2021 League of Ireland Premier Division

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season	2021
Dates	19 March – 19 November 2021
Champions	Shamrock Rovers (19th title)
Relegated	Longford Town F.C., Waterford
Champions League	Shamrock Rovers
Europa Conference League	St Patrick's Athletic; Sligo Rovers; Derry City
Matches played	180
Goals scored	458 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorer	Georgie Kelly (21 goals)
Biggest home win	Bohemians 5–0 Drogheda United; (18 June 2021), Finn Harps 5-0 Longford Town ; (19 November 2021)
Biggest away win	Waterford 0–7 Drogheda United; (8 May 2021)
Highest scoring	Waterford 0–7 Drogheda United; (8 May 2021)
Longest winning run	Shamrock Rovers (7 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Shamrock Rovers (11 games)
Longest winless run	Longford Town (25 games)
Longest losing run	Waterford (7 games); Longford Town (7 games)
Highest attendance	7,765 Shamrock Rovers 2-1 Drogheda United; (19 November 2021)
Lowest attendance	0
	← 2020 2022 → All statistics correct as of 20 November 2021.

The 2021 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons,^[1] was the 37th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985. Shamrock Rovers were the defending champions,^[2] having won their sixth league title the previous season. Shamrock Rovers went on to retain the title.^[3]^[4]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports in the Republic of Ireland, the FAI met with the National League Executive Committee on 2 January 2021 and a decision was reached to move the start date for the Premier Division until at least 19 March 2021.^[5]

Teams

Ten teams compete in the league – the top eight teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams are Drogheda United and Longford Town, after respective top flight absences of four and five years. They replaced Cork City (relegated after nine years in the top flight), and Shelbourne (relegated via play-off after only a year back in the top flight).^[6]^[7]

Stadiums and locations

Dublin

Dublin teams
Bohemians
Shamrock Rovers
St Patrick's Athletic

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Locations of Premier Division teams

Bohemians

St Patrick's Athletic

Shamrock Rovers

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Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Bohemians	Dublin (Phibsborough)	Dalymount Park	3,640
Derry City	Derry	Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium	3,700
Drogheda United	Drogheda	Head In The Game Park	3,500
Dundalk	Dundalk	Oriel Park	4,500
Finn Harps	Ballybofey	Finn Park	6,000
Longford Town	Longford	Bishopsgate	5,097
St Patrick's Athletic	Dublin (Inchicore)	Richmond Park	5,340
Shamrock Rovers	Dublin (Tallaght)	Tallaght Stadium	8,000
Sligo Rovers	Sligo	The Showgrounds	3,873
Waterford	Waterford	Regional Sports Centre	5,500

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
Bohemians	Keith Long	Keith Buckley	O'Neills	Des Kelly Interiors
Derry City	Ruaidhrí Higgins	Eoin Toal	Adidas	Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United	Tim Clancy	Jake Hyland	Umbro	Scotch Hall Shopping Center
Dundalk	Vinny Perth	Brian Gartland	Umbro	Bet Regal
Finn Harps	Ollie Horgan	David Webster	Joma	Guild Esports
Longford Town	John Martin	Dean Zambra	Macron	Bishopsgate
St Patrick's Athletic	Stephen O'Donnell	Ian Bermingham	Umbro	MIG Insurance Brokers
Shamrock Rovers	Stephen Bradley	Ronan Finn	Umbro	888sport
Sligo Rovers	Liam Buckley	David Cawley	Joma	Avant Money
Waterford	Marc Bircham	Oscar Brennan	Umbro	WIT Arena

