2022–23 NIFL Premiership

Football league season
NIFL Premiership
Season2022–23
Dates12 Aug 2022 – 29 Apr 2023
ChampionsLarne
RelegatedPortadown
UEFA Champions LeagueLarne
UEFA Europa Conference LeagueLinfield
Crusaders (via Irish Cup)
Glentoran (via Play-offs)
Matches played57
Goals scored176 (3.09 per match)
Biggest home winLinfield 7–0 Newry City (18 March 2023)
Biggest away winPortadown 1–6 Linfield (28 January 2023)
Highest scoringCarrick Rangers 4–3 Crusaders (1 October 2022)
Highest attendance7,134 Linfield 0–3 Glentoran (14 October 2022)
Lowest attendance274 Carrick Rangers 3–0 Dungannon Swifts (15 October 2022)
← 2021–22
2023–24 →
All statistics correct as of 11 March 2023.

The 2022–23 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 122nd season of Irish League football overall, and the 10th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

Larne were champions, winning the Irish League for the first time. They became the 13th different club to win the league since 1890, and the first addition to the list of title-winners since Coleraine in 1974.

Summary

The 38-game season commenced on 12 August 2022 and concluded on 29 April 2023.

Linfield were the four-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous four seasons - the 2021–22 season seeing them win a world record 56th league crown.

Larne became the champions and entered the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, clinching their first league title on 14 April 2023 with a 2–0 win over Crusaders.[1] The runners-up (Linfield), the Irish Cup winners (Crusaders), and the play-off winners (Glentoran) entered the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

Teams

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2022–23 NIFL Irish Premiership teams
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Belfast-based 2022–23 NIFL Irish Premiership teams

Twelve teams competed in this season's Premiership, eleven of which returned from the previous season. Warrenpoint Town finished bottom of the table the previous season, and were relegated to the NIFL Championship after five years as a Premiership club, with Championship winners Newry City promoted to replace them for this season's Premiership. 11th-placed Portadown retained their Premiership status after defeating Annagh United 4–2 on aggregate in the Premiership play-off.

Stadia and locations

Club Stadium Location Capacity[2][3]
Ballymena United The Showgrounds Ballymena 3,824 (all seated)
Carrick Rangers Loughshore Hotel Arena Carrickfergus 2,100 (380 seated)
Cliftonville Solitude Belfast 3,054 (all seated)
Coleraine The Showgrounds Coleraine 4,843 (1,607 seated)
Crusaders Seaview Belfast 3,208 (all seated)
Dungannon Swifts Stangmore Park Dungannon 2,000 (300 seated)
Glenavon Mourneview Park Lurgan 3,302 (all seated)
Glentoran The Oval Belfast 6,054 (3,991 seated)
Larne Inver Park Larne 2,732 (1,632 seated)
Linfield Windsor Park Belfast 18,434 (all seated)
Newry City The Showgrounds Newry 2,275 (1,080 seated)
Portadown Shamrock Park Portadown 3,940 (2,765 seated)

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Larne (C) 38 25 8 5 64 22 +42 83 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Linfield 38 23 8 7 75 27 +48 77 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3 Glentoran (O) 38 23 5 10 77 28 +49 74 Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs
4 Cliftonville 38 20 8 10 66 53 +13 68
5 Crusaders 38 19 10 9 72 45 +27 67 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[b]
6 Coleraine 38 18 8 12 59 39 +20 62 Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs
7 Glenavon 38 14 10 14 58 61 −3 52 Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs
8 Carrick Rangers 38 12 4 22 45 74 −29 40
9 Ballymena United 38 11 6 21 37 55 −18 39
10 Newry City 38 9 3 26 37 71 −34 30
11 Dungannon Swifts (O) 38 9 3 26 28 84 −56 30 Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off
12 Portadown (R) 38 6 5 27 29 88 −59 23 Relegation to the NIFL Championship
Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway
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) Drawing of lots[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ Crusaders entered the Europa Conference League first qualifying round as 2022–23 Irish Cup winners.


Results

Matches 1–22

During matches 1–22 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).

