2008 Setanta Sports Cup
The 2008 Setanta Sports Cup was the 4th staging of the Setanta Sports Cup, a cross-border cup competition featuring football clubs from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The final was played on November 1, 2008, at Turners Cross in Cork.
| Country | .svg.png.webp) Northern Ireland &  Republic of Ireland | 
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 | 
| Champions |  Cork City (1st title) | 
| Runners-up | .svg.png.webp) Glentoran | 
| Matches played | 27 | 
| Goals scored | 72 (2.67 per match) | 
| ← 2007  2009–10 →  | |
Group stage
    
- The draw for this round was held 17 January 2008. The matches were played 26 February 2008 – 23 September 2008.
Teams that progressed to the Semi-Finals are indicated in bold type.
Teams eliminated from the Setanta Sports Cup this stage are indicated in italics.
Group 1
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Drogheda Utd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 14 | 
|  Cork City | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 14 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Cliftonville | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Dungannon Swifts | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 17 | -14 | 1 | 
| Drogheda United | 3 – 2 | Cliftonville | 
|---|---|---|
| Zayed  40',  86' Baker  74' | (Report) | Murphy  57' M Holland  87' | 
.svg.png.webp) David Malcolm
 David Malcolm| Dungannon Swifts | 0 – 2 | Cork City | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | O'Callaghan  16',  40' | 
.svg.png.webp) Alan Black
 Alan Black| Cork City | 0 – 0 | Drogheda United | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | 
 Dave McKeon
 Dave McKeon| Cork City | 2 – 0 | Cliftonville | 
|---|---|---|
| O'Flynn  68' Mooney  75' | (Report) | 
 Declan Hanney
 Declan Hanney| Dungannon Swifts | 0 – 4 | Drogheda United | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Grant  4' Gartland  35' McMinn  63' (og) O'Brien  85' | 
.svg.png.webp) Brian Turkington
 Brian Turkington| Cliftonville | 0 – 2 | Cork City | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Behan  38',  75' | 
.svg.png.webp) Alan Black
 Alan Black| Drogheda United | 3 – 0 | Dungannon Swifts | 
|---|---|---|
| Hughes  28' Zayed  76' Cahill  88' | (Report) | 
 Damien Hancock
 Damien Hancock| Drogheda United | 1 – 1 | Cork City | 
|---|---|---|
| Tambouras  50' | (Report) | Murphy  44' | 
 Dave McKeon
 Dave McKeon| Dungannon Swifts | 2 – 4 | Cliftonville | 
|---|---|---|
| Adamson  8' Baker  47' | Patterson  2' Hamill  34',  61' McMullan  80' | 
| Cliftonville | 0 – 2 | Drogheda United | 
|---|---|---|
| Zayed  30' Hughes  54' | 
Group 2
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Derry City | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 13 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Glentoran | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Linfield | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 7 | 
|  St Patrick's Athletic | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 5 | 
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3 – 3 | Glentoran | 
|---|---|---|
| O'Neill  20',  89' Fahey  90' | (Report) | Halliday  5' Nixon  72' (pen) Fordyce  85' | 
| Derry City | 2 – 0 | St Patrick's Athletic | 
|---|---|---|
| Martyn  37' Brennan  47 (o.g.)' | (Report) | 
| Glentoran | 1 – 1 | Derry City | 
|---|---|---|
| Nixon  70' | (Report) | Sammon  50' (pen) | 
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2 – 0 | Linfield | 
|---|---|---|
| Quigley  7' O'Neill  76' | (Report) | 
| Derry City | 2 – 0 | Glentoran | 
|---|---|---|
| Higgins  35' Farren  84' | (Report) | 
 Ian Stokes
 Ian Stokes| Linfield | 1 – 1 | St Patrick's Athletic | 
|---|---|---|
| Mulgrew  89' | (Report) | Fahey  40' | 
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0 – 1 | Derry City | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | McHugh  33' | 
 Anthony Buttimer
 Anthony Buttimer| Derry City | 3 – 0 | Linfield | 
|---|---|---|
| Farren  23',  63',  84' | (Report) | 
Semi-finals
    
The draw for the semi-finals was made by drawing the winners of Group A against the runners-up of Group 2 and vice versa, with group winners having home advantage. Glentoran beat Drogheda United 1–0 in the first semi-final, which was played at United Park in Drogheda,[1] while Cork City overcame Derry City by the same scoreline at the Brandywell Stadium in Derry.[2]
| Drogheda United | 0 – 1 | Glentoran | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Hill  3' Leeman  74' Hill  89' | 
| Derry City | 0 – 1 | Cork City | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Kiely  67' | 
Final
    
