2014 League of Ireland Premier Division

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2014
ChampionsDundalk (10th title)
RelegatedAthlone Town
UCD
Champions LeagueDundalk
Europa LeagueCork City
St. Patrick's Athletic
Shamrock Rovers
UCD
Matches played198
Goals scored528 (2.67 per match)
Top goalscorerChristy Fagan: 20
(St. Patrick's Athletic)[1]
Highest attendance6,219[2] Cork City 1–0 Bohemians F.C.
Total attendance295,384
Average attendance1,523[3][note 1]
← 2013
2015 →

The 2014 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 30th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. Dundalk were champions and Cork City finished as runners-up.[4]

Teams

Stadia and locations

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Locations of Premier Division teams
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Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams
Team Location Stadium
Athlone Town Athlone Athlone Town Stadium
Bohemians Phibsborough Dalymount Park
Bray Wanderers Bray Carlisle Grounds
Cork City Cork Turners Cross
Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium
Drogheda United Drogheda United Park
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park
Limerick Limerick Thomond Park
Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Tallaght Stadium
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds
St Patrick's Athletic Inchicore Richmond Park
UCD Belfield UCD Bowl

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 Mick Cooke
Keith Long 		Republic of Ireland Aidan Collins Nike Nitro Sports
Bohemians Owen Heary Republic of Ireland Dave Mulcahy Macron Mr Green
Bray Wanderers Alan Mathews Republic of Ireland Danny O'Connor Macron Volkswagen
Cork City John Caulfield Republic of Ireland John Dunleavy Umbro Clonakilty Sausages
Derry City Roddy Collins
Peter Hutton 		Republic of Ireland Barry Molloy Umbro Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United Robbie Horgan
Damien Richardson 		Republic of Ireland Gavin Brennan Nike Scotch Hall Shopping Center
Dundalk Stephen Kenny Republic of Ireland Stephen O'Donnell Umbro Fyffes
Limerick Stuart Taylor
Martin Russell 		Republic of Ireland Shane Duggan Macron Pacdog.ie
Shamrock Rovers Trevor Croly
Pat Fenlon 		Republic of Ireland Conor Kenna Warrior Pepper
Sligo Rovers Ian Baraclough
John Coleman
Gavin Dykes 		Republic of Ireland Gavin Peers Umbro Volkswagen
St Patrick's Athletic Liam Buckley Republic of Ireland Ger O'Brien Umbro Clune Construction Company L.P.
UCD Aaron Callaghan Republic of Ireland Robbie Benson O'Neills O'Neills

Overview

The 2014 Premier Division featured 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, for a total of 33 games each. The regular season began 7 March and concluded 24 October.[5] Dundalk won the title on the final day of the season with a 2-0 win at home against Cork City.[6] It was the first time Dundalk had won the Premier Division since 1994–95.[7][8][9]

Final Table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C) 33 22 8 3 73 24 +49 74 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 Cork City 33 22 6 5 51 25 +26 72 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3 St Patrick's Athletic 33 19 8 6 66 37 +29 65
4 Shamrock Rovers 33 18 8 7 43 26 +17 62
5 Sligo Rovers 33 12 7 14 44 36 +8 43
6 Limerick 33 12 5 16 37 45 −8 41
7 Bohemians 33 9 13 11 40 41 −1 40
8 Derry City 33 9 11 13 42 41 +1 38
9 Drogheda United 33 10 6 17 40 63 −23 36
10 Bray Wanderers 33 5 11 17 28 61 −33 26
11 UCD (R) 33 6 7 20 27 71 −44 25 Qualification to Relegation play-off and
qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[a]
12 Athlone Town (R) 33 4 10 19 35 56 −21 22 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: [5][10][11]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ UCD qualified for the UEFA Europa League via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking system. After the FAI finished third in the 2014–15 rankings, they nominated UCD for the extra European place.