Home \ Away BYM CRK CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT LAR LIN NEW POR
Ballymena United — 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–4 3–0 2–0
Carrick Rangers 0–2 — 3–3 2–4 4–3 3–0 1–1 1–5 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–0
Cliftonville 4–0 3–2 — 2–2 0–0 4–2 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 4–1
Coleraine 2–0 1–0 3–1 — 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 4–0
Crusaders 3–0 3–0 3–0 2–0 — 5–1 3–2 3–2 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–1
Dungannon Swifts 0–2 4–1 0–2 0–5 0–2 — 1–0 0–1 0–3 0–1 2–0 2–0
Glenavon 3–2 2–2 0–1 0–0 4–2 5–0 — 2–1 1–2 1–6 1–5 2–1
Glentoran 1–0 5–0 0–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 — 4–0 1–2 3–0 5–1
Larne 3–0 0–0 4–0 2–0 4–1 4–0 3–0 0–0 — 0–0 2–0 2–0
Linfield 3–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 3–2 0–3 2–4 — 7–0 4–0
Newry City 3–2 4–1 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 — 3–0[a]
Portadown 1–0 1–3 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 0–3 1–3 —
Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway
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.
Notes:
  1. ^ Originally a 1–3 win for Portadown; Newry City awarded a 3–0 win after Portadown fielded an ineligible player.

Matches 23–33

During matches 23–33 each team plays every other team for the third time (either at home or away).

Home \ Away BYM CRK CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT LAR LIN NEW POR
Ballymena United — — 4–1 — — — 0–1 1–3 — 0–2 0–0 0–0
Carrick Rangers 1–0 — — 0–1 0–3 — — 0–4 2–3 — — 2–0
Cliftonville — 1–0 — — — 1–2 — 2–1 — — 2–0 3–0
Coleraine 3–1 — 2–4 — 2–0 — — 2–2 — — 1–0 4–1
Crusaders 0–1 — 2–2 — — 3–0 — — — 2–0 3–1 4–0
Dungannon Swifts 1–1 0–1 — 0–3 — — 2–1 — — 0–5 — —
Glenavon — 4–2 1–3 2–1 2–2 — — — 0–1 — 0–2 —
Glentoran — — — — 2–0 6–0 0–2 — 0–1 3–0 — —
Larne 1–0 — 2–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 — — — — — —
Linfield — 2–0 1–0 2–0 — — 2–1 — 1–0 — — —
Newry City — 0–2 — — — 0–2 — 1–3 0–0 1–3 — 3–4
Portadown — — — — — 3–1 3–1 0–2 0–5 1–6 — —
Source: Northern Ireland Football League
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.

Matches 34–38

For the final five matches, the table splits into two halves, with the top six teams forming Section A and the bottom six teams forming Section B. Each team plays every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures are reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams have played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.

Section A

Home \ Away CLF COL CRU GLT LAR LIN
Cliftonville — 2–2 3–3 — 0–2 0–2
Coleraine — — — — 3–0 0–1
Crusaders — 3–1 — 1–2 0–2 —
Glentoran 3–0 3–0 — — — —
Larne — — — 2–0 — 1–1
Linfield — — 0–0 1–1 — —
Source: Northern Ireland Football League
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.

Section B

Home \ Away BYM CRK DUN GLA NEW POR
Ballymena United — 1–0 2–0 — — —
Carrick Rangers — — 2–0 1–3 0–2 —
Dungannon Swifts — — — — 2–1 3–2
Glenavon 3–2 — 1–1 — — 0–0
Newry City 2–2 — — 0–1 — —
Portadown 1–0 3–1 — — 0–1 —
Source: Northern Ireland Football League
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.

Play-offs

UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs

Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place compete for one place in the 2023–24 Europa Conference League first qualifying round. The play-offs are one-off matches with extra time and penalties used to determine the winner if necessary, with the higher-ranked teams given home advantage against the lower-ranked teams (i.e. 3rd v. 7th and 5th v. 6th) in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also gains home advantage in the final.

