Greenock Morton

13 August 2008	East Stirlingshire	0–3	Greenock Morton	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
19:30		Report	Masterton 22' McGuffie 32', 53'	Attendance: 753 Referee: Stevie O'Reilly

Dunfermline Athletic v Queen of the South

20 August 2008	Dunfermline Athletic	0–2	Queen of the South	East End Park, Dunfermline
19:45		Report	Kean 9' O'Connor 75'	Attendance: 1,373 Referee: Michael McCurry

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Quarter-finals

The Quarter-final draw was conducted on 14 August 2008.^[6]

7 September 2008

15:00

Clyde	0–1	Ross County
McGregor  45'	Report	Craig 25'

Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld

Attendance: 756

Referee: Steve Conroy

---

7 September 2008

15:00

Cowdenbeath	1–2	Airdrie United
Fairbairn 79' Baxter  84'	Report	di Giacomo 53' 75'

Central Park, Cowdenbeath

Attendance: 643

Referee: Stephen Finnie

---

7 September 2008

15:00

Livingston	0–2	Partick Thistle
	Report	Turner 75' Twaddle 78'

Almondvale Stadium, Livingston

Referee: David Somers

---

7 September 2008

15:00

Queen of the South	0–2	Greenock Morton
	Report	Wake 48' McGuffie 77'

Palmerston Park, Dumfries

Attendance: 2,991

Referee: William Collum

Semi-finals

The Semi-final draw was conducted on 11 September 2008.^[7]

12 October 2008

14:00

Partick Thistle	0–1	Airdrie United
	Report	Di Giacomo 4'

Firhill Stadium, Glasgow

Attendance: 2,761

Referee: David Somers

---

12 October 2008

15:00

Ross County	4–1	Greenock Morton
Craig 6' Daal 42' 62' Dowie 84'	Report	McManus  55' Weatherson 77'

Victoria Park, Dingwall

Attendance: 1,396

Referee: Mike Tumilty

Final

Main article: 2008 Scottish Challenge Cup Final

16 November 2008

15:00

Airdrie United	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) ( 3 – 2 pen.)	Ross County
McKenna 80' Dowie 103' (o.g.)	Report	Nixon 59' (o.g.) Higgins 113'
Penalties
Lynch McLaughlin Hazley McDonald Smyth	3–2	Winters Higgins Hart Morrison Scott

McDiarmid Park, Perth

Attendance: 4,091

Referee: Calum Murray

Media coverage

The Partick Thistle v Airdrie United semi-final was shown live and the final was shown live on BBC Alba.^[8]