The League Cup of 1979/80 season was played for by the 38 league clubs and began in August 1979 with every round up to the semi finals being played over two legs. This was similar to the system used in England at the time.
The draw was random throughout and the First Round saw 12 teams drawn into 6 ties to eliminate 5 teams to get to 32 teams in the Second Round.
FIRST ROUND
Aberdeen were the only big team drawn in the first round and they saw off Arbroath 4-0 at home and although they lost the second leg 2-1 advanced comfortably.
Albion Rovers beat East Stirling 4-1 at home after a drawn first leg, St Johnstone beat Dumbarton 3-2 at home after another first leg was drawn.
There were extra time wins for Forfar over Berwick and Kilmarnock over Alloa.
The biggest upset saw drew at home with Dunfermline before winning after extra time at East End Park 4-2.
SECOND ROUND
The Second Round saw comfortable aggregate wins for Aberdeen 7-2 over Meadowbank, Stirling 4-1 over Brechin , Celtic 6-2 over Falkirk, Dundee 7-2 over Cowdenbeath, Raith 3-0 over East Fife , Kilmarnock 3-1 against Forfar, Morton 5-0 over Queen of the South , Rangers 6-1 against Clyde.
There was a goal fest as St Mirren beat Stenhousemuir 4-1 away and 4-2 at Love Street to win 8-3 on aggregate. At the other end of the scale Hamilton Accies beat Clydebank by a 1-0 aggregate.
Hearts after drawing 2-2 at Ayr , lost at Tynecastle 1-0 , while Edinburgh rivals Hibs beat Montrose 2-1 at home before just going through after a 1-1 draw at Links Park.
St Johnstone after winning 3-1 at home were held to a 3-3 draw in the return but went through 6-4 on aggregate.
Partick Thistle had a tough tie with Albion Rovers where they won the second leg 1-0 away after being held to a 2-2 draw at Firhill.
Dundee Utd suffered a 2-1 first leg defeat at Airdrie before turning it around with a 2-0 win at Tannadice.
Motherwell were stunned losing 4-1 at home to Queens Park and despite going to Hampden and winning 2-0 they were a shock casualty.
THIRD ROUND
The tie of the round was a repeat of the previous season’s final with Aberdeen playing Rangers. The first leg at Pittodrie saw Aberdeen win 3-1 and both teams seemed to have a chance of progression going into the second leg in Glasgow. This was however a statement victory for Alex Ferguson as the Dons won 2-0 to complete a 5-1 aggregate win.
Dundee Utd and Morton also had 5-1 aggregate wins over Queens Park and Partick Thistle respectively.
Celtic beat Stirling Albion 4-1 on aggregate, while Dundee won both legs to defeat Ayr Utd 3-1 on aggregate.
Kilmarnock beat Hibs and Raith Rovers beat St Johnstone both games ending in 4-2 aggregate wins.
St Mirren beat Hamilton Accies 3-1 at Douglas Park and seemed set for the Quarter Finals , however two goals by Accies veteran striker Bobby Graham took the game to extra time. Accies went down to ten men due to injuries but still prevailed 4-2 on penalties.
QUARTER FINALS
The First legs were played on Wednesday 31st October and saw a great game at Pittodrie as Aberdeen beat Celtic 3-2 with the game at Cappielow also saw the home team win 3-2 as Morton beat Kilmarnock.
It was an unhappy night for the Tayside rivals as Dundee Utd were held at Tannadice 0-0 by Raith Rovers and Dundee were beaten 3-1 at Douglas Park by Hamilton Accies in one of my most memorable games. Accies early lead was wiped out before a spectacular strike by Jamie Fairlie gave Accies a two goal lead going to Dens Park.
The second legs were due to be played on 14th November but a blanket of snow across the West of Scotland led to the cancellation of the games at Celtic and Kilmarnock.
Dundee Utd managed to win 1-0 at Starks Park to claim a semi final spot but Dundee although they also won 1-0 in their second leg were knocked out by Hamilton Accies on aggregate , a major shock at the time.
This in 1979 was Hamilton Accies first League Cup semi final since 1961 an achievement they not managed since
Saturday 24th November was the original Semi Final date and was used to play the two outstanding Quarter Final second legs.
Celtic were shocked to lose 1-0 (4-2 on agg) to Aberdeen while Kilmarnock matched the first leg beating Morton 3-2 to level the aggregate 5-5. It was Morton who would reach the semi finals with a penalty shoot win.
SEMI FINALS
The draw saw Dundee Utd drawn with Hamilton Accies so the game went ahead on the original date 24th November alongside the two Quarter Final second legs. This was also the day George Best made his debut for Hibs at Love Street against St Mirren.
Accies took the biggest support in modern history to East End Park in Dunfermline where the game was played on wet , muddy surface that played into the hands of the full time Dundee Utd players.
Willie Pettigrew gave Dundee Utd an early lead , before Denis McQuade equalised for Accies after 18mins.
It only took two minutes for Billy Kirkwood to put Utd back in front to give Dundee Utd a 2-1 half time lead.
Two goals early in the second half by Paul Sturrock and Billy Kirkwood put United on easy street before Denis McQuade’s second goal of the afternoon brought Accies back to a 4-2 deficit going into the closing stages.
Former Accies player Paul Hegarty scored Dundee Utd’s fifth and a minute later Paul Sturrock ended the scoring as Jim McLean’s team won 6-2.
The other semi final was played at Hampden the following week in front of only 11,896 and saw Aberdeen lead through Mark McGhee before Gordon Strachan’s first half penalty effectively won the game. A late Andy Ritchie penalty was only a consolation for Morton as Aberdeen won 2-1.
THE FINAL
Aberdeen managed by Alex Ferguson returned to Hampden a week later to face Jim McLean’s Dundee Utd. The two central defensive partnerships, Aberdeen’s Miller and McLeish against Dundee Utd’s Hegarty and Narey were outstanding in front of 27,193 and it was really no surprise the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
The replay was played 4 days later at Dens Park , Dundee in front of 28,933 fans and after an early goal by Dundee Utd’s Willie Pettigrew , they took control and into the second half he doubled the lead before Paul Sturrock sealed a 3-0 win and brought Dundee Utd their first major trophy.
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