2012 League of Ireland First Division
Football league season
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The 2012 League of Ireland First Division season was the 28th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The First Division was contested by 8 teams and Limerick won the title.
| Season | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Limerick |
| Matches | 112 |
| Goals | 305 (2.72 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Danny Furlong: 13 (Wexford Youths) Kevin McHugh: 13 (Finn Harps) Sean Maguire: 13 (Waterford United) [1] |
← 2011 2013 → | |
Teams
| Team | Location | Manager | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | Athlone |  Mike Kerley | Athlone Town Stadium |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey |  Peter Hutton | Finn Park |
| Limerick | Limerick | Pat Scully | Jackman Park |
| Longford Town | Longford | Tony Cousins | Flancare Park |
| Mervue United | Galway | Johnny Glynn | Fahy's Field |
| SD Galway | Galway | Tony Mannion | Terryland Park |
| Waterford United | Waterford | Paul O'Brien | Waterford RSC |
| Wexford Youths | Wexford | Shane Keegan | Ferrycarraig Park |
Overview
Due to the expansion of the Premier Division, coupled with the withdrawal of Galway United during the off-season, the 2012 First Division consisted of just eight teams. Applications to join the Division from Cobh Ramblers and Tralee Dynamos, both of whom had played in the 2011 A Championship, were rejected. Each team played every other team four times, totalling twenty eight games.[2][3]
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Limerick (C, P) | 28 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 51 | 20 | +31 | 62 | Promoted to Premier Division |
| 2 | Waterford United | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 58 | Lost promotion/relegation play-offs |
| 3 | Longford Town | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 50 | |
| 4 | Wexford Youths | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 39 | |
| 5 | Finn Harps | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 36 | |
| 6 | Athlone Town | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 29 | |
| 7 | Mervue United | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 23 | |
| 8 | SD Galway[a] | 28 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 51 | −28 | 20 |
- Salthill Devon changed their name to SD Galway
Results
Matches 1–14
Matches 15–28
Promotion/relegation play-off
The second and third placed First Division teams, Waterford United and Longford Town, played off to decide who would play Dundalk, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division. The winner of this play off would play in the 2013 Premier Division.
- First Division
| 20 October 2012 | Longford Town | 0–2 | Waterford United | Flancare Park[5] |
| [ Report] | Peter White  1'Craig Burns 52' |
Attendance: 550 Referee: Kevin O'Regan (Kerry) |
| 26 October 2012 | Waterford United | 1–1 | Longford Town | Waterford RSC[6] |
| Kirby ?' |
[ Report] | Peter Higgins 9' |
Referee: Keith Callanan |
Waterford United win 3–1 on aggregate
- First Division v Premier Division
| 30 October 2012 | Dundalk | 2–2 | Waterford United | Oriel Park[7] |
| Lorcan Shannon 23' Stephen McDonnell 75' |
[ Report] | Paul Phelan 50' Ben Ryan 60' |
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Monaghan) |
| 2 November 2012 | Waterford United | 0–2 | Dundalk | Waterford RSC[8] |
| [ Report] | Michael Rafter 45' (68) |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Padraig Sutton (Clare) |
Dundalk win 4–2 on aggregate and retained their place in the Premier Division. Waterford United appealed the result of the playoff, claiming Michael Rafter was ineligible as Dundalk had incorrectly registered him when they signed him earlier that season. However the appeal was unsuccessful. [8][9][10]
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Furlong |
Wexford Youths | 13 |
| Kevin McHugh |
Finn Harps | 13 | |
| Sean Maguire |
Waterford United | 13 | |
| 4 | Tom Elmes |
Wexford Youths | 11 |
| 5 | Shane Tracy |
Limerick | 10 |
| Rory Gaffney |
Limerick | 10 |