The final took place on November 1, 2008, at Turners Cross stadium in front of 5,500, a sell out crowd, in Cork, where Cork City came from behind to beat Glentoran 2-1 and win the competition for the first time.[3]
| Winner of 2008 Setanta Sports Cup | 
|---|
|  Cork City 1st Title | 
Goalscorers
    
- 4 goals
 Mark Farren (Derry City) Mark Farren (Derry City)
 Éamon Zayed (Drogheda United) Éamon Zayed (Drogheda United)
- 3 goals
 Denis Behan (Cork City) Denis Behan (Cork City)
.svg.png.webp) Daryl Fordyce (Glentoran) Daryl Fordyce (Glentoran)
.svg.png.webp) Michael Halliday (Glentoran) Michael Halliday (Glentoran)
 Gary O'Neill (St Patrick's Athletic) Gary O'Neill (St Patrick's Athletic)
- 2 goals
.svg.png.webp) Darren Boyce (Glentoran) Darren Boyce (Glentoran)
 Keith Fahey (St Patrick's Athletic) Keith Fahey (St Patrick's Athletic)
.svg.png.webp) Rory Hamill (Cliftonville) Rory Hamill (Cliftonville)
.svg.png.webp) Adam Hughes (Drogheda United) Adam Hughes (Drogheda United)
 Ciarán Martyn (Derry City) Ciarán Martyn (Derry City)
.svg.png.webp) Paul McAreavey (Linfield) Paul McAreavey (Linfield)
 Darren Murphy (Cork City) Darren Murphy (Cork City)
.svg.png.webp) Colin Nixon (Glentoran) Colin Nixon (Glentoran)
 George O'Callaghan (Cork City) George O'Callaghan (Cork City)
- 1 goal
.svg.png.webp) Timmy Adamson (Dungannon Swifts) Timmy Adamson (Dungannon Swifts)
.svg.png.webp) Aaron Baker (Dungannon Swifts) Aaron Baker (Dungannon Swifts)
 Richie Baker (Drogheda United) Richie Baker (Drogheda United)
 Killian Brennan (Derry City) Killian Brennan (Derry City)
 Ollie Cahill (Drogheda United) Ollie Cahill (Drogheda United)
.svg.png.webp) Mark Dickson (Linfield) Mark Dickson (Linfield)
.svg.png.webp) Glenn Ferguson (Linfield) Glenn Ferguson (Linfield)
.svg.png.webp) Grant Gardiner (Glentoran) Grant Gardiner (Glentoran)
.svg.png.webp) Robert Garrett (Linfield) Robert Garrett (Linfield)
 Graham Gartland (Drogheda United) Graham Gartland (Drogheda United)
 Tony Grant (Drogheda United) Tony Grant (Drogheda United)
.svg.png.webp) Ruaidhri Higgins (Derry City) Ruaidhri Higgins (Derry City)
.svg.png.webp) Jason Hill (Glentoran) Jason Hill (Glentoran)
.svg.png.webp) Mark Holland (Cliftonville) Mark Holland (Cliftonville)
 Liam Kearney (Cork City) Liam Kearney (Cork City)
 Timmy Kiely (Cork City) Timmy Kiely (Cork City)
.svg.png.webp) Shea McGerrigan (Dungannon Swifts) Shea McGerrigan (Dungannon Swifts)
 Kevin McHugh (Derry City) Kevin McHugh (Derry City)
.svg.png.webp) George McMullan (Cliftonville) George McMullan (Cliftonville)
 Dave Mooney (Cork City) Dave Mooney (Cork City)
.svg.png.webp) Jamie Mulgrew (Linfield) Jamie Mulgrew (Linfield)
.svg.png.webp) Francis Murphy (Cliftonville) Francis Murphy (Cliftonville)
 Dan Murray (Cork City) Dan Murray (Cork City)
 Declan O'Brien (Drogheda United) Declan O'Brien (Drogheda United)
 John O'Flynn (Cork City) John O'Flynn (Cork City)
.svg.png.webp) Mark Patterson (Cliftonville) Mark Patterson (Cliftonville)
 Mark Quigley (St Patrick's Athletic) Mark Quigley (St Patrick's Athletic)
 Darragh Ryan (Cork City) Darragh Ryan (Cork City)
 Conor Sammon (Derry City) Conor Sammon (Derry City)
.svg.png.webp) John Tambouras (Drogheda United) John Tambouras (Drogheda United)
.svg.png.webp) Peter Thompson (Linfield) Peter Thompson (Linfield)
- 1 own goal
 Clive Delaney (Derry City) Clive Delaney (Derry City)
.svg.png.webp) Adam McMinn (Dungannon Swifts) Adam McMinn (Dungannon Swifts)
References
    
- "Drogheda United 0-1 Glentoran". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- "Derry City 0-1 Cork City". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- "Cork City 2-1 Glentoran". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2009.