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.
| Season | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 February – 7 October 2017 |
| Champions | Waterford |
| Promoted | Waterford |
| Matches played | 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. | |
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
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
Stadia and locations edit
Personnel and kits edit
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 |  Roddy Collins
|
Niall Scullion
|
Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Cabinteely | Pat Devlin
|
Daire Doyle | Umbro | Dublin School of Grinds |
| Cobh Ramblers | Stephen Henderson
|
Paul Hunt | Legea | Tony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke |
| Longford Town | Neale Fenn
|
Kevin O'Connor
|
Legea | City Calling |
| Shelbourne | Owen Heary
|
Dean Delaney
|
Macron | abbeyseals.ie |
| UCD | Collie O'Neill
|
Gary O'Neill
|
O'Neills | O'Neills |
| Waterford | Alan Reynolds
|
Kenny Browne
|
Umbro | 21 Bet |
| Wexford | Damian Locke
|
Craig McCabe
|
Bodibro | Premier Tickets |
League table edit
| 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
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgie Kelly
|
UCD | 17 |
| 2 | Kieran Marty Waters
|
Cabinteely | 15 |
| 3 | Mark O'Sullivan
|
Waterford | 12 |
| 4 |  David McDaid
|
Waterford | 11 |
| 5 | Joe Doyle
|
Cabinteely | 10 |
| 6 | David O'Sullivan
|
Longford Town | 9 |
| 7 | James English
|
Shelbourne | 8 |
| 8 | Adam Evans
|
Shelbourne | 8 |
| 9 | Enda Curran
|
Longford Town/Athlone Town | 7 |
| 10 | Jason McClelland
|
UCD | 7 |
Awards edit
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 edit
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), George Kelly (UCD)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "From the Archives - extratime.ie League of Ireland Attendance Report 2019". extratime. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ "Waterford promoted to the top flight as champions". RTE Sport. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ a b Mackey, Liam (23 December 2016). "It's three down, one up for LOI season". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ "First Division 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ "Athlone players banned for 12 months by FAI". RTÉ.ie. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Top Scorers - 2017 League of Ireland First Division". extratime.com.