2017–18 NIFL Championship
# 2017–18 NIFL Championship

The 2017–18 NIFL Championship was the second season of the second-tier Irish League since gaining senior status.

## Teams

The 2017–18 NIFL Championship was contested by 12 teams. Warrenpoint Town were champions in the previous season and were promoted to the 2017–18 NIFL Premiership. Runners-up Institute won 3–2 on aggregate in the promotion pre-play-off against third-placed Ballyclare Comrades, but were defeated 5–2 on aggregate by Carrick Rangers in the Premiership play-off, therefore remaining in the Championship for this season.

The bottom team from the previous season, Annagh United, were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League. They were replaced by Limavady United, winners of the Premier Intermediate League. In addition, the eleventh-placed team from the previous season, Armagh City, were relegated and replaced by third-tier runners-up Newry City, against whom they lost a two-legged play-off.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Ballyclare Comrades | Ballyclare | Dixon Park | 5,333 |
| Dergview | Castlederg | Darragh Park | 1,200 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | Belfast | Tillysburn Park | 3,000 |
| Institute | Drumahoe | YMCA Grounds | 1,570 |
| Knockbreda | Belfast | Breda Park | 1,000 |
| Larne | Larne | Inver Park | 3,000 |
| Limavady United | Limavady | The Showgrounds | 524 |
| Loughgall | Loughgall | Lakeview Park | 3,000 |
| Lurgan Celtic | Lurgan | Knockramer Park | 1,000 |
| Newry City | Newry | The Showgrounds | 2,275 |
| PSNI | Belfast | Newforge Lane | 1,500 |
| Portadown | Shamrock Park | Portadown | 3,940 (2,765 seated) |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Institute (C, P) | 32 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 68 | Promotion to the NIFL Premiership |
| 2 | Newry City (O, P) | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 59 | Qualification for the promotion play-off |
| 3 | Harland & Wolff Welders | 32 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 56 | |
| 4 | Portadown | 32 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 61 | 36 | +25 | 51 | |
| 5 | Ballyclare Comrades | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 48 | |
| 6 | Loughgall | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 38 | |
| 7 | Larne | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 47 | |
| 8 | PSNI | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 41 | |
| 9 | Limavady United | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 58 | −6 | 37 | |
| 10 | Knockbreda | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 36 | |
| 11 | Dergview (O) | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 36 | Qualification for the relegation play-off |
| 12 | Lurgan Celtic (R) | 32 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 32 | 102 | −70 | 16 | Relegation to the NIFL Premier Intermediate League |

* ↑ Teams played each other twice (22 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last ten matches.
* ↑ Harland & Wolff Welders were ineligible for the promotion play-offs, as they did not apply for the Promotion Licence required for promotion to the NIFL Premiership.

## Results

### Matches 1–22

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

| Home \ Away | BCC | DGV | H&W | INS | KNB | LAR | LIM | LOU | LGC | NEW | POR | PSN |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ballyclare Comrades | — | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Dergview | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | 1–0 | 5–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–3 | 6–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Institute | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Knockbreda | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Larne | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Limavady United | 3–5 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Loughgall | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 2–1 |
| Lurgan Celtic | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Newry City | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 5–0 | — | 1–4 | 1–2 |
| Portadown | 1–2 | 7–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 1–4 | — | 3–0 |
| PSNI | 5–0 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — |

### Matches 23–32

During matches 23–32 each team played every other team in their half of the table twice (home and away).

## Play-offs

### NIFL Premiership play-offs

The runners-up and third-placed teams from the Championship were set to take part (over two legs) in the Championship promotion pre-play-off. However, the third-placed team, Harland and Wolff Welders, did not apply for a Premiership licence, so the second-placed team Newry City moved directly into the play-off final.

### NIFL Championship play-off

The eleventh-placed team from the Championship, Dergview, played the runners-up from the 2017–18 Premier Intermediate League, Queen's University, over two legs for one spot in the NIFL Championship.

Dergiew won 4–1 on aggregate and retained their position in the NIFL Championship with Queen's University remaining in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League.

