2020 League of Ireland First Division

The 2020 League of Ireland First Division season was the 36th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 21 February 2020 and concluded on 27 October 2020. Drogheda United won the league title for a record 5th time, winning promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division for 2021.^{[1][2] [3]} The Coronavirus pandemic in Ireland halted the season in mid-March as per directive of the Irish Government and the Football Association of Ireland.^[4][5] On 13 July 2020, the league announced the season restart with a reduced fixture list of two rounds only (18 games in total, per team for the regular season) and the play-off series as announced pre-season.^[6]

Overview

The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season. This format was changed after the league was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic meaning each team would now play each other only two times, once home and once away. Additionally, the promotion play-off semi-finals, usually played over two legs, were played over one leg. UCD were relegated from the 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division. A reserve side of Shamrock Rovers F.C. competed in place of the Limerick team that encountered financial difficulty prior to the commencement of the season. Drogheda United finished top of the league table after a 2–0 away win over Cabinteely sealed the league title and promotion to the League Of Ireland Premier Division for 2021. It was the Drogs' record 5th First Division title. Wexford FC were wrongly applied forfeits in four games by the FAI, which was subsequently overturned and results restored. ^[7]

Teams

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Cobh Ramblers

Drogheda United

Galway United

Longford Town

Wexford

Dublin

Dublin teams
Cabinteely
Shamrock Rovers II
UCD

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Locations of the First Division teams

Cabinteely

Shamrock Rovers II

UCD

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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	Adrian Carbury	Darren Meenan	Nike	Nitro Sports
Bray Wanderers	Gary Cronin	Paul Keegan	Umbro	Matt Britton Carpets
Cabinteely	Pat Devlin	Conor Keeley	Uhlsport	Edufit
Cobh Ramblers	Stuart Ashton	Paul Hunt	Joma	Metropole Hotel
Drogheda United	Tim Clancy	Jake Hyland	Umbro	Scotch Hall Shopping Center
Galway United	John Caulfield	Shane Duggan	Puma	Comer Property Management
Longford Town	Daire Doyle	Dean Zambra	Macron	Bishopsgate
Shamrock Rovers II	Aidan Price	Darragh Nugent	Umbro	JD Sports
UCD	Andy Myler	Jack Keaney	O'Neill's	O'Neill's
Wexford	Brian O'Sullivan	Dan Tobin	Bodibro	Premier Tickets

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Galway United	Alan Murphy	Sacked	18 August 2020[8]	9th	John Caulfield[9]	21 August 2020

League table

Results

Matches 1–18 Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away). Wexford were wrongly applied a forfeit in four matches, which was subsequently overturned. Home \ Away ATH BRW CAB COB DRO GAL LON SHA UCD WEX Athlone Town — 0–1 1–3 2–1 3–3 1–4 0–4 0–4 2–4 1–3 Bray Wanderers 3–1 — 3–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 Cabinteely 1–1 4–2 — 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–3 1–0 0–3 1–5 Cobh Ramblers 3–2 1–2 1–2 — 0–2 2–2 2–0 0–0 0–6 4–0 Drogheda United 0–2 3–1 5–1 0–1 — 1–0 0–1 3–2 5–1 2–0 Galway United 2–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–3 — 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–0 Longford Town 2–0 0–2 1–3 0–1 1–1 2–6 — 2–0 3–1 3–1 Shamrock Rovers II 3–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 — 2–5 2–0 UCD 2–1 1–3 5–1 1–0 1–3 0–3 0–0 3–1 — 8–0 Wexford 0–1 1–3 0–0 0–4 0–3 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 — Updated to match(es) played on 27 October 2020 including revised results for Wexford following FAI ruling. Source: SSE Airtricity League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Season statistics Top scorers Last updated: 27 October 2020. Source: SSE Airtricity League First Division Statistics Rank Player Club Goals 1 Yousef Mahdy UCD 15 2 Colm Whelan UCD 14 3 Mark Doyle Drogheda United 13 4 Brandon Kavanagh Shamrock Rovers II 9 Rob Manley Longford Town 5 Ronan Manning Athlone Town 8 6 Gary Shaw Bray Wanderers 7 7 Darragh Lynch Bray Wanderers 6 Sam Verdon Longford Town 8 Shane Barnes Cabinteely 5 Play-offs First Division play-off Semi-finals Bray Wanderers v Galway United 31 October 2020 Bray Wanderers 0–1 Galway United Carlisle Grounds 15:00 Wilson Waweru 86' UCD v Longford Town 31 October 2020 UCD 2–3 (a.e.t.) Longford Town UCD Bowl 15:00 Colm Whelan 18' Yousef Mahdy 110' Joe Gorman 90' Joe Gorman 113' Dean Byrne 120' First Division play-off Final Galway United v Longford Town 6 November 2020 Galway United 1–2 Longford Town UCD Bowl 19:45 Vinny Faherty 88' Report Karl Chambers 43' Aodh Dervin 82' Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors) Referee: Mark Moynihan Promotion/relegation play-off Shelbourne v Longford Town 15 November 2020 Shelbourne 0–1 Longford Town Richmond Park 14:30 Report Rob Manley 46' Attendance: 0 Referee: Neil Doyle [11] See also 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division 2020 FAI Cup 2020 League of Ireland Cup References ^ "Drogheda seal promotion as play-off places are decided". RTE Sport. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. ^ "Drogheda seal promotion to Premier Division". The 42. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. ^ "SSE Airtricity League Fixtures". sseairtricityleague.ie. League of Ireland. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020. ^ "FAI postpones all football activity with immediate effect". FAI. Retrieved 30 April 2020. ^ "Irish sports events cancelled". irishmirror.ie. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2020. ^ "2020 SSE Airtricity League - Fixture List". SSE Airtricity League. League of Ireland. Retrieved 26 September 2020. ^ "Wexford win appeal over fielding ineligible player, Galway United replace Cabinteely in play-offs". ^ "Club legend Alan Murphy leaves role as Galway boss". The42.ie. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020. ^ "Galway United appoint John Caulfield as new manager". The42.ie. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020. ^ "First Division 2020". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 February 2020. ^ "2020 Season SSE Airtricity League Fixtures" (PDF). www.sseairtricityleague.ie. SSE Airtricity League. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.