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Dundalk	Filippo Giovagnoli	Change of role	10 March 2021	Pre-season	Shane Keegan	10 March 2021
Dundalk	Shane Keegan	Resigned	19 April 2021	9th	Jim Magilton (interim)	19 April 2021
Derry City	Declan Devine	Sacked	22 April 2021	10th	Ruaidhrí Higgins	23 April 2021
Waterford	Kevin Sheedy	Resigned	5 May 2021	10th	Mike Geoghegan (interim)	5 May 2021
Waterford	Mike Geoghegan (interim)	End of interim spell	12 May 2021	10th	Marc Bircham	12 May 2021
Dundalk	Jim Magilton (interim)	End of interim spell	16 June 2021	8th	Vinny Perth	16 June 2021
Longford Town	Daire Doyle	Sacked	2 November 2021	10th	John Martin (interim)	2 November 2021
Waterford	Marc Bircham	Sacked	23 November 2021	9th	Ian Hendon	24 November 2021

League table

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Shamrock Rovers (C)	36	24	6	6	59	28	+31	78	Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2	St Patrick's Athletic	36	18	8	10	56	42	+14	62	Qualification for Europa Conference League second qualifying round^[a]
3	Sligo Rovers	36	16	9	11	43	32	+11	57	Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round
4	Derry City	36	14	12	10	49	42	+7	54
5	Bohemians	36	14	10	12	60	46	+14	52
6	Dundalk	36	13	9	14	44	46	−2	48
7	Drogheda United	36	12	8	16	45	43	+2	44
8	Finn Harps	36	11	11	14	44	52	−8	44
9	Waterford (R)	36	12	6	18	36	56	−20	42	Qualification for relegation play-offs
10	Longford Town (R)	36	2	9	25	22	71	−49	15	Relegation to League of Ireland First Division

Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.^[8]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Since the winners of the 2021 FAI Cup (St Patrick's Athletic) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team, i.e. fourth-placed team.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Team ╲ Round
Bohemians	8	7	9	6	6	6	6	8	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	5
Derry City	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	6	7	6	6	7	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	4
Drogheda United	2	5	6	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	4	5	5	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7
Dundalk	4	7	8	9	9	8	7	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	7	6	7	7	6	7	7	7	9	9	9	9	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6
Finn Harps	2	1	1	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	9	9	9	8	8	8
Longford Town	1	2	4	7	7	7	9	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
St Patrick's Athletic	4	3	1	1	2	3	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Shamrock Rovers	4	6	5	5	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Sligo Rovers	4	3	1	3	3	1	3	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	2	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Waterford	8	9	7	8	8	9	8	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	9	8	8	8	8	9	9	8	8	8	9	9	9

Source: Extratime.com
= Leader and UEFA Champions League first qualifying round; = UEFA Conference League first qualifying round; = Qualification to the Relegation play-offs; = Relegation to the League of Ireland First Division

Results

Teams will play each other four times (twice at home, twice away).

Matches 1–18

Home \ Away	BOH	DER	DRO	DUN	FHA	LON	SHM	SLI	STP	WAT
Bohemians	—	1–2	5–0	5–1	4–0	2–2	1–0	1–3	0–1	3–0
Derry City	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–2
Drogheda United	1–1	1–2	—	0–1	1–1	4–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–0
Dundalk	0–1	2–1	2–1	—	1–2	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	1–3
Finn Harps	1–0	1–2	0–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	2–1
Longford Town	0–2	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–0	—	0–1	0–1	1–3	1–2
Shamrock Rovers	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	—	0–1	1–1	3–0
Sligo Rovers	4–0	0–1	1–2	1–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	3–0*
St Patrick's Athletic	2–1	2–0	2–1	0–2	4–1	3–0	1–2	2–0	—	1–0
Waterford	0–1	0–1	0–7	0–3	1–2	1–0	1–4	1–2	1–1	—

Source: [1], Extratime.ie
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

*Note Sligo Rovers were awarded a 3–0 victory by the FAI after Waterford opted out of playing the game due to COVID-19 cases in their squad.^[9]

