2020 League of Ireland Premier Division

Last updated

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2020
Dates14 February 2020 – 9 November 2020
Champions Shamrock Rovers (18th title)
Relegated Cork City, Shelbourne
Champions League Shamrock Rovers
Europa Conference League Bohemians
Dundalk
Sligo Rovers
Matches played90
Goals scored190 (2.11 per match)
Top goalscorer Patrick Hoban (10 goals)
Biggest home win Shamrock Rovers 6–0 Cork City
(21 February 2020)
Biggest away win Dundalk F.C 0-4 Shamrock Rovers
(27 September 2020)
Highest scoring Shamrock Rovers 6–1 Waterford
(21 September 2020)
Longest winning run Shamrock Rovers (7 games)
Longest unbeaten run Shamrock Rovers (7 games)
Longest winless run Finn Harps (7 games)
Longest losing run Finn Harps (5 games)
Highest attendance7,522 [1]
Total attendance65,700 [note 1]
Average attendance2,986 [2]
2019
2021
All statistics correct as of 10 November 2020.

The 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division.

Contents

The league began on 14 February 2020 and concluded on 9 November 2020. The fixtures were announced on 20 December 2019. [3] The season was halted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland following the directive of the Irish government and the Football Association of Ireland. [4] [5] The FAI subsequently announced a contingency plan with a view to completing the domestic season at a later date with a reduced number of games. [6] It resumed on 31 July. [7] On 24 October, Finn Harps won 2–0 at Bohemians which meant Shamrock Rovers won the league and Cork City were relegated. [8] [9]

Overview

The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Ordinarily each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. Following a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the season would be played on an 18-match basis with teams playing each other twice: once at home and once away. [7]

Shelbourne, the 2019 First Division champions, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2013, replacing fellow Dublin side UCD, who were relegated to the League of Ireland First Division after finishing bottom of the league in 2019. [10]

Teams

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Bohemians Dublin (Phibsborough) Dalymount Park 3,640
Cork City Cork Turners Cross 7,845
Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium 3,700
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park 4,500
Finn Harps Ballybofey Finn Park 6,000
St Patrick's Athletic Dublin (Inchicore) Richmond Park 5,340
Shamrock Rovers Dublin (Tallaght) Tallaght Stadium 8,000
Shelbourne Dublin (Drumcondra) Tolka Park 3,700
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 5,500
Waterford Waterford Regional Sports Centre 5,500

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
Bohemians Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Long Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Buckley O'Neills Des Kelly Interiors
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Colin Healy Flag of Ireland.svg Gearoid Morrissey Adidas University College Cork
Derry City Ulster Banner.svg Declan Devine Flag of Ireland.svg Conor McCormack AdidasDiamond Corrugated
Dundalk Flag of Italy.svg Filippo Giovagnoli Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Gartland Umbro Fyffes
Finn Harps Flag of Ireland.svg Ollie Horgan Flag of Ireland.svg Gareth Harkin Joma KN Group
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen O'Donnell Flag of Ireland.svg Ian Bermingham UmbroMIG Insurance Brokers
Shamrock Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Bradley Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Finn Umbro JD Sports
Shelbourne Flag of Ireland.svg Ian Morris Flag of Ireland.svg Lorcan FitzgeraldUmbroFLYEfit
Sligo Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg Liam Buckley Flag of Ireland.svg Kyle Callan-McFadden Joma Avantcard
Waterford Flag of Ireland.svg Fran Rockett Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Murphy Umbro24/7 Cardiac Care

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure
Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of
appointment
Waterford Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Reynolds Resigned16 June 2020 [11] 6th Flag of Ireland.svg John Sheridan [12] 8 July 2020
Dundalk Flag of Ireland.svg Vinny Perth Sacked20 August 2020 [13] 3rd Flag of Italy.svg Filippo Giovagnoli [14] 25 August 2020
Waterford Flag of Ireland.svg John Sheridan Moved to Wigan Athletic 11 September 2020 [15] 4th Flag of Ireland.svg Fran Rockett [16] 24 September 2020
Cork City Flag of England.svg Neale Fenn Resigned8 October 2020 [17] 10th Flag of Ireland.svg Colin Healy [a] [18] 9 October 2020
  1. Healy was initially appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. He was made permanent manager on 24 December 2020.

League table

Standings

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Shamrock Rovers (C)181530447+3748Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2 Bohemians 1812152312+1137Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round [a]
3 Dundalk 187562523+226
4 Sligo Rovers 188191923425
5 Waterford 187381722524
6 St Patrick's Athletic 185671417321
7 Derry City 185581818020
8 Finn Harps 185581524920
9 Shelbourne (R)185491322919Qualification for relegation play-offs
10 Cork City (R)18251110302011Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. [19]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Since the winners of the 2020 FAI Cup (Dundalk) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team, i.e. fourth-placed team.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718
Bohemians 643333222222222222
Cork City 7101099101091091010101010101010
Derry City 888577785766676777
Dundalk 122222333433463333
Finn Harps 23468891091099999998
Shamrock Rovers 311111111111111111
Shelbourne 466456667678888889
Sligo Rovers 99910109874355555554
St Patrick's Athletic 1055745446887747766
Waterford 577864558544334445

Results

Teams will play each other twice (once at home, once away).

