2014–15 NIFL Championship

The 2014–15 NIFL Championship (known as the Belfast Telegraph Championship for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the seventh season since its establishment after a major overhaul of the league system in Northern Ireland, and the second season that the league is being operated by the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL), which took over from the Irish Football Association (IFA) for the 2013–14 season onwards.[2] The season began on 8 August 2014 and concluded on 2 May 2015.

NIFL Championship
Season2014–15

Carrick Rangers won the Championship 1 title, winning promotion back to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in the 2011–12 season.[3] Bangor finished as runners-up – the Promotion/relegation play-off place – and faced Warrenpoint Town from the Premiership for a place in next season's Premiership.[4] After a 2–2 draw on aggregate after extra time, Warrenpoint Town won 3–1 on penalties and retained their Premiership status for next season.[5] In the bottom two, Dundela and PSNI were relegated to Championship 2. Lurgan Celtic and Annagh United replaced them in Championship 1, after finishing first and second in Championship 2. For the second successive season, a club was relegated to regional football. Ballymoney United finished bottom of Championship 2 and were relegated to a regional division for the following season.

Changes from 2013–14

Competition changes

League restructure proposals to be introduced over a three-season period were approved by the NIFL on 25 June 2014. The first phase, coming into effect this season, amended the Championship rules:

  • Promotion/relegation play-off – the highest ranked club with a Championship licence, finishing in positions 2–6 in Championship 1 will participate in a promotion/relegation play-off for a place in the Premiership. Prior to this season the club had to finish as runners-up to take part in the play-off.
  • Championship 2 – the bottom two clubs in this season's Championship 2 will be relegated to regional football. If there are no regional champions eligible for promotion, only the bottom club will be relegated. Championship 2 will reduce in size to 14 clubs in the 2015–16 season.

Team changes

Institute won the Championship 1 title, winning promotion back to the top flight for the first time since the 2009–10 season. They were replaced by Ards, after they had finished bottom of the NIFL Premiership.[6] In the bottom two, Limavady United and Coagh United were relegated to Championship 2. Armagh City and PSNI replaced them in Championship 1, after finishing first and second in Championship 2. For the first time since the Championship was inaugurated in 2008, a club was relegated to regional football. Killymoon Rangers finished bottom of Championship 2 and were relegated to the Ballymena & Provincial League for the following season. Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A side Dollingstown took their place in Championship 2, after winning the promotion play-off against Brantwood 6–4 on aggregate.[7] Also leaving Championship 2 was Chimney Corner. In July 2014, the club announced that they would be resigning from the Championship to join the Ballymena & Provincial League for the 2014–15 season.[8] No club replaced them in Championship 2, which meant that the division was reduced in size to 15 clubs.

Promoted from Championship 1 to the Premiership

Relegated from the Premiership to Championship 1

  • Ards (12th in NIFL Premiership)

Promoted from Championship 2 to Championship 1

Relegated from Championship 1 to Championship 2

Promoted from Mid-Ulster Football League to Championship 2

  • Dollingstown (1st in MUFL Intermediate A Division - promoted via play-off)

Relegated from Championship 2 to Ballymena & Provincial League

Championship 1
NIFL Championship 1
ChampionsCarrick Rangers
PromotedCarrick Rangers
RelegatedDundela
PSNI
Matches played182
Goals scored622 (3.42 per match)
Biggest home winBangor 8–0 PSNI
Biggest away winPSNI 0–7 Ards
Highest scoringLoughgall 2–7 Bangor

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in the 2014-15 NIFL Championship 1
Location of the Belfast-based teams in the NIFL Championship 1 2014-15
Club Stadium Location Capacity
ArdsClandeboye ParkBangor2,850 (500 seated)
Armagh CityHolm ParkArmagh3,000 (330 seated)
Ballyclare ComradesDixon ParkBallyclare1,800 (500 seated)
BangorClandeboye ParkBangor2,850 (500 seated)
Carrick RangersTaylors AvenueCarrickfergus6,000 (400 seated)
DergviewDarragh ParkCastlederg1,200 (100 seated)
Donegal CelticDonegal Celtic ParkBelfast2,330 (650 seated)
DundelaWilgar ParkBelfast2,500 (100 seated)
Harland & Wolff WeldersTillysburn ParkBelfast3,000 (100 seated)
KnockbredaBreda ParkKnockbreda1,000 (100 seated)
LarneInver ParkLarne1,100 (656 seated)
Lisburn DistilleryNew Grosvenor StadiumBallyskeagh7,000 (540 seated)
LoughgallLakeview ParkLoughgall3,000 (180 seated)
PSNINewforge LaneBelfast500 (112 seated)