Matches 19–36

Home \ Away	BOH	DER	DRO	DUN	FHA	LON	SHM	SLI	STP	WAT
Bohemians	—	3–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	3–1	1–0	3–2	1–2
Derry City	1–1	—	3–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	2–4	2–0	1–0	2–0
Drogheda United	3–2	1–0	—	0–1	3–1	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–2
Dundalk	2–1	1–2	1–2	—	1–0	2–0	1–0	4–1	1–4	1–0
Finn Harps	1–2	1–1	0–0	2–2	—	5–0	2–1	2–2	3–1	0–1
Longford Town	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–0	0–3	—	0–1	0–1	1–4	1–1
Shamrock Rovers	1–1	2–1	2–1	3–1	3–0	1–0	—	2–0	3–1	2–0
Sligo Rovers	1–1	1–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	—	2–0	1–1
St Patrick's Athletic	2–2	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–2	3–2	0–1	0–3	—	2–1
Waterford	1–0	2–2	1–0	1–1	4–1	4–1	1–3	1–0	0–0	—

Source: [2], Extratime.ie
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Georgie Kelly	Bohemians	21
2	Danny Mandroiu	Shamrock Rovers	15
3	Mark Doyle	Drogheda United	13
4	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk	12
5	Matty Smith	St Patrick's Athletic	11
	Johnny Kenny	Sligo Rovers
	Graham Burke	Shamrock Rovers
8	John Martin	Waterford	10
8	Tunde Owolabi	Finn Harps	10
10	Chris Lyons	Drogheda United	9
10	Liam Burt	Bohemians	9

Clean sheets

Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021.

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Alan Mannus	Shamrock Rovers	13
2	Ed McGinty	Sligo Rovers	12
3	Vítězslav Jaroš	St Patrick's Athletic	11
4	Nathan Gartside	Derry City	9
5	James Talbot	Bohemians	8
6	David Odumosu	Drogheda United	7
7	Mark McGinley	Finn Harps	6
8	Peter Cherrie	Dundalk	5
9	Brian Murphy	Waterford	3
9	Alessio Abibi	Dundalk	3

Play-offs

First Division play-off Semi-finals

First leg

3 November 2021	Bray Wanderers	0–0	Galway United	Carlisle Grounds
19:45 IST

3 November 2021	Treaty United	0–3	UCD	Markets Field
19:45 IST			Tadhg Ryan 34' (o.g.) Colm Whelan 79', 92'

Second leg

7 November 2021	Galway United	0–1 (0–1 agg.)	Bray Wanderers	Eamonn Deacy Park
17:00 IST			Brandon Kavanagh 22'

7 November 2021	UCD	1–2 (4–2 agg.)	Treaty United	UCD Bowl
17:00 IST	Adam Verdon 67'		Conor Melody 8' Anthony O’Donnell 52'

First Division play-off Final

19 November 2021	Bray Wanderers	0–2	UCD	Dalymount Park
19:45 IST			Colm Whelan 68' Paul Doyle 86'	Referee: Oliver Moran

Promotion/relegation play-off

26 November 2021	Waterford	1–2	UCD	Richmond Park
19:45 IST	Anthony Wordsworth 5' Niall O'Keeffe 87'	Report	Dara Keane 26' Colm Whelan 34'	Referee: Paul McLaughlin

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		Ref.
Month	Player	Club	Ref.
March/April	Chris Forrester	St Patrick's Athletic	^[10]
May	Greg Bolger	Sligo Rovers	^[11]
June	Georgie Kelly	Bohemians	^[12]
July	Dawson Devoy	Bohemians	^[13]
August	Ali Coote	Bohemians	^[14]
September	Georgie Kelly	Bohemians	^[15]
October	Danny Mandroiu	Shamrock Rovers	^[16]
November	Colm Whelan	UCD	^[17]

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
PFAI Player of the Year	Georgie Kelly	Bohemians
PFAI Young Player of the Year	Dawson Devoy	Bohemians
PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year	Stephen Bradley	Shamrock Rovers

