2017 League of Ireland First Division

Last updated

League of Ireland First Division
Season2017
Dates24 February – 7 October 2017
Champions Waterford
Promoted Waterford
Matches played112
Top goalscorer Georgie Kelly (UCD)
Biggest home win Longford Town 7-1 Athlone Town (19 August 2017) [1]
Biggest away win Athlone Town 1-6 Waterford (2 June 2017) [2]
Highest scoring Longford Town 7-1 Athlone Town (19 August 2017) [1]
Total attendance53,342
Average attendance476 [3]
← 2016
2018 →
All statistics correct as of 8 April 2017.

The 2017 League of Ireland First Division season is the 33rd season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 24 February 2017 and concludes on 7 October 2017. The 2017 season had no promotion/relegation play-off system like the previous years, only one team would be eligible for promotion whilst three teams would be relegated from the League of Ireland Premier Division in a revamp of the leagues by the FAI.

Contents

And returning to the League of Ireland Premier Division for the first time in 10 years was Waterford who won promotion with two games to spare as their 3–0 win over south east rivals Wexford coupled with nearest rivals Cobh Ramblers 3–0 defeat to Cabinteely secured the league title. [4]

Overview

The First Division has 8 teams. Each team played each other four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 28 matches in the season.

On 22 December 2016, the FAI announced that the league would be restructured into two 10-team divisions from the 2018 season onwards, one of the recommendations made in the 2015 Conroy Report. [5] This meant the cancellation of the promotion/relegation playoff and relegation at the end of the 2017 season of 3 teams from the Premier Division, with only the champions of the First Division promoted in return. [5]

Teams

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Dublin
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Dublin teams
Cabinteely
Shelbourne
UCD
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Locations of the First Division teams
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UCD
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Locations of Dublin First Division teams

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadium
Athlone Town Athlone Athlone Town Stadium
Cabinteely Cabinteely Stradbrook Road
Cobh Ramblers Cobh St. Colman's Park
Longford Town Longford City Calling Stadium
Shelbourne Drumcondra Tolka Park
UCD Belfield UCD Bowl
Waterford Waterford Waterford RSC
Wexford Crossabeg Ferrycarrig Park

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Athlone Town Flag of Ireland.svg Roddy Collins Flag of Ireland.svg Niall Scullion Nike Nitro Sports
Cabinteely Flag of Ireland.svg Pat Devlin Daire Doyle Umbro Dublin School of Grinds
Cobh Ramblers Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Henderson Paul HuntLegeaTony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke
Longford Town Flag of Ireland.svg Neale Fenn Flag of Ireland.svg Kevin O'Connor LegeaCity Calling
Shelbourne Flag of Ireland.svg Owen Heary Flag of Ireland.svg Dean Delaney Macron abbeyseals.ie
UCD Flag of Ireland.svg Collie O'Neill Flag of Ireland.svg Gary O'Neill O'Neills O'Neills
Waterford Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Reynolds Flag of Ireland.svg Kenny Browne Umbro 21 Bet
Wexford Flag of Ireland.svg Damian Locke Flag of Ireland.svg Craig McCabeBodibroPremier Tickets

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPromotion
1 Waterford (C, P)2817834717+3059Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division
2 Cobh Ramblers 2816393728+951
3 UCD 2813874223+1947
4 Shelbourne 28117103732+540
5 Longford Town 28108103426+838
6 Cabinteely 28108104137+438
7 Wexford 2847171641−2519
8 Athlone Town 2845192979−5017
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway, extratime.ie
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. [6]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Results

  1. ↑ In September 2017 the FAI banned two Athlone players for 12 months after a UEFA investigation found "clear and overwhelming betting evidence" of fixing of their 29 April match against Longford. [7]

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals [8]
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Georgie Kelly UCD 17
2 Flag of Ireland.svg Kieran Marty Waters Cabinteely 15
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Mark O'Sullivan Waterford 12
4 Ulster Banner.svg David McDaid Waterford 11
5 Flag of Ireland.svg Joe Doyle Cabinteely 10
6 Flag of Ireland.svg David O'Sullivan Longford Town 9
7 Flag of Ireland.svg James English Shelbourne 8
8 Flag of Ireland.svg Adam Evans Shelbourne 8
9 Flag of Ireland.svg Enda Curran Longford Town/Athlone Town 7
10 Flag of Ireland.svg Jason McClelland UCD 7

Awards

The PFAI First Division player of the year nominees were Waterford striker David McDaid, Cabinteely midfielder Kieran Marty Waters and UCD striker George Kelly.

PFAI First Division Team of Year

The PFAI First Division Team of the Year was:

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Longford Town in Seventh Heaven defeating Athlone 7-1 – Longford Town FC • Official Website". Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "Waterford FC Athlone Town 1 (Invernizzi 90') Waterford FC 6 (Martin 8', 18', 62' PEN, O'Sullivan 37', McDaid 49', Walsh 90+4') - Waterford FC". Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "From the Archives - extratime.ie League of Ireland Attendance Report 2019". extratime. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Waterford promoted to the top flight as champions". RTE Sport. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 Mackey, Liam (23 December 2016). "It's three down, one up for LOI season". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "First Division 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Athlone players banned for 12 months by FAI". RTÉ.ie . 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Top Scorers - 2017 League of Ireland First Division". extratime.com.