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away ATH BOH BRW COR DER DRO DUN LIM SHM SLI StP UCD
Athlone Town — 1–3 0–0 0–3 0–1 6–0 0–1 3–0 1–4 0–2 0–2 2–0
Bohemians 2–2 — 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 0–2 0–1 1–3 0–2 1–1 0–0
Bray Wanderers 1–1 0–5 — 0–2 0–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–3 1–0 1–3 3–5
Cork City 1–0 1–1 3–1 — 2–0 3–1 1–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1
Derry City 3–2 4–0 5–0 0–1 — 2–0 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–1
Drogheda United 3–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 — 4–1 1–4 2–3 1–2 0–4 4–0
Dundalk 2–0 1–1 5–1 4–0 3–0 7–0 — 2–1 2–2 3–0 0–0 5–2
Limerick 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 0–4 0–1 1–2 — 4–1 0–3 2–0 2–1
Shamrock Rovers 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 — 1–0 2–1 2–0
Sligo Rovers 2–1 3–2 3–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 — 2–2 5–0
St Patrick's Athletic 4–0 3–1 3–2 3–2 5–2 6–0 1–4 1–1 1–0 1–0 — 3–2
UCD 2–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 1–6 2–1 1–4 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–1 —
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Home \ Away ATH BOH BRW COR DER DRO DUN LIM SHM SLI StP UCD
Athlone Town — 0–0 1–1 0–2 — — 0–3 — 1–1 — — —
Bohemians — — 2–1 — 2–1 2–1 — 2–0 1–1 2–2 — —
Bray Wanderers — — — — 1–1 — 1–1 — — 0–1 2–4 2–0
Cork City — 1–0 1–1 — — 2–1 — — 1–0 2–1 1–0 —
Derry City 1–1 — — 0–1 — — — 1–2 — 2–1 0–1 0–1
Drogheda United 1–1 — 1–1 — 1–0 — 1–1 — 0–2 — 2–3 —
Dundalk — 3–2 — 2–0 5–0 — — 1–0 0–0 — — —
Limerick 4–2 — 4–1 0–1 — 0–3 — — — 1–0 — —
Shamrock Rovers — — 1–0 — 2–0 — — 1–0 — 1–0 — 3–0
Sligo Rovers 3–1 — — — — 0–2 — — — — 1–4 4–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–2 3–1 — — — — 1–0 0–1 1–1 — — 3–2
UCD 1–1 0–0 — 0–4 — 1–0 0–2 1–3 — — — —
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion/relegation playoff

UCD, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division played off against Galway, the winner of the 2014 First Division play off, to decide who would play in the 2015 Premier Division.[5]

28 October 2014 UCD 1 – 2 Galway UCD Bowl
19:45 Timmy Molloy 18'
Colm Crowe Yellow card 27'
Gareth Matthews Yellow card 39'		 Report Jason Molloy Yellow card 23'
Paddy Barrett 89'
Ryan Manning 90'		 Attendance: 643
Referee: James McKell
1 November 2014 Galway 3 – 0 UCD Eamonn Deacy Park
20:45 Alex Byrne Yellow card 20'
Gary Shanahan 45'
Ryan Manning 71'
Alex Byrne 80'		 Report Attendance: 2,890
Referee: Dave McKeon

Galway won 5–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the Premier Division. UCD are relegated to the First Division.

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Christy Fagan St Patrick's Athletic 20
1 Patrick Hoban Dundalk 20 (1 pen.)
3 Conan Byrne St Patrick's Athletic 18 (2 pen.)
4 Rory Gaffney Limerick 14
5 Billy Dennehy Cork City 13 (5 pen.)
5 Daniel Corcoran Bohemians 13 (3 pen.)

Source:[1][12]

Awards

Player of the Month

Month Player Club
March Gary O'Neill Drogheda United
April Christopher Forrester St Patrick's Athletic
May Daryl Horgan Dundalk
June Mark O'Sullivan Cork City
July Richie Towell Dundalk
August Rory Gaffney Limerick
September Dane Massey Dundalk
October Patrick Hoban Dundalk
November Christy Fagan St Patrick's Athletic

PFAI Players' Player of the Year

Winner Club
Christy Fagan St Patrick's Athletic

PFAI Young Player of the Year

Winner Club
Daryl Horgan Dundalk

Team of the Year

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Mark McNulty Cork City
2 2DF Seán Gannon Dundalk
3 2DF Andy Boyle Dundalk
4 2DF Brian Gartland Dundalk
5 2DF Ian Bermingham St Patrick's Athletic
6 3MF Colin Healy Cork City
7 3MF Daryl Horgan Dundalk
8 3MF Richie Towell Dundalk
9 4FW Christy Fagan St Patrick's Athletic
10 4FW Patrick Hoban Dundalk
11 4FW Mark O'Sullivan Cork City

Television coverage

The rights to 10 games was awarded to Setanta Sports while RTÉ Two will also show games during the season. MNS on RTÉ Two was the highlights programme between 2008 and 2013 but in 2014 it was replaced by a new programme called Soccer Republic which will show match highlights and analysis on each Monday night during the season and will also include UEFA Champions League highlights.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Four attendance figures are missing from the 2014 season https://www.researchgate.net/figure/League-of-Ireland-Premier-Division-Attendance_tbl1_286919999

References

  1. ^ a b "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "League Report: Cork City 1 - 0 Bohemians". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. ^ "The Demand for League of Ireland Football". research gate. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ "League of Ireland Premier Division 2014". corkcityfc.ie. Cork City FC. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Ireland 2014". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Dundalk win the League of Ireland". www.irishexaminer.com. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Dundalk joy at title win shows why local game matters". www.independent.ie. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Dundalk raise roof after claiming 10th title with win over Cork". www.irishtimes.com. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Dundalk down Cork to seal Irish title". UEFA.com. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Ireland leading UEFA Fair Play League". www.sseairtricityleague.ie. 15 January 2015.
  11. ^ "UCD set for Europa League after topping Fair Play standings". www.irishtimes.com. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Premier Division 2014 – Topscorers". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Soccer Republic programme kicks off on 10 March". www.rte.ie. 26 February 2014.