2016 Ladies' National Football League

2016 Ladies' National Football League

League details
Dates	31 January – 7 May 2016
Teams	31
League champions
Winners	Cork (10th win)
Captain	Ciara O'Sullivan
Manager	Ephie Fitzgerald
League runners-up
Runners-up	Mayo
Captain	Sarah Tierney
Manager	Frank Browne
Other division winners
Division 2	Donegal
Division 3	Waterford
Division 4	Limerick
← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Ladies' National Football League , known for sponsorship reasons as the Lidl Ladies' National Football League, was a ladies' Gaelic football competition that ended on 7 May 2016. ^[1] Cork were the Division 1 champions for the fourth year in a row.

Format

League structure

The 2016 Ladies' National Football League consists of four divisions - three of eight teams and one of seven. Kilkenny do not compete. Each team plays every other team in its division once. 3 points are awarded for a win and 1 for a draw. 2 points are deducted for conceding a walkover.

If two teams are level on league points, the tie-break is -

• Winners of the head-to-head game are ranked ahead
• If the head-to-head match was a draw, ranking is determined by score difference (i.e. total scored minus total conceded in all games)
• If the teams are still level, ranking is determined by the total scored

If three or more teams are level on league points, rankings are determined solely by score difference.

Finals, promotions and relegations

The top four teams in Division 1 contest the Ladies' National Football League semi-finals (first plays fourth and second plays third).

The top four teams in divisions 2, 3 and 4 contest the semi-finals of their respective divisions. The division champions are promoted.

The bottom teams in divisions 1, 2 and 3 are relegated.

Division 1

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Notes
Mayo	7	7	0	0	119	78	+41	21	Advance to Division 1 semi-finals
Cork (C)	7	4	0	3	147	89	+58	12
Dublin	7	4	0	3	144	87	+57	12
Kerry	7	4	0	3	125	95	+30	12
Armagh	7	4	0	3	139	118	+21	12
Galway	7	4	0	3	135	121	+14	12
Monaghan	7	1	0	6	78	145	–67	3
Tyrone	7	0	0	7	32	186	–154	0	Relegated to Division 2 for 2017

Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Armagh and Galway are ranked by score difference.

Controversy

After the final round of the Division 1 league the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association mistakenly announced that Armagh were one of the teams qualified for the semi-finals. They subsequently corrected their error and apologised. Armagh issued a statement accusing the LGFA of "total incompetence" and revealed that they had considered legal action. ^[2]

Semi-finals and final

23 April 2016 Semi-Final	Mayo	1-16 – 2-12	Kerry	St Brendan's Park, Birr

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23 April 2016 Semi-Final	Cork	1-15 – 0-11	Dublin	St Brendan's Park, Birr

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7 May 2016 7:15 p.m. Final	Cork	1-10 – 0-10	Mayo	Parnell Park, Donnycarney Referee: Brendan Rice
	O Finn (0-6) R Ní Bhuachalla (1-1) R Buckley (0-1) O Farmer (0-1) A Walsh (0-1)	Report	C Staunton (0-6) S Mulvihill (0-1) S Rowe (0-1) N Kelly (0-1) G Kelly (0-1)

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Division 2

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Notes
Donegal (P)	7	7	0	0	157	65	+92	21	Advance to Division 2 semi-finals Champions promoted
Westmeath	7	5	0	2	127	82	+45	15
Clare	7	5	0	2	118	80	+38	15
Cavan	7	5	0	2	115	81	+34	15
Kildare	7	2	0	5	90	150	–60	6
Laois	7	2	0	5	77	118	–41	6
Sligo	7	1	0	6	82	137	–55	3
Meath	7	1	0	6	96	149	–53	3	Relegated to Division 3 for 2017

• Sligo defeated Meath in a playoff game. ^[3]

Semi-finals and final

23 April 2016 Semi-Final	Donegal	0-13 – 0-6	Cavan	Beragh

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23 April 2016 Semi-Final	Westmeath	4-12 – 1-11	Clare	Banagher

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7 May 2016 5:30 p.m. Final	Donegal	3-17 – 0-13	Westmeath	Parnell Park, Donnycarney Referee: Keith Delahunty

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Division 3

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Notes
Waterford (P)	7	7	0	0	145	77	+68	21	Advance to Division 3 semi-finals Champions promoted
Tipperary	7	6	0	1	163	74	+89	18
Wexford	7	4	0	3	111	86	+25	12
Leitrim	7	4	0	3	135	111	+24	12
Roscommon	7	4	0	3	110	100	+10	12
Offaly	7	2	0	5	91	136	–45	6
Down	7	1	0	6	96	141	–45	3
Fermanagh	7	0	0	7	36	162	–126	0	Relegated to Division 4 for 2017

• Wexford, Leitrim and Roscommon are ranked by score difference.

Semi-finals and final

17 April 2016 Semi-Final	Tipperary	5-11 – 4-7	Wexford	Piltown Referee: Colm McManus

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17 April 2016 Semi-Final	Waterford	7-15 – 0-6	Leitrim	Portarlington Referee: Jonathan Murphy

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30 April 2016 3:45 p.m. Final	Waterford	2-13 – 3-10	Tipperary	Conneff Park, Clane Referee: Gavin Corrigan

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8 May 2016 1:15 p.m. Final Replay	Waterford	1-13 – 1-12	Tipperary	Semple Stadium, Thurles Referee: Jonathan Murphy

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Division 4

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Notes
Longford	6	5	0	1	150	73	+77	15	Advance to Division 4 semi-finals Champions promoted
Wicklow	6	5	0	1	168	44	+124	15
Limerick (P)	6	4	0	2	167	44	+123	12
Antrim	6	3	0	3	66	66	0	9
Louth	6	3	0	3	121	91	+30	9
Derry	6	1	0	5	61	189	–128	3
Carlow	6	0	0	6	28	254	–226	0

• Antrim are ranked ahead of Louth as they won the head-to-head game between the teams

Semi-finals and final

17 April 2016 Semi-Final	Wicklow	2-6 – 0-14	Limerick	Stradbally

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17 April 2016 Semi-Final	Longford	0-13 – 2-11	Antrim	O'Raghallaigh Park, Kingscourt

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30 April 2016 2 p.m. Final	Antrim	1-10 – 4-8	Limerick	Conneff Park, Clane Referee: Des McEnery
	E Gallagher 1-3, C Timoney (1f) and A McParland 0-2 each, C Carey, Á Tubridy & M Cooper 0-1 each.	Report	D O’Brien 2-5 (0-3f), N Holland 2-0, N Richardson 0-2, S Carroll 0-1

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References

1. "Upcoming Fixtures".
2. http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=253755 Armagh ladies rule out legal action after LGFA blunder 18 April 2016
3. "Sligo ladies to face Meath in Cavan, Leitrim's semi-final in Portarlington – Ocean FM". Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.