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1988–89 Gold Cup
Tournament details
Country	Northern Ireland
Teams	14
Defending champions	Linfield
Final positions
Champions	Linfield (31st win)
Runner-up	Portadown
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	150 (2.88 per match)
	← 1987–88 1989–90 →

The 1988–89 Gold Cup was the 70th edition of the Gold Cup, a cup competition in Northern Irish football.^[1]

The tournament was won by Linfield for the 31st time and 2nd consecutive season, defeating Portadown 1–0 in the final at The Oval.^[2]^[3]

The format was the same as the previous season, with each team playing the other teams in their section once plus one match against a team from the other section. The top two from each section progressed to the semi-finals.^[4]

Group standings

Section A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result
1	Linfield	7	7	0	0	16	5	+11	21	Advance to semi-final
2	Portadown	7	3	3	1	10	9	+1	12	Advance to semi-final
3	Coleraine	7	3	1	3	12	10	+2	10
4	Ballymena United	7	2	2	3	9	8	+1	8
5	Crusaders	7	2	1	4	5	8	−3	7
6	Larne	7	1	2	4	6	10	−4	5
7	Carrick Rangers	7	1	0	6	6	14	−8	3

Source: Irish League Archive

Section B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result
1	Glentoran	7	5	2	0	16	4	+12	17	Advance to semi-final
2	Newry Town	7	5	1	1	19	8	+11	16	Advance to semi-final
3	Glenavon	7	3	3	1	12	9	+3	12
4	Bangor	7	3	0	4	8	14	−6	9
5	Distillery	7	2	0	5	7	10	−3	6
6	Cliftonville	7	1	3	3	7	10	−3	6
7	Ards	7	1	1	5	8	15	−7	4

Source: Irish League Archive

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Linfield	2–0	Newry Town
Portadown	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)	Glentoran

Final

1 November 1988

Linfield	1–0	Portadown
L. McKeown 50' (pen.)		Curliss 89'

The Oval, Belfast

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Leslie Irvine (Limavady)

References

^ "Irish League Archive, Gold Cup". Irish League Archive. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
^ "TNT but no dynamite in Oval decider". Belfast Telegraph. 2 November 1988. p. 21.
^ "'Captain Cool' Linfield Hero". Belfast News Letter. 2 November 1988. p. 28.
^ "Good As Gold For £1,000". Belfast Telegraph. 21 August 1987. p. 22.