2004–05 Irish Cup

The 2004–05 Irish Cup was the 125th edition of Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition. It concluded on 7 May 2005 with the final.

2004–05 Irish Cup

Country	Northern Ireland
Teams	32
Champions	Portadown (3rd win)
Runners-up	Larne
Matches played	39
Goals scored	107 (2.74 per match)
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Glentoran were the defending champions, winning their 20th Irish Cup last season after a 1–0 win over Coleraine in the 2004 final. This season the Glens reached the semi-final stage, but were defeated by Portadown, who then went on to lift the cup for the third time with a 5–1 victory over Larne in the final.

It was the highest scoring final in 36 years, since the 1969 final replay when Ards defeated Distillery 4–2. It was also the first time in 43 years that the final had been won by a four-goal margin, when Linfield defeated Portadown 4–0 in 1962. This was Larne's fifth appearance in the final without ever winning; a record in the competition that still stands. They had previously been runners-up in the 1928, 1935, 1987 and 1989 finals. Derry Celtic (1898 and 1904) and Limavady (1885 and 1886) are the only other clubs to have reached the final more than once, but never won.[1][2]

Fifth round

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Armagh City	1–2	Dungannon Swifts
Ballyclare Comrades	1–1	Ards
Ballymena United	1–0	Coagh United
Bangor	1–5	Newry City^1
Carrick Rangers	1–5	Coleraine
Cliftonville	2–3	Banbridge Town
Glenavon	0–2	Portadown
Glentoran	6–0	Lisburn Rangers
Institute	4–0	Ballymoney United
Kilmore Recreation	1–0	Ballynure Old Boys
Larne	3–0	East Belfast
Linfield	1–1	Limavady United
Lisburn Distillery	4–1	Ballinamallard United
Loughgall	5–1	Donegal Celtic
Omagh Town	0–1	Crusaders
Tobermore United	0–2	Harland & Wolff Welders

¹Newry City were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player. Bangor were reinstated.

Replays

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ballyclare Comrades	0–1	Ards
Limavady United	1–2	Linfield

Sixth round

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ballymena United	4–1	Kilmore Recreation
Crusaders	0–1	Coleraine
Dungannon Swifts	1–2	Larne
Glentoran	1–1	Linfield
Institute	1–2	Ards
Lisburn Distillery	1–1	Harland & Wolff Welders
Loughgall	0–0	Banbridge Town
Portadown	2–1	Bangor

Replays

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Linfield	0–3	Glentoran
Lisburn Distillery	1–2	Harland & Wolff Welders
Loughgall	2–0	Banbridge Town

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ards	0–1	Portadown
Ballymena United	0–0	Harland & Wolff Welders
Coleraine	1–2	Glentoran
Loughgall	1–1	Larne

Replays

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ballymena United	4–0	Harland & Wolff Welders
Larne	3–0	Loughgall

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ballymena United	0–1	Larne
Glentoran	0–0	Portadown

Replay

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Portadown	1–0	Glentoran

Final

7 May 2005

Portadown	5 – 1	Larne
Arkins  15', 59' Convery  34' McCann  36' Kelly  48'	Report	Ogden  3'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 5,431

References

1. "Northern Ireland Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. rsssf.com. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
2. "Northern Ireland 2004/05". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. rsssf.com. Retrieved 9 December 2012.