2016–17 NIFL Championship
| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
|
← 2015–16 2017–18 → | |
The 2016–17 NIFL Championship is the first season of the second-tier Irish League since gaining senior status, with the NIFL taking over administration from the IFA. The fixtures were announced on 7 July 2016.[1] The season began on 13 August 2016 and is scheduled to end in May 2017.
Teams
The 2016–17 NIFL Championship consists of 12 teams. Ards were champions of Championship 1 in the previous season and were promoted to the 2016–17 NIFL Premiership.[2] The next highest place team eligible for promotion, fifth-placed finishers Institute were defeated by Ballinamallard United in the Premiership play-off; therefore failing to achieve promotion.
The bottom two teams from the previous season, Lisburn Distillery and Donegal Celtic were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League; they were joined by Bangor after they failed to gain the Championship Licence, required for playing at second-tier level. They were replaced by PSNI, runners-up of the (now defunct) Championship 2 in the previous season; champions Limavady United were ineligible for promotion after failing to gain the required licence.
Stadia and locations
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annagh United | Portadown | Tandragee Road | 1,250 |
| Armagh City | Armagh | Holm Park | 3,000 |
| Ballyclare Comrades | Ballyclare | Dixon Park | 5,333 |
| Dergview | Castlederg | Darragh Park | 1,200 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | Belfast | Tillysburn Park | 3,000 |
| Institute | Drumahoe | YMCA Grounds | 1,570 |
| Knockbreda | Belfast | Breda Park | 1,000 |
| Larne | Larne | Inver Park | 3,000 |
| Loughgall | Loughgall | Lakeview Park | 3,000 |
| Lurgan Celtic | Lurgan | Knockramer Park | 1,000 |
| PSNI | Belfast | Newforge Lane | 1,500 |
| Warrenpoint Town | Warrenpoint | Milltown | 1,280 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warrenpoint Town | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 30 | Promotion to NIFL Premiership |
| 2 | Ballyclare Comrades | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 27 | Qualification to NIFL Premiership play-offs |
| 3 | Institute | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 27 | |
| 4 | Larne | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 23 | |
| 5 | Dergview | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 18 | +15 | 22 | |
| 6 | Harland & Wolff Welders | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 21 | |
| 7 | PSNI | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 21 | |
| 8 | Lurgan Celtic | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 20 | |
| 9 | Knockbreda | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 18 | |
| 10 | Armagh City | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 15 | |
| 11 | Loughgall | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 12 | Qualification to NIFL Championship play-off |
| 12 | Annagh United | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 60 | −49 | 7 | Relegation to NIFL Premier Intermediate League |
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) Play-off (subject to IFA decision)[4]
Notes:
- ↑ Teams play each other twice (22 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last ten matches.
Results
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team will play every other team twice (home and away).
| Home ╲ Away | ANN | ARM | BCC | DGV | H&W | INS | KNB | LRN | LGL | LGC | PSNI | WPT |
| Annagh United | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 2–4 | 0–0 | ||||
| Armagh City | 1–3 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–7 | 2–1 | ||||||
| Ballyclare Comrades | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 5–2 | 3–2 | ||||
| Dergview | 9–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 6–2 | ||||||
| Harland & Wolff Welders | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |||||
| Institute | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | |||||
| Knockbreda | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | |||||
| Larne | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||||||
| Loughgall | 7–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | ||||
| Lurgan Celtic | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–5 | |||||
| PSNI | 1–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |||
| Warrenpoint Town | 7–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 |
Updated to games played on 19 November 2016.
Source: NIFL Championship
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matches 23–32
During matches 23–32 each team will play every other team in their half of the table twice (home and away).
Top six
Source: NIFL Championship |
Bottom six
Source: NIFL Championship |
References
- ↑ "2016-17 SEASON FIXTURES RELEASED". nifootballleague.com. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ↑ "IRISH LEAGUE: Ards promoted to Danske Bank Premiership". News Letter. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ↑ "Championship 2016/2017 - Venues". Scoresway. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ↑ "Championship 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 20 November 2016.