2010–11 IFA Premiership

IFA Premiership
Season2010–11
ChampionsLinfield
2nd Premiership title
50th Irish title
RelegatedNewry City
UEFA Champions LeagueLinfield
UEFA Europa LeagueCrusaders
Glentoran
Cliftonville
Matches played228
Goals scored681 (2.99 per match)
Top goalscorerPeter Thompson (23 goals)
Biggest home winLinfield 8–1 Crusaders
Biggest away winLisburn Dist. 1–6 Glentoran
Highest scoringLinfield 8–1 Crusaders
Crusaders 5–4 Glenavon
Crusaders 4–5 Donegal Celtic

The 2010–11 IFA Premiership (known as the Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 110th season of Irish league football overall.

Linfield were champions, winning the league for the 50th time and the 2nd consecutive season.

Summary

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The season began on 7 August 2010, and concluded on 30 April 2011. Linfield were crowned champions for the second successive season, after a 4–0 win over Lisburn Distillery on 26 April 2011. This was Linfield's 50th Irish League title.[1]

The same day, Newry City were relegated to IFA Championship 1 after a 4–0 loss to Glenavon.[2]

Teams

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After a two-legged play-off against 2009–10 Championship 1 runners-up Donegal Celtic, Institute were relegated to the 2010–11 IFA Championship after an aggregate 1–0 loss, with Donegal Celtic taking their place for this season's IFA Premiership.[3]

2009–10 IFA Championship 1 winners Loughgall were not eligible for promotion as they were not awarded the required domestic licence by the IFA.

Stadia and locations

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Location of the Belfast-based teams in the 2010–11 IFA Premiership
Club Stadium Location Capacity[4]
Ballymena United The Showgrounds Ballymena 1,418 (all seated)
Cliftonville Solitude Belfast 2,180 (1,878 seats)
Coleraine The Showgrounds Coleraine 2,496 (1,106 seats)
Crusaders Seaview Belfast 1,977 (663 seats)
Donegal Celtic Donegal Celtic Park Belfast 2,254 (988 seats)
Dungannon Swifts Stangmore Park Dungannon 5,000 (300 seats)
Glenavon Mourneview Park Lurgan 5,000 (4,000 seats)
Glentoran The Oval Belfast 5,056 (3,991 seats)
Linfield Windsor Park Belfast 12,342 (all seated)
Lisburn Distillery New Grosvenor Stadium Lisburn 7,000 (540 seats)
Newry City The Showgrounds Newry 2,275 (797 seats)
Portadown Shamrock Park Portadown 2,227 (all seated)

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Linfield (C) 38 26 7 5 80 29 +51 85 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 Crusaders 38 23 5 10 78 59 +19 74 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round[a]
3 Glentoran 38 20 6 12 63 41 +22 66 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
4 Cliftonville 38 17 7 14 60 56 +4 58
5 Portadown 38 15 5 18 49 58 −9 50
6 Lisburn Distillery 38 14 6 18 50 66 −16 48
7 Coleraine 38 17 5 16 51 50 +1 56[b]
8 Dungannon Swifts 38 14 9 15 50 53 −3 51[b]
9 Ballymena United 38 12 13 13 48 56 −8 49[b]
10 Glenavon 38 12 9 17 60 59 +1 45
11 Donegal Celtic 38 8 8 22 55 89 −34 32
12 Newry City (R) 38 6 8 24 37 65 −28 26 Relegation to IFA Championship 1
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Crusaders qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League as they were the highest-placed Europa League qualifier, and 2010–11 Irish Cup winners Linfield had already qualified for the Champions League.
  2. ^ a b c After 33 games, clubs in the bottom half of the table at the split cannot climb into the top half, regardless of the number of points earned during matches 34–38.

Results

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Matches 34–38

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During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once. As this was the fourth time that teams played each other this season, home sides in this round were chosen so that teams had played each other twice at home and twice away.

Promotion/relegation

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The promotion/relegation play-off was not played this season, because Championship 1 runners-up Limavady United were not eligible for promotion as they did not hold a domestic licence. This meant that Newry City were automatically relegated, with Championship 1 winners Carrick Rangers replacing them in next season's Premiership.

Top goalscorers

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Rank Scorer Club Goals[5]
1 Northern Ireland Peter Thompson Linfield 23
2 Northern Ireland Paul McVeigh Donegal Celtic 19
Northern Ireland Jordan Owens Crusaders 19
4 Northern Ireland Daryl Fordyce Glentoran 17
5 Northern Ireland Stuart Dallas Crusaders 16
6 Northern Ireland Matthew Burrows Glentoran 15
7 England Leon Knight Coleraine 14
Scotland Gary McCutcheon Ballymena United 14
9 Northern Ireland Gary Hamilton Glenavon 13
Northern Ireland Ryan Henderson Donegal Celtic 13

References

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  1. ^ "Lisburn Distillery 0-4 Linfield". BBC Sport. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Newry City 0-4 Glenavon". BBC Sport. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. ^ "Institute 0–1 Donegal Celtic". BBC Sport. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Written Answers Booklet 23.10.10". niassembly.gov.uk. 23 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  5. ^ "IFA PREMIERSHIP - TOP GOAL SCORERS". ifapremiership.com. IFA Premiership. Retrieved 26 April 2011.