PFAI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	James Talbot (Bohemians)
Defenders	Ronan Boyce (Derry City)	Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers)	Liam Scales (Shamrock Rovers)		James Brown (Drogheda United)
Midfielders	Chris Forrester (St Patrick's Athletic)	Dawson Devoy (Bohemians)		Will Patching (Derry City/Dundalk)
Forwards	Rory Gaffney (Shamrock Rovers)	Georgie Kelly (Bohemians)		Liam Burt (Bohemians)

References

^ "SSE Airtricity extends title sponsorship of League of Ireland". The Irish Times. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
^ "Shamrock Rovers crowned champions and Cork City relegated after Finn Harps win over Bohs". The 42.ie. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
^ "Shamrock Rovers ease past Harps to claim 19th league title". RTE Sport. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^ "Shamrock Rovers claim 19th Premier Division title with victory over Finn Harps". Irish Independent. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^ "League of Ireland season deferred until mid-March". RTÉ.ie. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
^ "Drogheda seal promotion as play-off places are decided". RTÉ.ie. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
^ "Longford earn promotion as Shels' collapse completed". RTÉ.ie. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
^ "Premier Division 2021". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ "Sligo Rovers awarded victory following Waterford withdrawal due to Covid-cases". rte.ie. RTÉ. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
^ "CHRIS FORRESTER NAMED SSE AIRTRICITY/SWI APRIL PLAYER OF THE MONTH". 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
^ "Bolger lands monthly honour after leading Sligo top". RTÉ.ie. 10 June 2021.
^ "Free-scoring Georgie Kelly named League of Ireland Player of the Month". 6 July 2021.
^ "Bohs' teen sensation Dawson Devoy recognised after a string of outstanding performances". 10 August 2021.
^ Team, The42 (8 September 2021). "Bohemians winger Ali Coote named Player of the Month after excellent August". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Kelly lands monthly award as Bohs make it four on spin". RTÉ.ie. 14 October 2021.
^ "Mandroiu finally lands monthly honour for Hoops". 9 November 2021 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Ireland U21 striker Whelan named November's Player of the Month after netting 25 goals in 2021". 7 December 2021.

External links

[table_note_res_ECL2Q0.46632725394626-8] Since the winners of the 2021 FAI Cup (St Patrick's Athletic) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team, i.e. fourth-placed team.

[1] "SSE Airtricity extends title sponsorship of League of Ireland". The Irish Times. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

[2] "Shamrock Rovers crowned champions and Cork City relegated after Finn Harps win over Bohs". The 42.ie. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

[3] "Shamrock Rovers ease past Harps to claim 19th league title". RTE Sport. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

[4] "Shamrock Rovers claim 19th Premier Division title with victory over Finn Harps". Irish Independent. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

[5] "League of Ireland season deferred until mid-March". RTÉ.ie. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

[6] "Drogheda seal promotion as play-off places are decided". RTÉ.ie. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

[7] "Longford earn promotion as Shels' collapse completed". RTÉ.ie. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

[9] "Premier Division 2021". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[10] "Sligo Rovers awarded victory following Waterford withdrawal due to Covid-cases". rte.ie. RTÉ. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.

[11] "CHRIS FORRESTER NAMED SSE AIRTRICITY/SWI APRIL PLAYER OF THE MONTH". 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

[12] "Bolger lands monthly honour after leading Sligo top". RTÉ.ie. 10 June 2021.

[13] "Free-scoring Georgie Kelly named League of Ireland Player of the Month". 6 July 2021.

[14] "Bohs' teen sensation Dawson Devoy recognised after a string of outstanding performances". 10 August 2021.

[15] Team, The42 (8 September 2021). "Bohemians winger Ali Coote named Player of the Month after excellent August". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[16] "Kelly lands monthly award as Bohs make it four on spin". RTÉ.ie. 14 October 2021.

[17] "Mandroiu finally lands monthly honour for Hoops". 9 November 2021 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[18] "Ireland U21 striker Whelan named November's Player of the Month after netting 25 goals in 2021". 7 December 2021.

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