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The 2018 League of Ireland First Division season was the 34th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 23 February 2018 and concluded on 22 September 2018. Contrary to the previous editions, this tournament had 10 teams, which was the largest number since the 2011 season, and saw the return of the promotion/relegation playoffs.
| Season | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 February – 22 September 2018 |
| Champions | UCD |
| Promoted | UCD Finn Harps |
| Matches played | 135 |
| Goals scored | 397 (2.94 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | David O'Sullivan (Shelbourne, 15 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Shelbourne 7–0 Athlone Town (6 April 2018); Wexford 7–0 Athlone Town (20 April 2018) |
| Biggest away win | Wexford 0–8 UCD (7 May 2018) |
| Highest scoring | Wexford 1–8 Drogheda United (16 March 2018) |
| Total attendance | 59,946 |
| Average attendance | 422[1] |
← 2017 2019 →
All statistics correct as of 2 November 2018. | |
The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season.
On 22 December 2016, the FAI announced that the league would be restructured into two 10-team divisions from the 2018 season onwards, one of the recommendations made in the 2015 Conroy Report.[2]
Dublin
Locations of the First Division teams
Locations of Dublin First Division teams
Stadia and locations
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 |  Aaron Callaghan |
Niall Scullion |
Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Cabinteely | Pat Devlin |
Daire Doyle |
Uhlsport | Geoghegan Home Extensions |
| Cobh Ramblers | Stephen Henderson |
 Paul Hunt |
Legea | Tony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke |
| Drogheda United | Tim Clancy |
Sean Thornton |
CX+ Sport | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan |
Ciaran Coll |
Joma | McGettigan Group |
| Galway United | Shane Keegan |
Colm Horgan |
Uhlsport | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Neale Fenn |
Kevin O'Connor |
Legea | City Calling |
| Shelbourne | Owen Heary |
Dean Delaney |
Macron | Dublin City University |
| UCD | Collie O'Neill |
Gary O'Neill |
O'Neills | O'Neills |
| Wexford | Damian Locke |
Craig McCabe |
Bodibro | Premier Tickets |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCD (C, P) | 27 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 57 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Finn Harps (Q) | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 54 | Qualification to Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Shelbourne (Q) | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 52 | 21 | +31 | 50 | |
| 4 | Drogheda United (Q) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 27 | +23 | 49 | |
| 5 | Longford Town | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 45 | |
| 6 | Galway United | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 37 | |
| 7 | Cabinteely | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 30 | |
| 8 | Cobh Ramblers | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 29 | |
| 9 | Wexford | 27 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 59 | −36 | 17 | |
| 10 | Athlone Town | 27 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 16 | 81 | −65 | 7 |
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[3]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[3]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Matches 1–18Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away). |
Matches 19–27Teams play each other once.
|
- As of 22 September 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David O'Sullivan |
Shelbourne | 15 |
| 2 | Georgie Kelly |
UCD | 14 |
| 3 | Dylan McGlade |
Longford Town | 13 |
| 4 | Sean Brennan |
Drogheda United | 11 |
| James English |
Shelbourne | ||
| 6 | Conor Barry |
Galway United | 10 |
| 7 | Eoin McCormack |
Galway United | 9 |
| Gary O'Neill |
UCD | ||
| Mikey Place |
Finn Harps | ||
| Sam Verdon |
Longford Town | ||
The second, third and fourth placed First Division teams played off to decide who would play Limerick, the ninth placed team from the Premier Division. The winner of this play off would play in the 2019 Premier Division.[5]
- Semi-finals
| 5 October 2018 | Drogheda United | 0–1 | Shelbourne | United Park |
| 19:45 | Report | English  25' |
| 8 October 2018 | Shelbourne | 1–2 (2-4 p) | Drogheda United | Tolka Park |
| 19:45 | Evans 77' |
Report | Brennan 33' Lyons 62' |
|
| Penalties | ||||
O'Sullivan  Evans  Fitzgerald Farrell |
Lyons Brennan Gallagher McCaffreyDoyle |
|||
2–2 on aggregate. Drogheda United win on penalties.
- Finals
| 12 October 2018 | Drogheda United | 1–1 | Finn Harps | United Park |
| 19:45 | Kelly 13' |
Report | Boyle 67' |
| 19 October 2018 | Finn Harps | 2–0 | Drogheda United | Finn Park |
| 19:45 | Kavanagh 18' Boyle 67' |
Report |
Finn Harps win 3–1 on aggregate.
- Relegation-promotion match
| 29 October 2018 | Finn Harps | 1–0 | Limerick | Finn Park |
| 19:45 GMT | McCourt 35' (pen.) |
Report | Attendance: 2,379 Referee: Robert Harvey |
| 2 November 2018 | Limerick | 0–2 | Finn Harps | Markets Field |
| 19:45 GMT | Report | Timlin 45+1' Boyle 80' |
Referee: Graham Kelly |
Finn Harps won 3–0 on aggregate and were promoted to 2019 Premier Division. Limerick were relegated to the 2019 First Division.
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