1890–91 Irish League
Football league season
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The 1890â91 Irish League was the inaugural edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Irish football organised by the Irish Football Association.
| Season | 1890â91 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 September 1890 â 30 April 1891 |
| Champions | Linfield 1st Irish title |
| Matches | 49 |
| Goals | 337 (6.88 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Robert Hill (20 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Linfield 14â0 Oldpark |
| Biggest away win | Cliftonville 0â8 Linfield Milford 0â8 Glentoran Milford 1â9 Distillery Oldpark 2â10 Ulster |
| Highest scoring | Linfield 14â0 Oldpark Linfield 9â5 Ulster |
1891â92 â | |
For this season, the league used a double round-robin format, where teams played each other both home and away once. It comprised eight teams, and was won by Linfield.
Formation
On 14 March 1890, on the invitation of J. W. Gordon, representative from eight clubs - Clarence, Cliftonville, Distillery, Glentoran, Linfield, Milford, Oldpark and Ulster - met in the Belfast Estate Office of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. Within fifteen, minutes, the league was constituted. The twelve attendees of the meeting were W. McNeice, J. R. Spiller, W. Finlay, W. Couser, J. McClatchley, S. Monroe, J. McKnight, C. Birkby, J. Torrans, J. W. Gordon, J. Henderson and W. S. Dawson. The first officials appointed were W. McNeice (chairman), W. Finlay (treasurer) and J. W. Gordon (honorary secretary).[1]
Teams and locations
| Team | Town | Home Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Clarence | Belfast | Stranmillis |
| Cliftonville | Belfast | Solitude |
| Distillery | Belfast | Grosvenor Park |
| Glentoran | Belfast | King's Field |
| Linfield | Belfast | Ulsterville |
| Milford | Armagh | Milford |
| Oldpark | Belfast | Oldpark |
| Ulster | Belfast | Ulster Cricket Ground |
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield (C) | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 89 | 18 | 4.944 | 25 | Champions |
| 2 | Ulster | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 72 | 39 | 1.846 | 21 | |
| 3 | Distillery | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 46 | 37 | 1.243 | 19 | |
| 4 | Cliftonville | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 46 | 0.804 | 17 | |
| 5 | Glentoran | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 39 | 38 | 1.026 | 13 | |
| 6 | Oldpark | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 48 | 0.458 | 10 | |
| 7 | Clarence | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 21 | 49 | 0.429 | 7 | Withdrew |
| 8 | Milford[a] | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 61 | 0.164 | 0 |
Results
Top goalscorers
| Pos | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Hill | Linfield | 20 |
| 2 | John Peden | Linfield | 19 |
| 3 | Sam Torrans | Linfield | 18 |