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Carrick Rangers (C, P) 26 19 5 2 54 22 +32 62 Promotion to NIFL Premiership
2 Bangor 26 18 6 2 71 32 +39 60 Qualification to promotion play-off
3 Ards 26 16 8 2 61 30 +31 56
4 Harland & Wolff Welders 26 15 5 6 59 37 +22 50
5 Larne 26 13 3 10 52 36 +16 42
6 Dergview 26 8 9 9 40 43 −3 33
7 Armagh City 26 9 5 12 38 48 −10 32
8 Knockbreda 26 9 3 14 31 43 −12 30
9 Ballyclare Comrades 26 8 4 14 46 48 −2 28
10 Lisburn Distillery 26 8 4 14 38 58 −20 28
11 Loughgall 26 7 6 13 36 54 −18 27
12 Donegal Celtic 26 5 9 12 35 42 −7 24
13 PSNI (R) 26 6 5 15 27 64 −37 23 Relegation to NIFL Championship 2
14 Dundela (R) 26 3 4 19 34 65 −31 13
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Each team will play every other team twice (once at home, and once away) for a total of 26 games.

Home \ Away ARD ARM BCC BGR CRK DGV DGC DND H&W KNB LRN LIS LGL PSNI
Ards 4–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 2–0 2–1 4–0 5–1 2–1
Armagh City 1–1 3–1 1–2 0–2 1–1 3–2 5–2 0–1 2–0 2–4 3–1 1–0 1–2
Ballyclare Comrades 1–1 4–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–0 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–2 1–0
Bangor 2–3 2–0 3–1 1–1 4–1 4–2 3–1 2–2 4–2 1–1 3–2 2–1 8–0
Carrick Rangers 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–0 4–0 2–1 2–1 3–2 2–0 2–1
Dergview 2–2 2–0 5–3 0–3 0–0 3–3 2–1 1–2 1–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 2–0
Donegal Celtic 1–2 2–3 4–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–6 2–0 2–1 0–1 2–2 0–0
Dundela 1–3 1–1 0–3 3–3 2–5 1–0 3–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 3–4 4–0 1–3
Harland & Wolff Welders 1–2 0–2 4–3 0–1 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–3 3–2 3–0 4–1
Knockbreda 3–1 2–0 2–1 2–4 0–5 3–2 1–1 3–1 1–2 2–2 0–2 0–1 4–1
Larne 1–2 4–1 4–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–5 2–0 1–2 0–3 1–1
Lisburn Distillery 1–3 1–2 2–6 0–3 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–0 0–6 2–0 0–4 1–1 5–1
Loughgall 2–2 1–1 1–2 2–7 1–1 2–1 0–3 4–2 3–3 0–2 2–4 3–1 0–1
PSNI 0–7 3–3 0–4 2–1 1–3 1–1 1–3 3–1 0–2 0–0 0–3 3–1 1–4
Source: rsssf.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship 2
NIFL Championship 2
ChampionsLurgan Celtic
PromotedLurgan Celtic
Annagh United
RelegatedBallymoney United
Matches played210
Goals scored714 (3.4 per match)
Biggest home winLurgan Celtic 9–0 Coagh United
Biggest away winBallymoney United 0–6 Moyola Park
Annagh United 0–6
Limavady United
Highest scoringMoyola Park 2–7 Annagh United
Lurgan Celtic 9–0 Coagh United

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in the 2014-15 NIFL Championship 2
Location of the Belfast-based teams in the NIFL Championship 2 2014-15
Club Stadium Location Capacity
Annagh UnitedTandragee RoadPortadown1,250 (100 seated)
Ballymoney UnitedRiada StadiumBallymoney5,752 (218 seated)
Banbridge TownCrystal ParkBanbridge1,500 (100 seated)
Coagh UnitedHagan ParkCoagh2,000 (179 seated)
DollingstownPlanters ParkLurgan1,000 (100 seated)
Glebe RangersRiada StadiumBallymoney5,752 (218 seated)
Limavady UnitedThe ShowgroundsLimavady1,000 (174 seated)
Lurgan CelticKnockrammer ParkLurgan1,000 (100 seated)
Moyola ParkMill MeadowCastledawson1,000 (200 seated)
Newington YCSeaviewBelfast3,383 (all seated)
PortstewartSeahavenPortstewart1,000 (100 seated)
Queen's UniversityDub StadiumBelfast1,000 (100 seated)
Sport & Leisure SwiftsGlen Road HeightsBelfast500 (215 seated)
Tobermore UnitedFortwilliam ParkTobermore1,500 (100 seated)
WakehurstMill MeadowCastledawson1,000 (200 seated)

