2008 A Championship
The 2008 A Championship was the inaugural season of the A Championship. The league featured 16 teams. UCD A were the inaugural champions, Cork City A won the Shield competition and Mervue United were promoted to the First Division after a play off.
| Season | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Champions | UCD A |
| Promoted | Mervue United |
2009 → | |
A Championship Shield
Between March and June the twelve League of Ireland Premier Division reserve teams competed in the A Championship Shield. Mervue United, Salthill Devon and Tullamore Town did not play in the Shield as they were still playing in their previous junior/intermediate leagues which operated as winter leagues. This resulted in an overlap with the A Championship which operated as a summer league. The twelve teams were divided into four regionalised groups with the group winners then qualifying for the semi-finals. [1][2]
- Group Stage
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cork City A | Bray Wanderers A | Bohemians A | Finn Harps A |
| Cobh Ramblers A | St Patrick's Athletic A | Drogheda United A | Derry City A |
| Galway United A | UCD A | Shamrock Rovers A | Sligo Rovers A |
- Semi-finals
| ? May 2008 | Finn Harps A | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Bohemians A [2] |
| May 25 2008 | Cork City A | 3–2 | Bray Wanderers A | Bishopstown Stadium[2] |
- Final
| 2 June 2008 | Cork City A | 2–0 | Bohemians A | Buckley Park [3][4][2] |
Tierney  Meyler (pen) |
Regular season
The regular season saw the twelve League of Ireland Premier Division reserve teams joined by Limerick 37 A plus the first teams of Mervue United, Salthill Devon and Tullamore Town. The format saw the sixteen teams split into two groups of eight, divided roughly into southern and northern groups. The two groups used a traditional round-robin format. The two group winners, UCD A and Bohemians A, then played off in a final. UCD won the inaugural title. As the highest placed non-reserve team, Mervue United qualified for a promotion/relegation play-off and after defeating Kildare County, they were promoted to the League of Ireland First Division. [5][6][7]
Teams
| Team | Base | Manager | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians A | Phibsborough | AUL Complex | |
| Derry City A | Derry | Brandywell Stadium | |
| Drogheda United A | Drogheda | United Park | |
| Finn Harps A | Ballybofey | Finn Park | |
| Mervue United | Galway |  Johnny Glynn | Fahy's Field |
| Salthill Devon | Salthill | Emlyn Long | Drom Soccer Park |
| Shamrock Rovers A | Drumcondra | Tolka Park | |
| Sligo Rovers A | Sligo | Showgrounds |
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bohemians A | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 12 | +22 | 32[lower-alpha 1] | A Championship play-off final |
| 2 | Finn Harps A | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 28 | |
| 3 | Mervue United (P) | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 20 | Promoted to First Division after play-off |
| 4 | Drogheda United A | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 17[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 5 | Shamrock Rovers A | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 16 | |
| 6 | Sligo Rovers A | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 15 | |
| 7 | Derry City A | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 34 | −18 | 13 | |
| 8 | Salthill Devon | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 31 | −18 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted.
Notes:
- Bohemians A and Drogheda United A were both deducted 3 points for fielding ineligible players.
Results
Teams
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCD A | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 52 | 8 | +44 | 33 | A Championship play-off final |
| 2 | Cork City A | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 24 | |
| 3 | Galway United A | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 22 | |
| 4 | Bray Wanderers A | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 20 | +11 | 21 | |
| 5 | St Patrick's Athletic A | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 19 | |
| 6 | Cobh Ramblers A | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 17[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 7 | Limerick 37 A | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 33 | −16 | 14 | |
| 8 | Tullamore Town | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 60 | −53 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- Cobh Ramblers A were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player.
Results
Play-Offs
A Championship Final
Bohemians A and UCD A competed in a playoff to decide the overall A Championship title. UCD A won 2–1.
| 11 November 2008 | UCD A | 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Bohemians A | UCD Bowl |
| 19.45 GMT | D. McMillan 85' E. McMillan 107' |
Madden 37' Ryan  Ennis |
Promotion/Relegation
Kildare County and Mervue United, the highest ranked non-reserve team from the A Championship, played off to see who would play in the 2009 First Division.
| 18 November 2008 | Mervue United | 2 – 2 | Kildare County | Fahy's Field |
| 20:00 | Keogh 10' Goldbey 28' |
Hughes 54' 76' |
Referee: Pádraig Sutton (Clare) |
| 21 November 2008 | Kildare County | 0 – 3 | Mervue United | Station Road |
| 19:45 | O'Brien 15' Goldbey 64' 81' |
Referee: Sean Grant (Wexford) |
Mervue United won 5–2 on aggregate and were promoted to the First Division. [5][7]
See also
References
- "A Championship Shield 2008 pg1". foot.ie. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- "A Championship Shield 2008 pg2". foot.ie. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- "Cork City Football Club Honours List". www.corkcityfc.ie. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- "Results". www.irishexaminer.com. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- "Ireland 2008". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- "UCD claim A Championship title". www.ucd.ie. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- "Kildare County 0-3 Mervue United (Mervue win 5-2)". www.rte.ie. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- "UCD v Bohemians - A Championship Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2016.