2022–23 NIFL Premiership

The 2022–23 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 122nd season of Irish League football overall, and the 10th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

NIFL Premiership

Season	2022–23
Dates	12 Aug 2022 – 29 Apr 2023
Champions	Larne
Relegated	Portadown
UEFA Champions League	Larne
UEFA Europa Conference League	Linfield Crusaders (via Irish Cup) Glentoran (via Play-offs)
Matches played	228
Goals scored	647 (2.84 per match)
Top goalscorer	Matthew Shevlin (21 goals)
Biggest home win	Linfield 7–0 Newry City (18 March 2023)
Biggest away win	Portadown 1–6 Linfield (28 January 2023)
Highest scoring	Carrick Rangers 4–3 Crusaders (1 October 2022)
Highest attendance	7,134 Linfield 0–3 Glentoran (14 October 2022)
Lowest attendance	274 Carrick Rangers 3–0 Dungannon Swifts (15 October 2022)
← 2021–22 2023–24 → All statistics correct as of 11 March 2023.

Larne were champions, winning the Irish League for the first time. They became the 13th different club to win the league since 1890, and the first addition to the list of title-winners since Coleraine in 1974.

Summary

The 38-game season commenced on 12 August 2022 and concluded on 29 April 2023.

Linfield were the four-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous four seasons - the 2021–22 season seeing them win a world record 56th league crown.

Larne became the champions and entered the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, clinching their first league title on 14 April 2023 with a 2–0 win over Crusaders.^[1] The runners-up (Linfield), the Irish Cup winners (Crusaders), and the play-off winners (Glentoran) entered the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

Teams

Belfast

Ballymena United

Coleraine

Dungannon Swifts

Glenavon

Portadown

Larne

Carrick Rangers

Newry City

Belfast teams : Cliftonville
Crusaders
Glentoran
Linfield

Locations of the 2022–23 NIFL Irish Premiership teams

Cliftonville

Crusaders

Glentoran

Linfield

Locations of the Belfast-based 2022–23 NIFL Irish Premiership teams

Twelve teams competed in this season's Premiership, eleven of which returned from the previous season. Warrenpoint Town finished bottom of the table the previous season, and were relegated to the NIFL Championship after five years as a Premiership club, with Championship winners Newry City promoted to replace them for this season's Premiership. 11th-placed Portadown retained their Premiership status after defeating Annagh United 4–2 on aggregate in the Premiership play-off.

Stadia and locations

Club	Stadium	Location	Capacity[2][3]
Ballymena United	The Showgrounds	Ballymena	3,824 (all seated)
Carrick Rangers	Loughshore Hotel Arena	Carrickfergus	2,100 (380 seated)
Cliftonville	Solitude	Belfast	3,054 (all seated)
Coleraine	The Showgrounds	Coleraine	4,843 (1,607 seated)
Crusaders	Seaview	Belfast	3,208 (all seated)
Dungannon Swifts	Stangmore Park	Dungannon	2,000 (300 seated)
Glenavon	Mourneview Park	Lurgan	3,302 (all seated)
Glentoran	The Oval	Belfast	6,054 (3,991 seated)
Larne	Inver Park	Larne	2,732 (1,632 seated)
Linfield	Windsor Park	Belfast	18,434 (all seated)
Newry City	The Showgrounds	Newry	2,275 (1,080 seated)
Portadown	Shamrock Park	Portadown	3,940 (2,765 seated)

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
1	Larne (C)	38	25	8	5	64	22	+42	83	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Linfield	38	23	8	7	75	27	+48	77	Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3	Glentoran (O)	38	23	5	10	77	28	+49	74	Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs[b]
4	Cliftonville	38	20	8	10	66	53	+13	68
5	Crusaders	38	19	10	9	72	45	+27	67	Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[c]
6	Coleraine	38	18	8	12	59	39	+20	62	Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs[b]
7	Glenavon	38	14	10	14	58	61	−3	52	Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs[b]
8	Carrick Rangers	38	12	4	22	45	74	−29	40
9	Ballymena United	38	11	6	21	37	55	−18	39
10	Newry City	38	9	3	26	37	71	−34	30
11	Dungannon Swifts (O)	38	9	3	26	28	84	−56	30	Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off
12	Portadown (R)	38	6	5	27	29	88	−59	23	Relegation to the NIFL Championship

Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Drawing of lots^[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
2. Glentoran entered the Europa Conference League first qualifying round as play-off winners.
3. Crusaders entered the Europa Conference League first qualifying round as 2022–23 Irish Cup winners.

Results

Matches 1–22 During matches 1–22 each team plays every other team twice (home and away). Home \ Away BYM CRK CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT LAR LIN NEW POR Ballymena United — 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–4 3–0 2–0 Carrick Rangers 0–2 — 3–3 2–4 4–3 3–0 1–1 1–5 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 Cliftonville 4–0 3–2 — 2–2 0–0 4–2 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 4–1 Coleraine 2–0 1–0 3–1 — 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 Crusaders 3–0 3–0 3–0 2–0 — 5–1 3–2 3–2 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 Dungannon Swifts 0–2 4–1 0–2 0–5 0–2 — 1–0 0–1 0–3 0–1 2–0 2–0 Glenavon 3–2 2–2 0–1 0–0 4–2 5–0 — 2–1 1–2 1–6 1–5 2–1 Glentoran 1–0 5–0 0–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 — 4–0 1–2 3–0 5–1 Larne 3–0 0–0 4–0 2–0 4–1 4–0 3–0 0–0 — 0–0 2–0 2–0 Linfield 3–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 3–2 0–3 2–4 — 7–0 4–0 Newry City 3–2 4–1 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 — 3–0[a] Portadown 1–0 1–3 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 0–3 1–3 — Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants. Notes: Originally a 1–3 win for Portadown; Newry City awarded a 3–0 win after Portadown fielded an ineligible player.