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Lurgan Celtic (C, P) 28 19 6 3 68 21 +47 63 Promotion to NIFL Championship 1
2 Annagh United (P) 28 18 4 6 73 46 +27 58
3 Limavady United 28 17 5 6 67 32 +35 56
4 Sport & Leisure Swifts 28 16 5 7 50 34 +16 53
5 Newington YC 28 15 5 8 40 29 +11 50
6 Moyola Park 28 14 6 8 58 44 +14 48
7 Dollingstown 28 12 7 9 53 39 +14 43
8 Portstewart 28 12 6 10 43 40 +3 42
9 Queen's University 28 11 7 10 48 34 +14 40
10 Tobermore United 28 9 7 12 48 45 +3 34
11 Banbridge Town 28 7 7 14 38 70 −32 28
12 Glebe Rangers 28 6 6 16 45 64 −19 24
13 Wakehurst 28 6 4 18 28 68 −40 22
14 Coagh United 28 3 6 19 29 72 −43 15
15 Ballymoney United (R) 28 2 5 21 26 76 −50 11 Relegation to Level 4 Regional league
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Each team plays every other team twice (once at home, and once away) for a total of 28 games.

Home \ Away ANN BMY BBT COA DOL GBE LIM LGC MOY NTN PST QUE SLS TOB WAK
Annagh United 5–1 0–0 3–2 4–3 5–3 0–6 1–1 1–2 3–2 3–1 1–2 3–4 2–1 2–3
Ballymoney United 3–5 3–3 3–0 2–6 1–1 2–3 0–5 0–6 0–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–2
Banbridge Town 0–4 1–1 4–3 0–4 3–1 0–1 0–0 3–4 0–3 0–2 0–0 3–2 4–1 3–2
Coagh United 0–3 1–1 1–3 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–4 1–1 3–3 0–1 1–4 0–2 2–2 1–0
Dollingstown 1–5 4–0 3–0 6–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–3 0–1
Glebe Rangers 1–2 2–2 4–0 3–1 1–1 4–1 1–0 3–3 0–1 1–4 0–4 0–3 1–3 8–0
Limavady United 2–2 3–0 3–0 4–0 3–1 2–0 3–4 3–2 2–0 1–2 2–2 3–0 2–0 1–1
Lurgan Celtic 4–0 2–0 2–3 9–0 2–0 4–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 2–1 5–0 2–2 1–0
Moyola Park 2–7 1–0 5–2 1–0 1–0 4–0 1–5 1–1 2–1 5–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 6–0
Newington YC 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–4 3–2 2–1 1–0 0–1 0–3 2–0
Portstewart 1–4 1–0 3–0 3–2 1–2 5–1 2–4 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–3 1–1 1–1 3–1
Queen's University 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 3–2 7–1
Sport & Leisure Swifts 0–0 7–0 4–2 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–0 4–1 2–0
Tobermore United 1–3 3–0 8–0 1–0 3–1 1–2 0–3 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–0
Wakehurst 0–3 4–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–1 1–6 0–3 1–2 0–2 0–0 3–2 1–2 2–3
Source: rsssf.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

References
  1. BELFAST TELEGRAPH SPONSOR THE IFA CHAMPIONSHIP Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "NORTHERN IRELAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE". NIFL Premiership.
  3. "Carrick Rangers are promoted to Irish Premiership". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. "Irish Premiership: Dungannon Swifts 1-1 Warrenpoint Town". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  5. "Premiership play-off: Warrenpoint beat Bangor on penalties". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  6. "Ards relegated as Bangor draw gifts promotion to Institute". BBC Sport. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. "Dollingstown win promotion". Lurgan Mail. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  8. "Corner step down from Championship football". Antrim Times. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
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