Longford Town F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Longford Town


fullname = Longford Town Football Club
nickname = Town or The Town
founded = 1924
ground = Flancare Park, Longford,
County Longford
capacity = 4,500
chairman = Jim Hanley
manager = Vinny Perth - Caretaker Manager | league = FAI First Division
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Longford Town F.C. ( _ga. Cumann Peile Bhaile Longfort) is an Irish football club playing in the FAI First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park. Club colours are red and black, and the club goes by the nickname the Town.

The club was relegated to the FAI First Division at the end of 2007 but did reach the FAI Cup final that year where they were beaten by Cork City FC.

History

Longford Town was founded in 1924 but had to wait another 60 years before they were elected to the Football 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. 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. They kicked on from there and in the following season 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. Unfortunately the team lost 1-0 to Bohemians FC. As Bohs 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 FAI Cup finals winning two of them. In 2004 they produced a cup double by winning the League Cup in addition to retaining the FAI Cup. 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 for failing to comply with club licensing procedures [ [http://www.eleven-a-side.com/longfordtown/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=27726 Longford deducted six points for licensing indiscretion] , "eleven-a-side.com", 2007. Retrieved on January 5 2008] . These six points proved crucial in the end, as without this deduction they would have been in the relegation/promotion playoff instead of being relegated automatically and so they may have survived. The club will now play in the First Division for the 2008 season.

Overall European Record

Record by competition

UEFA Cup:

Honours

*FAI Cups: 2
**Winners: (2) 2003, 2004
**Runners-Up: (2) 2000-01, 2007
*League Cups: 1
**Winners: (1) 2004
**Runners-Up: (1) 2003
*FAI First Division:
**Runners-Up: (1) 1999-2000

Records

* League victory: 6-1 v Finn Harps, 28 March 1993 and v Cobh Ramblers, 11 December 1999
* League defeat: 1-8 v Waterford United, 12 November 1989
* Most points in a season: 70 in 1999-00
* Most league goals in a season (player): 19, Dave Mooney in 2007
* Most league goals (player): 26, Richie Parsons and Keith O'Connor

References

External links

* [http://www.ltfc.ie/ Official club website]
* [http://www.eircomloi.ie:82/the-divisions/premier-division/club-profiles/longford-town/ Longford Town profile on eircom League website]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/ rsssf.com]