2019–20 Gibraltar National League

The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League season was the first edition of the Gibraltar National League in Gibraltar, and the 121st edition of football in the territory overall. The league was announced in June 2018 when the Gibraltar Football Association decided to merge the Gibraltar Premier Division and Gibraltar Second Division at the conclusion of the 2018–19 season.[2]

Gibraltar National League
The Victoria Stadium where each match is played
Season2019–20
Dates12 August 2019 – 3 May 2020
ChampionsNo champion[1]
Champions LeagueEuropa
Europa LeagueSt Joseph's
Lincoln Red Imps
Matches played104
Goals scored481 (4.63 per match)
Top goalscorerJuanfri (24 goals)
Best goalkeeperJamie Robba
Dayle Coleing (7 clean sheets)
Biggest home winLincoln Red Imps 9–1 College 1975
(19 September 2019)
Biggest away winCollege 1975 0–12 Europa
(1 November 2019)
Highest scoringCollege 1975 0–12 Europa
(1 November 2019)
Boca Gibraltar 7–5 College 1975
(20 February 2020)
Manchester 62 1–11 Mons Calpe
(12 March 2020)
All statistics correct as of 12 March 2020.

On 1 August 2019, it was confirmed that the league would be contested by 16 teams.[3] Eleven days later, the GFA revealed that two teams had withdrawn and the league would be contested by 14 teams.[4] That number was reduced to 13 the following day when Leo also withdrew from the league.[5]

COVID-19 pandemic would cause the season to be suspended in March 2020. The Challenge Group was abandoned, while the Gibraltar FA looked to conclude the Championship Group in some form. On 1 May 2020, the Gibraltar Football Association announced that the domestic football season had been terminated.[6] After the league had discussions of whether the title would be awarded,[7] the Gibraltar FA announced on 7 May 2020 the season was declared null and void; the title would remain vacant.[1]

Format

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On 1 August 2019, the GFA confirmed details of the restructure of domestic football in Gibraltar, and the format of the a new 16 team league.[8] By 12 August, the GFA confirmed two teams would not participate and 14 teams would contest the league.[4] With Leo's withdrawal the next day, the league was reduced to 13.[5] Teams will play one round of games as a single league, before splitting into two groups: the Championship Group contested by the top 7 sides, and the Challenge Group between the bottom 6 sides. The winners of the Challenge Group will receive the GFA Challenge Trophy and receive a bye to the second round of the next season's Rock Cup.

Teams

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Location of the stadium where all teams play

16 teams were initially expected to participate in the inaugural National League, with Hound Dogs dropping down to the 2019–20 Gibraltar Intermediate League, having been granted special dispensation by the GFA.

On 9 August, Gibraltar Phoenix withdrew from the league.[9] Two days before, Gibraltar United were threatened with expulsion if they failed to repay debts by 12 August.[10]

On 12 August, the GFA confirmed the withdrawal of Gibraltar Phoenix and Gibraltar United.[4] The day after, Leo withdrew from the league too, after a takeover by King's Lynn Town owner Stephen Cleeve was blocked by the GFA.[11] On 22 August, it was reported that Olympique 13 were at risk of withdrawing from the league, having forfeited their game against Europa due to a shortage of players.[12] They were expelled on 11 September.

Teams with a blue background played in the 2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division. Teams with a red background played in the 2018–19 Gibraltar Second Division.

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

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Club sponsor 2018–19
Boca Gibraltar   Craig Cowell   Julio Bado ES Coral
Kids Come First
10th
Bruno's Magpies   Juan Maria Sánchez   Brian Perez Joma GVC Holdings
Chestertons
1st
College 1975   Ángel Espinosa   Nazim Hughes Joma 5th
Europa   Rafa Escobar   Liam Walker Jako La Parrilla
Betfred
2nd
Europa Point   Ian Hendon   Antony Moulds Admiral Isolas 2nd
Glacis United   Michele Di Piedi   Michele Di Piedi Nike 8th
Lincoln Red Imps   Germán Crespo   Roy Chipolina adidas Mansion.com 1st
Lions Gibraltar   Albert Ferri   Alberto Caravaca Givova 9th
Lynx   Albert Parody   Mohamed Badr Givova (home)
Zaror (away)
Resolve Salvage & Fire 7th
Manchester 62   David Wilson   Robert Montovio Joma CEPSA GIB 4th
Mons Calpe   Luis Manuel Blanco   Kivan Castle Joma 4th
St Joseph's   Raúl Procopio Baizán   Boro Joma M Price 3rd

