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Longford Town F.C.

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Longford Town
Longford Town F.C. crest
Full nameLongford Town Football Club
Nickname(s)Town or De Town
Founded1924
GroundCity Calling Stadium, Longford,
County Longford
Capacity4,960
ChairmanJim Hanley
ManagerNeale Fenn
LeagueLeague of Ireland First Division
2018League of Ireland First Division, 5th of 10
Websitehttp://www.ltfc.ie

Longford Town Football Club (Template:Lang-ga) is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924[1] and elected to the league in 1984,[1] is based in Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Strokestown Road, which for sponsorship reasons is also known as 'City Calling Stadium'. Club colours are red and black, and the club goes by the nickname 'De Town'.

In October 2016, the club's senior side suffered relegation from the Premier Division at the end of a very disappointing 2016 season. Previously 'the Town' was promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 2014 season following a seven-year stint in the First Division.

History

Longford Town was founded in 1924 but had to wait 60 years for election to the League of Ireland in 1984. In their first season in the league they finished last in the Premier Division and were one of the four sides to be relegated to the newly created First Division for the following season.[1] In their second season they finished bottom of the First Division with only 7 points. They finished in the bottom six of the ten team First Division in each of the next eleven seasons. In the 1998–99 season they missed out a place in the promotion/relegation playoff by just four points. The following season saw a further improvement when they finished 2nd in the First Division and as a result won promotion to the Premier Division. Longford had a decent season in the Premier Division in 2000–01 finishing in mid-table. That season also saw the club reach the FAI Cup final for the first time where they lost 1–0 to Bohemian. As Bohemian also won the League title that season, Longford Town FC qualified to play in the UEFA Cup in July 2001. A meeting over 2 games with Bulgarian club side PFC Litex Lovech ended in a 3–1 aggregate victory for the Bulgarians.

Things were less comfortable in the league during the 2001–02 season after that as they ended up in the relegation/promotion playoff. They had to play Finn Harps and they survived in Premier Division just about. They won in a penalty shootout after the tie ended 3–3 on aggregate. After that tough season the club became an established top division team with four successive top six finishes in the four seasons immediately after that. They also reached three more FAI Cup finals winning two of them. In 2004 they produced a cup double by winning the League of Ireland Cup in addition to retaining the FAI Cup.[1] Because of their back-to-back FAI Cup successes the club entered European competition for two seasons in a row. On both occasions, however, they lost in their opening tie. In 2006 Longford finished in 8th place in the league. The 2007 season was a disappointing one for the midlands club as they finished last in the division and as a result were relegated. That is not the whole story, though, as the club were deducted six points during the season for failing to comply with club licensing procedures.[2] These six points proved crucial in the end, as without this deduction they would have finished safe from relegation and the relegation play-off. This cost the club dearly, as there followed six frustrating years in the First Division, before being promoted as champions at the end of the 2014 season. The title was clinched following a resounding 5–0 victory at home to Shamrock Rovers B on 3 October 2014.[3] In their first season back in the Premier Division, the Town finished off the 2015 season in 6th position. The 2016 league season was very disappointing with Longford finishing bottom and relegated back to the First Division.

European record

Last update: July 2005[4]

Record by competition

Competition Appearances Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 3 6 1 1 4 6 12

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2001–02 UEFA Cup 1QR Bulgaria PFC Litex Lovech 1–1 0–2 1–3
2004–05 UEFA Cup 1QR Liechtenstein FC Vaduz 2–3 0–1 2–4
2005–06 UEFA Cup 1QR Wales Carmarthen Town 1–5 2–0 3–5

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Ben Kelly
2 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Shane Elworthy
3 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Evan O'Connor
4 DF Germany GER Tristan Noack-Hofmann
5 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Daniel O'Reilly
6 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Dean Zambra (captain)
7 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Peter Hopkins
10 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Sam Verdon
11 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Jamie Doyle
12 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Eoin O'Neill
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Michael McDonnell
16 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Aodh Dervin
17 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jamie Hollywood
18 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Michael Kelly
19 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Karl Chambers
20 MF South Africa RSA Tumelo Tlou
21 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Darren Meenan
22 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Jackson Ryan
23 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Dylan McGlade

Coaching and medical staff

Position Staff
Manager Neale Fenn
Assistant Manager Daire Doyle
Goalkeeping Coach Gerard Mooney
Physio Albert Byrne
Masseur Willie Conlon
Kit Manager Ian Maher

Honours

Records

  • League victory: 7–1 v Athlone Town, 19 August 2017 and 6–0 v Shamrock Rovers F.C. B, 30 May 2014[1]
  • League defeat: 1–8 v Waterford United, 12 November 1989[1]
  • Points in a season: 70, 1999–00 [1]
  • League goals in a season (player): 24, David O'Sullivan, 2013 [1]
  • League goals: 69, David O'Sullivan, 2013–2017 [1]
  • League appearances: 250, Stephen O'Brien, 1998–2005 [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Longford Town Club Information". airtricityleague.ie. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Longford deducted six points for licensing indiscretion, eleven-a-side.com, 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2008
  3. ^ "Longford Town claim First Division crown and promotion". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Longford –". UEFA. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
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