2011 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2011 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 27th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league was also known as the Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons. The division featured 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions while Sligo Rovers finished as runners-up.

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2011
ChampionsShamrock Rovers (17th title)
RelegatedGalway United
UEFA Champions LeagueShamrock Rovers
UEFA Europa LeagueSligo Rovers
St. Patrick's Athletic
Bohemians
Setanta CupShamrock Rovers
Bohemians
Sligo Rovers
St. Patrick's Athletic
Derry City
Bray Wanderers
Matches played180
Goals scored503 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorerÉamon Zayed: 22
(Derry City) [1]
Biggest home winDerry City 7–0 UCD
Biggest away winGalway United 0–8 Sligo Rovers
Highest scoringUCD 5–4 Drogheda United
Longest winning runShamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers (5 games each)[2]
Longest unbeaten runDerry City
(18 games)[2]
Longest winless runGalway United
(32 games)[2]
Longest losing runGalway United
(22 games)[2]
2010
2012

Teams

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Team Location Stadium
Bohemians Phibsborough Dalymount Park
Bray Wanderers Bray Carlisle Grounds
Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium
Drogheda United Drogheda United Park
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park
Galway United Galway Terryland Park
Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Tallaght Stadium
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds
St Patrick's Athletic Inchicore Richmond Park
UCD Belfield UCD Bowl

Overview

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The Premier Division consists of ten teams. Each team played every other team four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 36 matches. The league began on 4 March[3] and ended on 29 October. Defending champions Shamrock Rovers retained the league title with victory over UCD on 25 October 2011.[4][5]

Final table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shamrock Rovers (C) 36 23 8 5 69 24 +45 77 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 Sligo Rovers 36 22 7 7 73 19 +54 73 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round[a]
3 Derry City 36 18 14 4 63 23 +40 68 Banned from 2012–13 European competitions[b]
4 St Patrick's Athletic 36 17 12 7 62 35 +27 63 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
5 Bohemians 36 17 9 10 39 27 +12 60
6 Bray Wanderers 36 15 6 15 53 50 +3 51
7 Dundalk 36 11 11 14 50 53 −3 44
8 UCD 36 10 4 22 42 80 −38 34
9 Drogheda United 36 7 4 25 32 77 −45 25
10 Galway United[c] 36 1 3 32 20 115 −95 6 Qualification to Relegation play-off
Source: [6][7][8][9]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Sligo Rovers qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round after winning the 2011 FAI Cup Final.
  2. ^ Derry City were banned from European competitions for three seasons after going into liquidation.
  3. ^ Galway United were originally relegated but subsequently withdrew from the league.

Results

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Matches 1–18

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Home \ Away BOH BRW DER DRO DUN GAL SHM SLI StP UCD
Bohemians 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–0
Bray Wanderers 1–3 1–2 2–1 1–5 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–1
Derry City 3–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 6–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 7–0
Drogheda United 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 0–4 0–3 1–4 0–1
Dundalk 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–1
Galway United 0–2 0–3 1–4 1–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–3 0–0
Shamrock Rovers 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 3–1 4–0 1–0 2–0 3–1
Sligo Rovers 1–2 3–1 3–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–1 2–0 4–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–0 2–3 1–1 3–0 3–2 5–2 0–0 2–1 1–1
UCD 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–2 3–0 1–6 2–1 1–3
Source: www.rsssf.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–36

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Home \ Away BOH BRW DER DRO DUN GAL SHM SLI StP UCD
Bohemians 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 0–1 0–3 0–0 2–0
Bray Wanderers 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 4–0 1–2 0–3 0–3 4–0
Derry City 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 4–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–1
Drogheda United 0–2 1–4 0–3 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–3 4–3 3–1
Dundalk 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–0 6–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 2–0
Galway United 0–3 0–6 0–3 1–2 2–2 2–3 0–8 0–2 3–4
Shamrock Rovers 1–1 5–2 1–0 4–0 2–2 4–0 1–2 1–0 6–0
Sligo Rovers 1–2 3–0 1–1 2–0 5–0 7–1 2–0 0–0 4–2
St Patrick's Athletic 1–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 2–2 6–1 1–1 1–0 2–2
UCD 2–0 1–2 2–2 5–4 3–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 2–1
Source: www.rsssf.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Awards

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Top goalscorers

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Rank Scorer Club Goals
1   Éamon Zayed Derry City[1] 22
2   Eoin Doyle Sligo Rovers 20
3   Danny North St. Patrick's Athletic 15
  Gary Twigg Shamrock Rovers 15
5   Mark Quigley Dundalk 13

Source:[7]

Winner Club
  Éamon Zayed Derry City[10]
Winner Club
  Enda Stevens Shamrock Rovers[10]

PFAI Team of the Year

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No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Gerard Doherty Derry City
2 2DF Patrick Sullivan Shamrock Rovers
3 2DF Stewart Greacen Derry City
4 2DF Craig Sives Shamrock Rovers
5 2DF Enda Stevens Shamrock Rovers
6 3MF Stephen Bradley St Patrick's Athletic
7 3MF Daryl Kavanagh St Patrick's Athletic
8 3MF Richie Ryan Sligo Rovers
9 3MF Mark Quigley Dundalk
10 4FW Éamon Zayed Derry City
11 4FW Eoin Doyle Sligo Rovers
Month Player Club
March   Mark Quigley Dundalk
April   Gary Dempsey Bray Wanderers
May   Eoin Doyle Sligo Rovers
June   Danny North St. Patrick's Athletic
July   Conor McCormack Shamrock Rovers
August   Patrick Sullivan Shamrock Rovers
September   Joseph Ndo Sligo Rovers
October   Karl Sheppard Shamrock Rovers
November   Stephen Paisley[note 1] Shelbourne
Notes
  1. ^ Stephen Paisley was playing in First Division.

Promotion/relegation play-off

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Galway United, the tenth-placed team in the 2011 Premier Division, and Monaghan United, the third-placed team from the 2011 First Division, played off to see who would play in the 2012 Premier Division. The playoff was contested in a two-legged format.[11]

1 November 2011 Monaghan United 2–0 Galway United Kingspan Century Park
19.45 GMT Isichei   13'
S. Brennan   87'
4 November 2011 Galway United 1–3 Monaghan United Terryland Park
19.45 GMT Murphy   82'   26', 33' O'Brien
  51' R. Brennan

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ireland – List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Airtricity League – 2011". WhoScored.com. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Battle set to commence in Airtricity League". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Shamrock Rovers – 2011 League Champions". extratime.ie. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Shamrock Rovers retain Irish title". UEFA. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Ireland 2011". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b "2011 League of Ireland". www.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Ireland 2012". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Derry City are refused entry to Europa League by Uefa". www.bbc.co.uk. 21 February 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Zayed scoops Player of the Year award". extratime.ie. 13 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Ireland 2011". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 August 2016.