2017 League of Ireland First Division
| Season | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 February – 7 October 2017 |
| Champions | Waterford |
| Promoted | Waterford |
| Matches | 112 |
| 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 attendance | 53,342 |
| Average attendance | 476[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.
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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Stadia and locations
[edit | edit source]Personnel and kits
[edit | edit source]Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | Republic of Ireland Roddy Collins | Republic of Ireland Niall Scullion | Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Cabinteely | Republic of Ireland Pat Devlin | Daire Doyle | Umbro | Dublin School of Grinds |
| Cobh Ramblers | Republic of Ireland Stephen Henderson | Paul Hunt | Legea | Tony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke |
| Longford Town | Republic of Ireland Neale Fenn | Republic of Ireland Kevin O'Connor | Legea | City Calling |
| Shelbourne | Republic of Ireland Owen Heary | Republic of Ireland Dean Delaney | Macron | abbeyseals.ie |
| UCD | Republic of Ireland Collie O'Neill | Republic of Ireland Gary O'Neill | O'Neills | O'Neills |
| Waterford | Republic of Ireland Alan Reynolds | Republic of Ireland Kenny Browne | Umbro | 21 Bet |
| Wexford | Republic of Ireland Damian Locke | Republic of Ireland Craig McCabe | Bodibro | Premier Tickets |
League table
[edit | edit source]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterford (C, P) | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 59 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Cobh Ramblers | 28 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 51 | |
| 3 | UCD | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 47 | |
| 4 | Shelbourne | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 40 | |
| 5 | Longford Town | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 38 | |
| 6 | Cabinteely | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 38 | |
| 7 | Wexford | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 19 | |
| 8 | Athlone Town | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 29 | 79 | −50 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[6]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Results
[edit | edit source]
Matches 1–14[edit | edit source]Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away). |
Matches 15–28[edit | edit source]Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away).
|
Top scorers
[edit | edit source]| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republic of Ireland Georgie Kelly | UCD | 17 |
| 2 | Republic of Ireland Kieran Marty Waters | Cabinteely | 15 |
| 3 | Republic of Ireland Mark O'Sullivan | Waterford | 12 |
| 4 | Northern Ireland David McDaid | Waterford | 11 |
| 5 | Republic of Ireland Joe Doyle | Cabinteely | 10 |
| 6 | Republic of Ireland David O'Sullivan | Longford Town | 9 |
| 7 | Republic of Ireland James English | Shelbourne | 8 |
| 8 | Republic of Ireland Adam Evans | Shelbourne | 8 |
| 9 | Republic of Ireland Enda Curran | Longford Town/Athlone Town | 7 |
| 10 | Republic of Ireland Jason McClelland | UCD | 7 |
Awards
[edit | edit source]The PFAI First Division player of the year nominees were Waterford striker David McDaid, Cabinteely midfielder Kieran Marty Waters and UCD striker Georgie Kelly.
PFAI First Division Team of Year
[edit | edit source]The PFAI First Division Team of the Year was:
- Goalkeeper: Niall Corbett (UCD)
- Defence: Daniel O'Reilly (Longford Town), Kenny Browne (Waterford), Chris McCarthy (Cobh Ramblers), Evan Osam (UCD)
- Midfield: Garry Comerford (Waterford), Greg Sloggett (UCD), Kirean Marty Waters (Cabinteely), Derek Daly (Waterford)
- Attack: David McDaid (Waterford), Georgie Kelly (UCD)
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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