1970–71 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1970–71 National Football League was the 40th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1970–71 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1970 – 20 June 1971
League champions
WinnersKerry (9th win)
CaptainDonie O'Sullivan
League runners-up
Runners-upMayo

Kerry beat Mayo in the final.[1][2][3][4]

Format

1970-71 saw the introduction of a new format.

Divisions
  • Division One: 16 teams. Split into two groups of 8.
  • Division Two: 16 teams. Split into two groups of 8.

Round-Robin Format

Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.

Points awarded

2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.

Titles

Knockout stage structure

In the Semi-Finals, the match-ups were as follows:

  • Quarter-final 1: First-placed team in Division One (A) v Second-placed team in Division One (B)
  • Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One (A) v First-placed team in Division One (B)

The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.

Separation of teams on equal points

In the event that teams finish on equal points, then a play-off will be used to determine group placings if necessary, i.e. where to decide relegation places or quarter-finalists.[5]

Group stage
Division One (A) Play-Offs
2 May 1971 For 1st Place Kerry 0-15 — 1-8 Dublin Croke Park, Dublin[6]
Division One (B) Play-Offs
25 April 1971 For 2nd Place Derry 1-7 — 1-6 Antrim Dungannon
Group A
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Kerry 751111Qualified for Knockout Stage
Dublin 751111
Offaly 742110
Cork 74038
Kildare 73137
Galway 73137
Longford 71062Relegated to Division Two of the 1971–72 NFL
Roscommon 70070

[7]

Group A
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Tipperary 770014Qualified for Knockout Stage; promoted to Division One of the 1971–72 NFL
Waterford 751113
Limerick 750210
Kilkenny 74038
Wexford 72145
Clare 72145
Wicklow 71153
Carlow 70070
Group B
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Laois 761013Qualified for Knockout Stage; promoted to Division One of the 1971–72 NFL
Fermanagh 760112
Armagh 750210
Westmeath 74038
Monaghan 73137
Tyrone 72054
Donegal 71062
Leitrim 70070

Knockout stage

Division One
16 May 1971 Semi-Final Kerry 1-11 — 1-10 Derry Croke Park, Dublin
24 May 1971 Semi-Final Dublin 0-8 — 1-9 Mayo Croke Park, Dublin
20 June 1971 Final Kerry 0-11 — 0-8 Mayo Croke Park, Dublin
Mick O'Dwyer 0-6; Brendan Lynch 0-3; Donie O'Sullivan, Mick Gleeson 0-1 each J Corcoran 0-7 (7f); T Fitzgerald 0-1 Attendance: 25,000[8]
Referee: Paul Kelly (Dublin)[9]

Division two
25 April 1971 Semi-Final Tipperary 2-9 — 0-13 Fermanagh Croke Park, Dublin[10]
25 April 1971 Semi-Final Waterford 1-9 — 0-6 Laois Nowlan Park, Kilkenny[11]
16 May 1971 Final Tipperary 0-10 — 1-6 Waterford Clonmel

References
  1. GAA Final Teams
  2. Mayo GAA Blog
  4. 20.06.1971 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE FINAL - Irish Photo Archive
  5. "Derry back in top four", Irish Press, 26/04/1971, p. 13
  6. http://www.terracetalk.com/kerry-football/year/1971/League
  7. "League tables tidied up", Irish Press, 26/04/1971, p. 13
  8. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  9. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002,ISBN 9781903464151
  10. "Tipperary Footballers are still undefeated", Irish Press, 26/04/1971, p. 12
  11. "Waterford earn place in Division Two final", Irish Press, 26/04/1971, p. 12
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.