2006–07 Irish Premier League
The 2006–07 Irish Premier League was the fourth season of Northern Ireland's national football league in this format since its inception in 2003, and the 106th season of Irish league football overall.
| Season | 2006–07 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Linfield 47th Irish title |
| Relegated | Loughgall |
| UEFA Champions League | Linfield |
| UEFA Cup | Dungannon Swifts Glentoran |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | Cliftonville |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 736 (3.07 per match) |
← 2005–06 2007–08 → | |
The season began on 23 September 2006, and ended on 28 April 2007. Linfield was the defending champion, and successfully defended the title by 8 points to become champions for the 47th time. Loughgall was relegated after finishing bottom of the table, while Glenavon survived after beating Bangor 4–2 on penalties in the promotion play-off following a 1–1 draw on aggregate after extra time in the second leg.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield (C) | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 73 | 19 | +54 | 71 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Glentoran | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 63 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Cliftonville | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 61 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round |
| 4 | Portadown | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 26 | +23 | 58 | |
| 5 | Lisburn Distillery | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 48 | |
| 6 | Crusaders | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 47 | |
| 7 | Coleraine | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 45 | |
| 8 | Dungannon Swifts | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 44 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1] |
| 9 | Ballymena United | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 43 | |
| 10 | Limavady United | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 35 | |
| 11 | Armagh City | 30 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 42 | 68 | −26 | 35 | |
| 12 | Newry City | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 31 | |
| 13 | Donegal Celtic | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 27 | |
| 14 | Larne | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 33 | 60 | −27 | 26 | |
| 15 | Glenavon (O) | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 25 | Qualification to Promotion/relegation play-off |
| 16 | Loughgall (R) | 30 | 1 | 8 | 21 | 23 | 77 | −54 | 11 | Relegation to Intermediate League First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
- Since 2006–07 Irish Cup winners Linfield had qualified for the Champions League, Dungannon Swifts qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup as Irish Cup runners-up.
Promotion/relegation play-off
Glenavon, the club that finished in the relegation play-off place, faced Bangor, the runners-up of the 2006-07 Intermediate League First Division in a two-legged tie for a place in next season's Irish Premier League.
Glenavon won the tie 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw and retained their Premiership status.
1-1 on aggregate. Glenavon won 4–2 on penalties and remained in the Irish Premier League