Matches 23–33 During matches 23–33 each team plays every other team for the third time (either at home or away). Home \ Away BYM CRK CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT LAR LIN NEW POR Ballymena United — — 4–1 — — — 0–1 1–3 — 0–2 0–0 0–0 Carrick Rangers 1–0 — — 0–1 0–3 — — 0–4 2–3 — — 2–0 Cliftonville — 1–0 — — — 1–2 — 2–1 — — 2–0 3–0 Coleraine 3–1 — 2–4 — 2–0 — — 2–2 — — 1–0 4–1 Crusaders 0–1 — 2–2 — — 3–0 — — — 2–0 3–1 4–0 Dungannon Swifts 1–1 0–1 — 0–3 — — 2–1 — — 0–5 — — Glenavon — 4–2 1–3 2–1 2–2 — — — 0–1 — 0–2 — Glentoran — — — — 2–0 6–0 0–2 — 0–1 3–0 — — Larne 1–0 — 2–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 — — — — — — Linfield — 2–0 1–0 2–0 — — 2–1 — 1–0 — — — Newry City — 0–2 — — — 0–2 — 1–3 0–0 1–3 — 3–4 Portadown — — — — — 3–1 3–1 0–2 0–5 1–6 — — Source: Northern Ireland Football League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Matches 34–38

For the final five matches, the table splits into two halves, with the top six teams forming Section A and the bottom six teams forming Section B. Each team plays every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures are reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams have played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.

Section A Home \ Away CLF COL CRU GLT LAR LIN Cliftonville — 2–2 3–3 — 0–2 0–2 Coleraine — — — — 3–0 0–1 Crusaders — 3–1 — 1–2 0–2 — Glentoran 3–0 3–0 — — — — Larne — — — 2–0 — 1–1 Linfield — — 0–0 1–1 — — Source: Northern Ireland Football League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Section B Home \ Away BYM CRK DUN GLA NEW POR Ballymena United — 1–0 2–0 — — — Carrick Rangers — — 2–0 1–3 0–2 — Dungannon Swifts — — — — 2–1 3–2 Glenavon 3–2 — 1–1 — — 0–0 Newry City 2–2 — — 0–1 — — Portadown 1–0 3–1 — — 0–1 — Source: Northern Ireland Football League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Play-offs

UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs

Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place compete for one place in the 2023–24 Europa Conference League first qualifying round. The play-offs are one-off matches with extra time and penalties used to determine the winner if necessary, with the higher-ranked teams given home advantage against the lower-ranked teams (i.e. 3rd v. 7th and 5th v. 6th) in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also gains home advantage in the final.

Semi-finals

Cliftonville v Coleraine

10 May 2023	Cliftonville	2–1	Coleraine	Solitude
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Curran 4' Doherty 20'		Shevlin 72'

Glentoran v Glenavon

10 May 2023	Glentoran	5–0	Glenavon	The Oval
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	McCullough 3' McMenamin 35' Garrett 53' (o.g.) J. Donnelly 73' R. Donnelly 78'

Final

Glentoran v Cliftonville

13 May 2023	Glentoran	2–0	Cliftonville	The Oval
16:30 BST (UTC+01)	Ogedi-Uzokwe 35' (pen.), 40'

NIFL Premiership play-off

The eleventh-placed club (Dungannon Swifts) were expected to face the second-placed club from the 2022–23 NIFL Championship (Warrenpoint Town) for one place in the following season's Premiership. However, Warrenpoint Town were denied an NIFL Premiership license on 27 April 2023 and were unsuccessful in their appeal, resulting in the play-off being postponed.^[5] Eventually, the third-placed club from the NIFL Championship at the time (Annagh United) elected to take Warrenpoint Town's place in the play-off.

First leg

Annagh United v Dungannon Swifts

30 May 2023	Annagh United	2–1	Dungannon Swifts	BMG Arena
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Ruddy 4' (o.g.) Taylor 70'		Animasahun 3'

Second leg

Dungannon Swifts v Annagh United

1 June 2023	Dungannon Swifts	2–0 (3–2 agg.)	Annagh United	Stangmore Park
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	McGee 13' O'Connor 69'

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals[6]
1	Matthew Shevlin	Coleraine	23
2	Matthew Fitzpatrick	Glenavon	19
3	Ronan Hale	Cliftonville	18
5	Eetu Vertainen	Linfield	17
	Philip Lowry	Crusaders
6	Lee Bonis	Larne	15
7	Ryan Curran	Cliftonville	14
8	Paul O'Neill	Larne	13
10	Jay Donnelly	Glentoran	12
	Joel Cooper	Linfield

Clean sheets

Rank	Goalkeeper	Club	Clean sheets[6]
1	Rohan Ferguson	Larne	23
2	Chris Johns	Linfield	21
3	Aaron McCarey	Glentoran	17
4	Jonathan Tuffey	Crusaders	14
6	Nathan Gartside	Cliftonville	12
	Gareth Deane	Coleraine
7	Ross Glendinning	Carrick Rangers	9
8	Sean O'Neill	Ballymena United	8
9	Rory Brown	Glenavon	7
10	Martin Gallagher	Coleraine	6