1987–88 National Football League (Ireland)
Gaelic football competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1987–88 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Royal Liver National Football League, was the 57th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
| |
| League details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 1987 – 22 May 1988 |
| League champions | |
| Winners | Meath (5th win) |
| Captain | Mick Lyons |
| Manager | Seán Boylan |
| League runners-up | |
| Runners-up | Dublin |
| Captain | Barney Rock |
| Manager | Gerry McCaul |
← 1986–87 1988–89 → | |
Meath won the league, beating Dublin in a replayed final.[1][2][3]
Format
Divisions
- Division One: 8 teams
- Division Two: 8 teams
- Division Three: 16 teams. Split into two regional groups of 8 (North and South)
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
Teams in all three divisions competed for the National Football League title.
Knockout stage qualifiers
- Division One: top 4 teams
- Division Two: top 2 teams
- Division Three (North): group winners
- Division Three (South): group winners
Knockout phase structure
In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows:
- Quarter-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (South)
- Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (North)
- Quarter-final 3: Third-placed team in Division One v Second-placed team in Division Two
- Quarter-final 4: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Two
The semi-final match-ups are:
- Semi-final 1: Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 4
- Semi-final 2: Winner Quarter-final 2 v Winner Quarter-final 3
The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.
Promotion and relegation
- Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
- Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Three.
- Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two.
- Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two.
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.
League Phase Results and Tables
Division One
Division One (A) play-offs
| 13 March 1988 For 5th Place | Armagh | 2-8 — 0-6 | Mayo | Carrick-on-Shannon [4] |
| 20 March 1988 For 6th Place | Kerry | 0-14 — 0-10 | Mayo | Cusack Park, Ennis[5] |
Table
Division Two
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Down |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division One of the 1988–89 NFL |
 Donegal |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
 Galway |
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | |
 Kildare |
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
 Roscommon |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
 Cavan |
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
 Clare |
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1988–89 NFL |
 Laois |
7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Division Three
Division Three (South)
Promotion play-offs
| 13 March 1988 Semi-Final | Longford | 1-15 — 0-7 | Wexford | O'Moore Park, Portlaoise[6] |
| 13 March 1988 Semi-Final | Limerick | 2-9 — 0-10 | Tipperary | Cusack Park, Ennis[7] |
| 20 March 1988 Final | Longford | 0-8 — 0-7 | Limerick | O'Moore Park, Portlaoise[8] |
Division Three (North) table
Division Three (South) table
Division Three Final
| 8 May 1988[10][11] |  Louth | 1-09 – 0-09 |  Longford | Cootehill, Cavan |
| R. Culhane 0-5 (4f), J. McDonnell 1-0, P. Reneghan 0-2, G. Curran, B. McEntee 0-1 each | J. McCormack (0-5, 3f), D. Barry, J. Keegan, F. McNamee, M. O'Hara 0-1 each | Referee: G. Neeson (Monaghan) |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||