Semi-finals

Cliftonville v Coleraine
10 May 2023 Cliftonville 2–1ColeraineSolitude
19:45 BST (UTC+01) Curran 4'
Doherty 20'		 Shevlin 72'
Glentoran v Glenavon
10 May 2023 Glentoran 5–0GlenavonThe Oval
19:45 BST (UTC+01) McCullough 3'
McMenamin 35'
Garrett 53' (o.g.)
J. Donnelly 73'
R. Donnelly 78'

Final

Glentoran v Cliftonville
13 May 2023 Glentoran 2–0CliftonvilleThe Oval
16:30 BST (UTC+01) Ogedi-Uzokwe 35' (pen.), 40'

NIFL Premiership play-off

The eleventh-placed club (Dungannon Swifts) were expected to face the second-placed club from the 2022–23 NIFL Championship (Warrenpoint Town) for one place in the following season's Premiership. However, Warrenpoint Town were denied an NIFL Premiership license on 27 April 2023 and were unsuccessful in their appeal, being replaced by the third-placed club from the NIFL Championship (Annagh United).[5]

First leg

Annagh United v Dungannon Swifts
30 May 2023 Annagh United 2–1 Dungannon Swifts BMG Arena
19:45 BST (UTC+01) Ruddy 4' (o.g.)
Taylor 70'		 Animasahun 3'

Second leg

Dungannon Swifts v Annagh United
1 June 2023 Dungannon Swifts 2–0
(3–2 agg.)		 Annagh United Stangmore Park
19:45 BST (UTC+01) McGee 13'
O'Connor 69'

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals[6]
1 Northern Ireland Matthew Shevlin Coleraine 23
2 Northern Ireland Matthew Fitzpatrick Glenavon 19
3 Republic of Ireland Ronan Hale Cliftonville 18
5 Finland Eetu Vertainen Linfield 17
Northern Ireland Philip Lowry Crusaders
6 Northern Ireland Lee Bonis Larne 15
7 Northern Ireland Ryan Curran Cliftonville 14
8 Northern Ireland Paul O'Neill Larne 13
10 Northern Ireland Jay Donnelly Glentoran 12
Northern Ireland Joel Cooper Linfield

Clean sheets

Rank Goalkeeper Club Clean sheets[6]
1 Scotland Rohan Ferguson Larne 23
2 Northern Ireland Chris Johns Linfield 21
3 Republic of Ireland Aaron McCarey Glentoran 17
4 Northern Ireland Jonathan Tuffey Crusaders 14
6 Northern Ireland Nathan Gartside Cliftonville 12
Northern Ireland Gareth Deane Coleraine
7 Northern Ireland Ross Glendinning Carrick Rangers 9
8 Northern Ireland Sean O'Neill Ballymena United 8
9 Northern Ireland Rory Brown Glenavon 7
10 Northern Ireland Martin Gallagher Coleraine 6

References

  1. ^ "Larne secure historic first Irish League title". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 April 2023.
  2. ^ "AQW 1178/11". niassembly.gov.uk. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Sport NI Annual review 2008/09" (PDF). sportni.net. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  4. ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Premiership Play-Off postponed after Warrenpoint Town denied playing license by Irish FA". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast Telegraph. 27 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "NIFL Premiership Statistics". NI Football League. Retrieved 15 May 2023.

External links

  • Official website
  • v
  • t
  • e
Irish League
Irish Premier LeagueIFA PremiershipNIFL PremiershipBelfast & District League (wartime)
  • 1915–16
  • 1916–17
  • 1917–18
  • 1918–19
Northern Regional League (wartime)
  • 1940–41
  • 1941–42
  • 1942–43
  • 1943–44
  • 1944–45
  • 1945–46
  • 1946–47
  • v
  • t
  • e
2022–23 in Northern Irish association football
Domestic leagues
Domestic cups
European competitions
Related to national team
Club seasons
Premiership
  • v
  • t
  • e
2022–23 in European men's football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues
Domestic cups
League cups
Supercups
UEFA competitions
International competitions
  • v
  • t
  • e
National teams
Leagues
Men
Women
  • Women's Premiership
  • Championship 1
  • Championship 2
Domestic cups
Men
Women
Defunct leagues
Defunct cups
Awards
Portals:
  • icon Association football
  • icon Northern Ireland