2020 League of Ireland First Division
36th edition of the 2nd tier competition in association football in Ireland
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The 2020 League of Ireland First Division season was the 36th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 21 February 2020 and concluded on 27 October 2020. Drogheda United won the league title for a record 5th time, winning promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division for 2021.[1][2] [3] The Coronavirus pandemic in Ireland halted the season in mid-March as per directive of the Irish Government and the Football Association of Ireland.[4][5] On 13 July 2020, the league announced the season restart with a reduced fixture list of two rounds only (18 games in total, per team for the regular season) and the play-off series as announced pre-season.[6]
| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 February 2020 – 27 October 2020 |
| Champions | Drogheda United (5th title) |
| Promoted | Drogheda United, Longford Town |
| Matches | 90 |
| Goals | 265 (2.94 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Yousef Mahdy (15 league goals + 1 playoff goal) |
| Biggest home win | UCD 8-0 Wexford (4 September 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Cobh Ramblers 0-6 UCD (12 September 2020) |
| Highest scoring | UCD 8-0 Wexford (4 September 2020) Longford Town 2-6 Galway United (3 October 2020) |
← 2019 2021 → | |
Overview
The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season. This format was changed after the league was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic meaning each team would now play each other only two times, once home and once away. Additionally, the promotion play-off semi-finals, usually played over two legs, were played over one leg. UCD were relegated from the 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division. A reserve side of Shamrock Rovers F.C. competed in place of the Limerick team that encountered financial difficulty prior to the commencement of the season. Drogheda United finished top of the league table after a 2–0 away win over Cabinteely sealed the league title and promotion to the League Of Ireland Premier Division for 2021. It was the Drogs' record 5th First Division title. Wexford FC were wrongly applied forfeits in four games by the FAI, which was subsequently overturned and results restored.[7]
Teams
Stadia and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium | 5,000 |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds | 4,000 |
| Cabinteely | Dublin (Cabinteely) | Stradbrook Road | 1,620 |
| Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park | 3,000 |
| Drogheda United | Drogheda | United Park | 2,000 |
| Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park | 5,000 |
| Longford Town | Longford | Bishopsgate | 4,960 |
| Shamrock Rovers II | Dublin (Tallaght) | Tallaght Stadium | 8,000 |
| UCD | Dublin (Belfield) | UCD Bowl | 3,000 |
| Wexford | Crossabeg | Ferrycarrig Park | 2,500 |
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 |  Adrian Carbury |
Darren Meenan |
Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Bray Wanderers | Gary Cronin |
Paul Keegan |
Umbro | Matt Britton Carpets |
| Cabinteely | Pat Devlin |
Conor Keeley |
Uhlsport | Edufit |
| Cobh Ramblers | Stuart Ashton |
Paul Hunt |
Joma | Metropole Hotel |
| Drogheda United | Tim Clancy |
Jake Hyland |
Umbro | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Galway United | John Caulfield |
Shane Duggan |
Puma | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Daire Doyle |
Dean Zambra |
Macron | Bishopsgate |
| Shamrock Rovers II | Aidan Price |
Darragh Nugent |
Umbro | JD Sports |
| UCD | Andy Myler |
Jack Keaney |
O'Neill's | O'Neill's |
| Wexford | Brian O'Sullivan |
Dan Tobin |
Bodibro | Premier Tickets |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure |
Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galway United | Alan Murphy |
Sacked | 18 August 2020[8] | 9th | John Caulfield[9] |
21 August 2020 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drogheda United (C, P) | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 17 | +22 | 39 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Bray Wanderers | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 13 | +17 | 38 | Qualification to Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | UCD | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 30 | |
| 4 | Longford Town (P) | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 29 | |
| 5 | Galway United | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 27 | |
| 6 | Cobh Ramblers | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 27 | |
| 7 | Cabinteely | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 26 | |
| 8 | Shamrock Rovers II | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 15 | |
| 9 | Athlone Town | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 43 | −22 | 12 | |
| 10 | Wexford | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 39 | −26 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[10]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Results
Matches 1–18
Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away). Wexford were wrongly applied a forfeit in four matches, which was subsequently overturned.
Season statistics
Top scorers
Last updated: 27 October 2020.
Source: SSE Airtricity League First Division Statistics
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yousef Mahdy |
UCD | 15 |
| 2 | Colm Whelan |
UCD | 14 |
| 3 | Mark Doyle |
Drogheda United | 13 |
| 4 | Brandon Kavanagh |
Shamrock Rovers II | 9 |
| Rob Manley |
Longford Town | ||
| 5 | Ronan Manning |
Athlone Town | 8 |
| 6 | Gary Shaw |
Bray Wanderers | 7 |
| 7 | Darragh Lynch |
Bray Wanderers | 6 |
| Sam Verdon |
Longford Town | ||
| 8 | Shane Barnes |
Cabinteely | 5 |
Play-offs
First Division play-off Semi-finals
| 31 October 2020 | Bray Wanderers | 0–1 | Galway United | Carlisle Grounds |
| 15:00 | Wilson Waweru  86' |
| 31 October 2020 | UCD | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Longford Town | UCD Bowl |
| 15:00 | Colm Whelan 18' Yousef Mahdy 110' |
Joe Gorman 90' Joe Gorman 113'Dean Byrne 120' |
First Division play-off Final
| 6 November 2020 | Galway United | 1–2 | Longford Town | UCD Bowl |
| 19:45 | Vinny Faherty 88' |
Report | Karl Chambers 43' Aodh Dervin 82' |
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors) Referee: Mark Moynihan |
Promotion/relegation play-off
| 15 November 2020 | Shelbourne | 0–1 | Longford Town | Richmond Park |
| 14:30 | Report | Rob Manley 46' |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Neil Doyle |