2014 Esiliiga
# 2014 Esiliiga

The 2014 Esiliiga was the 24th season of the Esiliiga. The season started on Sunday 2 March 2014, and concluded on Sunday 9 November 2014. Flora II Tallinn won the Esiliiga, finishing with 78 points.

## Teams

A total of 10 teams contested the league, including 7 teams from the 2013 season. The 2013 runners-up Lokomotiv Jõhvi were promoted to Meistriliiga, while 9th place Puuma Tallinn and 10th place Irbis Kiviõli escaped relegation due to dissolving of 5th place Tartu SK 10 and 6th place Tammeka II Tartu. For this season those three teams will be replaced by the Meistriliiga relegated Kuressaare and Esiliiga B promoted Nõmme Kalju II and Pärnu Linnameeskond. The previous runners-up Tarvas Rakvere failed to win a promotion, losing the promotion play-off, while 8th placed Tulevik Viljandi managed to avoid relegation by winning the relegation play-off.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Flora II Tallinn | Tallinn | Sportland Arena | 600 |
| Irbis Kiviõli | Kiviõli | Kiviõli Stadium | 255 |
| Kuressaare | Kuressaare | Kuressaare linnastaadion | 2,000 |
| Levadia II Tallinn | Tallinn | Maarjamäe Stadium | 1,000 |
| Nõmme Kalju II | Tallinn | Hiiu Stadium | 300 |
| Pärnu Linnameeskond | Pärnu | Pärnu Kalev Stadium | 1,000 |
| Puuma Tallinn | Tallinn | Lasnamäe SPK Stadium | 666 |
| Tarvas Rakvere | Rakvere | Rakvere linnastaadion | 2,500 |
| Tulevik Viljandi | Viljandi | Viljandi linnastaadion | 2,506 |
| Vaprus Vändra | Vändra | Vändra Stadium | 277 |

### Personnel and kits

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

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Flora II Tallinn | Jürgen Henn | Ragnar Piir | Nike | Tele2 |
| Irbis Kiviõli | Erik Šteinberg | Dmitri Kirilov | Adidas | |
| Kuressaare | Pelle Pohlak | Sander Viira | Joma | Saaremaa Lihatööstus |
| Levadia II Tallinn | Argo Arbeiter | Kristjan Tamme | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Nõmme Kalju II | Zaur Tšilingarašvili | Martin Mägi | Adidas | Optibet |
| Pärnu Linnameeskond | Gert Olesk | Taavi Kitsel | Adidas | |
| Puuma Tallinn | Aivar Tiidus | Vitas Mališauskas | Adidas | |
| Tarvas Rakvere | Valeri Bondarenko | Alari Tovstik | Joma | Aqva |
| Tulevik Viljandi | Aivar Lillevere | Raiko Mutle | Joma | |
| Vaprus Vändra | Ranet Lepik | Karel Otto | Macron | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Puuma Tallinn | Dmitri Krasilnikov | Contract expired | 31 December 2013 | Pre-season | Aivar Tiidus | 1 January 2014 |
| Kuressaare | Sergei Zamogilnõi | Mutual consent | 7 January 2014 | Pre-season | Pelle Pohlak | 8 January 2014 |
| Tarvas Rakvere | Reijo Kuusik | Mutual consent | 3 July 2014 | 7th | Valeri Bondarenko | 3 July 2014 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Flora II Tallinn (C) | 36 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 104 | 40 | +64 | 78 | |
| 2 | Levadia II Tallinn | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 102 | 52 | +50 | 68 | |
| 3 | Pärnu Linnameeskond (P) | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 109 | 78 | +31 | 60 | Promotion to Meistriliiga |
| 4 | Nõmme Kalju II | 36 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 69 | 62 | +7 | 57 | |
| 5 | Tulevik Viljandi (P) | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 51 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 6 | Kuressaare | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 69 | 81 | −12 | 47 | |
| 7 | Irbis Kiviõli | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 72 | 82 | −10 | 47 | |
| 8 | Tarvas Rakvere (O) | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 46 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Vaprus Vändra (R) | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 60 | 72 | −12 | 38 | Relegation to Esiliiga B |
| 10 | Puuma Tallinn (R) | 36 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 32 | 148 | −116 | 10 | Relegation to Esiliiga B |

* 1 2 3 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion.
* ↑ Puuma Tallinn were deducted 3 points for not filling licensing criteria.

### Promotion play-offs

Tulevik Viljandi, who finished 5th, faced Lokomotiv Jõhvi, the 9th-placed 2014 Meistriliiga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2015 Meistriliiga. Tulevik Viljandi won 1–1 on aggregate.

### Relegation play-offs

Tarvas Rakvere remained in Esiliiga after HÜJK Emmaste voluntarily declined joining the league.

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kristen Saarts | Pärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn | 31 |
| 2 | Henri Hanson | Pärnu Linnameeskond | 25 |
| 3 | Martin Kase | Flora II Tallinn | 24 |
| 4 | Sergei Akimov | Tarvas Rakvere | 21 |
| 5 | Anton Issakov | Pärnu Linnameeskond | 17 |
| 6 | Aleksei Mamontov | Irbis Kiviõli | 16 |
| 7 | Mark Oliver Roosnupp | Levadia II Tallinn | 15 |
| 8 | Peeter Klein | Nõmme Kalju II | 14 |
| 8 | Rasmus Peetson | Pärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn | 14 |
| 10 | Aleksandr Pruttšenko | Irbis Kiviõli | 12 |

## Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Argo Arbeiter | Levadia II Tallinn | Kristen Saarts | Pärnu Linnameeskond |
| April | Jürgen Henn | Flora II Tallinn | Erkki Kubber | Flora II Tallinn |
| May | Pelle Pohlak | Kuressaare | Indrek Ilves | Tulevik Viljandi |
| June | Gert Olesk | Pärnu Linnameeskond | Marek Šatov | Irbis Kiviõli |
| July | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik Viljandi | Sander Laht | Kuressaare |
| August | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik Viljandi | Joseph Saliste | Flora II Tallinn |
| September | Erik Šteinberg | Irbis Kiviõli | Madis Vihmann | Levadia II Tallinn |
| October | Jürgen Henn | Flora II Tallinn | Sören Kaldma | Nõmme Kalju II |
