1919 Victory Cup Explained

Victory Cup
Year:1919
Country:Scotland
Num Teams:26
Winners:St Mirren
Second:Heart of Midlothian
Matches:27
Goals:81
Award Title:Test

The Victory Cup was a one-off Scottish football competition held in 1919 to celebrate the end of World War I. It is an unofficial competition in statistical terms, taking place at the end of the 1918–19 season just before official competitions such as the Scottish Cup resumed (the top division of the Scottish Football League continued during the conflict).

The winners of the Victory Cup were St Mirren who defeated Heart of Midlothian 3–0 after extra time in the final at Celtic Park in Glasgow.[1] [2] [3]

Summary

The format was a straight knockout tournament involving clubs in the south and west of Scotland, with each round played as a single match with replays as necessary, and the final at a neutral venue.[4] Matches took place between March and April 1919.

Due to the scarcity of materials and the swift manner in which the competition was organised, no trophy was available to be presented to the winners at the time; St Mirren instead received a 'Victory Cup Shield'. They received a trophy at a later time.[1]

A similar wartime competition was held at the end of World War II, won by Rangers.[4] [5] Coincidentally, the manager of the losing team in that final (Willie McCartney of Hibernian) was the son of John McCartney, the Hearts manager in 1919.

Results

First round

Team 1AggregateTeam 2
Airdrieonians5–1Abercorn
Albion Rovers1–1Kilmarnock
Celtic2–0Vale of Leven
Clyde2–0Johnstone
Falkirk3–0Dumbarton Harp
Morton2–1Clydebank
Motherwell2–0Stevenston United
Partick Thistle4–3Renton
Queen's Park2–1Arthurlie
St Mirren0–0Dumbarton

Replays

Team 1AggregateTeam 2
Kilmarnock0–1Albion Rovers
Dumbarton0–1St Mirren

Second round

Team 1AggregateTeam 2
Albion Rovers1–3Celtic
Hamilton Academical1–5Rangers
Hibernian1–0Ayr United
Motherwell2–1Morton
Partick Thistle2–0Falkirk
Queen's Park0–4Airdrieonians
St Mirren3–2Clyde
Third Lanark1–2Heart of Midlothian

Quarter-finals

Team 1AggregateTeam 2
Airdrieonians1–0Rangers
Hibernian2–0Motherwell
Partick Thistle0–2Heart of Midlothian
St Mirren1–0Celtic

Semi-finals

Team 1AggregateTeam 2
Heart of Midlothian7–1Airdrieonians
Hibernian1–3St Mirren

Final

St Mirren:
GK William O'Hagan
DF 2Jack Marshall
DF 3 John Fulton
MF 4Bob Perry
MF 5Harold McKenna
MF 6 Harry Anderson
FW 7Frank Hodges
FW 8Tom Page
FW 9John Clark
FW 10Charles Sutherland
FW 11 James Thomson
Manager:
Johnny Cochrane
Heart of Midlothian:
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Willie Black
DF 2Bob Birrell
DF 3 Jock Wilson
MF 4Bob Preston
MF 5Bob Mercer
MF 6 Jack Sharp
FW 7George Sinclair
FW 8George Miller
FW 9Andy Wilson
FW 10Alex McCulloch
FW 11 Willie Wilson
Manager:
John McCartney

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Victory Cup. StMirren.info. 1 October 2018. 16 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201116195052/http://www.stmirren.info/id18.html. dead.
  2. Web site: Sat 26 Apr 1919; St Mirren 3 Hearts 0 AET. London Hearts Supporters Club. 1 October 2018.
  3. Web site: History 1914–1924. official website. Heart of Midlothian FC. 1 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320051816/http://www.heartsfc.co.uk.p.preprod.performgroup.com/articles/20070615/1914-1924_2241543_1045309. 20 March 2017. dead. dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Victory Cup. Scottish Football Historical Archive. 1 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180811095303/http://www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf/victory-cup.htm. 11 August 2018. dead.
  5. Web site: Match details, Victory Cup 15/06/1946 [Rangers team]]. FitbaStats. 1 October 2018.