1896–97 Irish League
Football league season
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The 1896â97 Irish League was the 7th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Irish football.
| Season | 1896â97 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 September 1896 â 26 December 1896 |
| Champions | Glentoran 2nd Irish title |
| Matches | 30 |
| Goals | 125 (4.17 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Johnny Darling Richard Peden (6 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Linfield 7â1 North Staffs |
| Biggest away win | Distillery 0â6 Linfield North Staffs 0â6 Glentoran |
| Highest scoring | Linfield 7â4 Distillery |
â 1895â96 1897â98 â | |
The league comprised six teams, an increase from the four of the previous season. Glentoran won the championship for the second time.
Season summary
After two seasons of historically low numbers of just four teams, two teams were elected into the league for the 1896â97 season: Celtic (who from 1901 onwards would become more commonly known as "Belfast Celtic") and the North Staffordshire Regiment, the second British Army team to compete in the league after the Lancashire Fusiliers who competed in the 1891â92 season. Neither side had a ground, meaning all their matches were played at their opponents' grounds.[1]
Teams and locations
| Team | Town | Home Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Celtic | No home ground | |
| Cliftonville | Belfast | Solitude |
| Distillery | Belfast | Grosvenor Park |
| Glentoran | Belfast | The Oval |
| Linfield | Belfast | Balmoral |
| North Staffordshire Regiment | No home ground | |
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glentoran (C) | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 2.400 | 17 | Champions |
| 2 | Cliftonville | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 20 | 1.100 | 11 | |
| 3 | Linfield | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 24 | 1.417 | 11 | |
| 4 | Distillery | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 23 | 0.739 | 9 | |
| 5 | North Staffordshire Regiment | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 23 | 0.739 | 8 | |
| 6 | Celtic | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 0.440 | 4 |
Results
League
2nd/3rd place play-off
- Cliftonville 3â2 Linfield (Solitude, Belfast)[2]
