The 2013 Setanta Sports Cup was the eighth staging of the Setanta Sports Cup, an annual football competition featuring clubs from Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. It commenced on 11 February 2013 and ended on 11 May 2013 with the final played at the Tallaght Stadium, Dublin.
Crusaders were the defending champions, after they defeated Derry City 5âÂÂ4 on penalties in the 2012 final, when the match ended 2âÂÂ2 after extra time. However, this season they went out 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to Cork City. Shamrock Rovers were the eventual winners for the second time overall, following a comfortable 7âÂÂ1 win over Drogheda United in the final. This season's competition was notable for the fact that all four semi-finalists represented the Republic of Ireland. It was also the sixth time in the eight competitions played thus far that the winner had been a League of Ireland club.
The following clubs qualified to take part in this year's competition. The eight unseeded clubs entered in the first round, while the four seeded clubs entered in the quarter-finals.
Seeded teams
Unseeded teams
The first round draw was made on 6 December 2012. Four League of Ireland and four IFA Premiership clubs played each other in the first round over two games with the winners qualifying for the quarter-finals. The first legs were played on 11 February 2013 and the second legs were played on 18 February 2013.
Shamrock Rovers won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Glentoran won 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Cork City won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Drogheda United won 8âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
The winners of the four first-round games joined the four seeded teams in the quarter-finals. The first legs were played on 26 February and 4 March, while the second legs were played on 4 and 11 March 2013.
Cork City won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Sligo Rovers won 8âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Drogheda United won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Shamrock Rovers won 7âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
The first legs of the semi-finals will be played on 16 April and the second legs on 22 April.
3âÂÂ3 on aggregate. Shamrock Rovers won on away goals
Drogheda United won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate.