2017 League of Ireland First Division

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.

League of Ireland First Division
Season2017
Dates24 February – 7 October 2017
ChampionsWaterford
PromotedWaterford
Matches played112
Top goalscorerGeorgie Kelly (UCD)
Biggest home winLongford Town 7-1 Athlone Town (19 August 2017)[1]
Biggest away winAthlone Town 1-6 Waterford (2 June 2017)[2]
Highest scoringLongford Town 7-1 Athlone Town (19 August 2017)[3]
Average attendance476[4]
← 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[6]

Teams
Locations of the First Division teams
Locations of Dublin First Division teams

Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium
Athlone TownAthloneAthlone Town Stadium
CabinteelyCabinteelyStradbrook Road
Cobh RamblersCobhSt. Colman's Park
Longford TownLongfordCity Calling Stadium
ShelbourneDrumcondraTolka Park
UCDBelfieldUCD Bowl
WaterfordWaterfordWaterford RSC
WexfordCrossabegFerrycarrig 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.

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
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
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway, extratime.ie
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[7]
(C) Champion; (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.[8]

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals[9]
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

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:

  • 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

References
  1. http://ltfc.ie/longfordtown7-athlone1/
  2. http://www.waterfordfc.ie/fixture_and_result/athlone020617/
  3. http://ltfc.ie/longfordtown7-athlone1/
  4. "From the Archives - extratime.ie League of Ireland Attendance Report 2019". extratime. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  5. "Waterford promoted to the top flight as champions". RTE Sport. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  6. Mackey, Liam (23 December 2016). "It's three down, one up for LOI season". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  7. "First Division 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  8. "Athlone players banned for 12 months by FAI". RTÉ.ie. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  9. http://www.extratime.ie/topscorers/2026/101/first-division/
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