Home \ Away BOH COR DER DUN FHA STP SHM SHE SLI WAT
Bohemians 3–02–12–10–22–00–12–02–00–2
Cork City 0–11–10–21–01–20–30–13–00–0
Derry City 2–03–11–21–10–01–22–00–22–0
Dundalk 0–03–01–00–01–10–43–20–22–2
Finn Harps 0–11–10–00–43–20–20–11–01–0
St Patrick's Athletic 1–21–00–21–12–00–02–00–00–1
Shamrock Rovers 1–06–02–03–23–10–00–04–06–1
Shelbourne 1–31–11–11–21–11–00–21–00–1
Sligo Rovers 0–12–11–03–13–10–22–32–12–1
Waterford 0–20–02–11–02–33–00–20–11–0
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Patrick Hoban Dundalk 10
2 Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers 9
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Graham Burke Shamrock Rovers 8
Flag of England.svg Andre Wright Bohemians
4 Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Grant Bohemians 7
Flag of Ireland.svg Aaron Greene Shamrock Rovers
5 Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Coughlan Sligo Rovers 6

Last updated: 6 November 2020.
Source: Extratime.com

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateGoals
Flag of Ireland.svg Graham Burke Shamrock Rovers Cork City 6–021 February 20205
Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Grant Bohemians Shelbourne 1–33 October 20203

Play-offs

First Division play-off Semi-finals

31 October 2020 Bray Wanderers 0–1 Galway United Carlisle Grounds
15:00Wilson Waweru Soccerball shade.svg86'Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
31 October 2020 UCD 2–3 (a.e.t.) Longford Town UCD Bowl
15:00Colm Whelan Soccerball shade.svg18'
Yousef Mahdy Soccerball shade.svg110'
Joe Gorman Soccerball shade.svg90'
Joe Gorman Soccerball shade.svg113'
Dean Byrne Soccerball shade.svg120'
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

First Division play-off Final

6 November 2020 Galway United 1–2 Longford Town UCD Bowl
19:45 Vinny Faherty Soccerball shade.svg88' Report Karl Chambers Soccerball shade.svg43'
Aodh Dervin Soccerball shade.svg82'
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
Referee: Mark Moynihan

Promotion/relegation play-off

15 November 2020 Shelbourne 0–1 Longford Town Richmond Park
14:30 Report Rob Manley Soccerball shade.svg46'Attendance: 0
Referee: Neil Doyle

Source: [20]

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month References
PlayerClub
February Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers
August Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Grant Bohemians
September Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers
October Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Murray Dundalk
November Flag of Ireland.svg David McMillan Dundalk

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
PFAI Player of the Year Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Young Player of the Year Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Grant Bohemians
PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Bradley Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Ulster Banner.svg Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers)
Defenders Flag of Ireland.svg Andy Lyons (Bohemians) Flag of Cape Verde.svg Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) Flag of Ireland.svg Lee Grace (Shamrock Rovers) Flag of Ireland.svg Tyreke Wilson (Waterford)
Midfielders Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Buckley (Bohemians) Flag of Ireland.svg Aaron McEneff (Shamrock Rovers) Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Grant (Bohemians) Flag of England.svg Andre Wright (Bohemians) Flag of Ireland.svg Michael Duffy (Dundalk)

See also

Notes

  1. Total attendance and average attendance figures only account for the first four weeks of the season after which no spectators were allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

  1. "League Report: Shamrock Rovers 3 - 2 Dundalk". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. "2020 SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. "2020 Premier Division season begins with Dublin derby". RTÉ Sport. 20 December 2019.
  4. "FAI postpones all football activity with immediate effect". Football Association of Ireland. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. Quinn, Gavin (12 March 2020). "Which Irish sports events have been cancelled due to coronavirus? FAI, GAA and IRFU suspend all activity until March 29". Irish Daily Mirror. Dublin: Reach plc.
  6. "League to resume on June 19th & finish in December with EA Sports Cup deferred". League of Ireland. 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Airtricity League confirm that season will restart on July 31st". The Irish Times. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. Buttner, Paul (25 October 2020). "Shamrock Rovers are league champions as Harps down Bohs". RTÉ Sport.
  9. Donnelly, Dave (24 October 2020). "Shamrock Rovers crowned champions and Cork City relegated after Finn Harps win over Bohs". The42. TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  10. "Shelbourne promoted to Premier Division". RTÉ Sport. 12 September 2019.
  11. "Manager Alan Reynolds departs Waterford FC". RTÉ Sport. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. "John Sheridan named as new Waterford FC boss". RTÉ Sport. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  13. Malone, Emmet (20 August 2020). "Vinny Perth sacked by Dundalk following Champions League exit". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  14. "'A lot of people are sceptical but I am not afraid' – Dundalk confirm arrival of little-known Italian Giovagnoli". The42. TheJournal.ie. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  15. O'Hehir, Paul (11 September 2020). "John Sheridan leaves Waterford for Wigan insisting he didn't disrespect League of Ireland". Irish Daily Mirror. Dublin: Reach plc. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  16. Kelly, Niall (24 September 2020). "Waterford appoint Rockett to take over from John Sheridan as first-team manager". The42. TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  17. McDonnell, Daniel (8 October 2020). "Neale Fenn 'devastated' after Cork City departure as Preston owner eyes up takeover deal". Irish Independent . Dublin: Independent News & Media . Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  18. "Cork City appoint Colin Healy as head coach". The Irish Times. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  19. "Premier Division 2020". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  20. "2020 Season SSE Airtricity League Fixtures" (PDF). SSE Airtricity League. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.