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Boca Gibraltar   Allen Bula End of contract 20 May 2019 Pre-season   Christian Ressa 24 July 2019
Europa Point   José Ramón Rojas 25 May 2019   Allen Bula 20 June 2019[13]
Glacis United   Jesús Napolitano 25 May 2019   Bennie Brinkman 1 July 2019
College 1975   Nolan Bosio Resigned 25 May 2019   Jesús Cano 1 June 2019
Mons Calpe   Luis Manuel Blanco 28 May 2019   William 11 June 2019[14]
Leo   Paco Sánchez Moved to Assistant Manager 15 June 2019   Dani Amaya 15 June 2019[15]
Manchester 62   Jonathan Sodi Resigned 19 June 2019   Jeff Wood 19 June 2019[16]
Mons Calpe   William 10 July 2019   David Sanz 19 July 2019[17]
  David Sanz 30 July 2019   Lorenzo Morón 1 August 2019[18]
Lynx   Carlos Gobantes Signed by Mons Calpe U23 1 August 2019   Albert Parody 2 August 2019
Glacis United   Bennie Brinkman Mutual consent 3 September 2019 11th   Michele Di Piedi 3 September 2019
Bruno's Magpies   David Wilson Sacked 3 October 2019 5th   Alfonso Cortijo 18 October 2019
Mons Calpe   Lorenzo Morón 11 October 2019 6th   Leonardo Vela 18 October 2019
Boca Gibraltar   Christian Ressa Moved to Assistant Manager 18 October 2019 11th   Juan Maria Sánchez 18 October 2019
Manchester 62   Jeff Wood Mutual consent 21 October 2019 8th   David Wilson 5 November 2019[19]
Europa Point   Allen Bula Resigned 8 November 2019 10th   Ian Hendon 26 November 2019
Boca Gibraltar   Juan Maria Sánchez 8 November 2019 8th   Juan Carlos Camacho 12 November 2019
Lincoln Red Imps   Víctor Afonso Mutual consent 19 December 2019[20] 3rd   Germán Crespo 4 January 2020
Mons Calpe   Leonardo Vela 1 January 2020 7th   Luis Manuel Blanco 1 January 2020
Bruno's Magpies   Alfonso Cortijo Resigned 3 January 2020 5th   Juan Maria Sánchez 3 January 2020
Boca Gibraltar   Juan Carlos Camacho Mutual consent 9 January 2020 9th   Craig Cowell 9 January 2020
College 1975   Jesús Cano Sacked 1 February 2020 12th   Ángel Espinosa 1 February 2020

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Europa 17 16 1 0 85 9 +76 49 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 St Joseph's 17 14 2 1 58 15 +43 44 Qualification to the Europa League preliminary round
3 Lincoln Red Imps 17 13 0 4 68 15 +53 39
4 Lynx 17 9 2 6 37 30 +7 29
5 Bruno's Magpies 17 7 0 10 29 41 −12 21
6 Lions Gibraltar 17 4 3 10 30 55 −25 15
7 Mons Calpe 18 10 3 5 49 29 +20 33
8 Europa Point 18 7 4 7 35 38 −3 25
9 Manchester 62 18 6 1 11 21 49 −28 19
10 Boca Gibraltar 17 4 4 9 30 45 −15 16
11 Glacis United 17 3 1 13 21 56 −35 10
12 College 1975 18 0 1 17 18 99 −81 1
Source: UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league splits into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last 10 matches.

Results

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Matches 1–11
Home \ Away BOC BRU COL EFC EPO GLA LIN LGI LYN MAN MON SJO
Boca Gibraltar 1–2 1–1 1–8 1–3 1–1
Bruno's Magpies 0–6 0–3 2–0 1–3 0–3
College 1975 0–4 1–3 0–12 1–6 0–3 1–9
Europa 6–1 1–0 6–2 4–1 2–0 2–2
Europa Point 2–3 6–1 0–3 0–5 1–3
Glacis United 0–2 0–9 4–0 1–3 2–3 0–5
Lincoln Red Imps 9–1 3–0 8–0 4–0 2–0
Lions Gibraltar 6–4 2–5 0–0 1–7 0–0 0–4
Lynx 2–0 4–0 3–2 5–0 5–1
Manchester 62 0–0 0–2 0–7 0–3 1–4
Mons Calpe 0–7 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–6
St Joseph's 2–0 7–0 5–0 8–1 2–1 1–1 3–0
Source: UEFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

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Scoring

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As of 12 March 2020[21]

Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Juanfri St Joseph's 24
2   Liam Walker Europa 21
3   Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps 15
4   Manu Dimas Europa 14
5   Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar 12
  Juampe Europa
  Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar
  Boro St Joseph's
9   Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps 9
  Gato Lincoln Red Imps

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date
  Boro St Joseph's College 1975 7–0 (H) 19 August 2019
  Leonardo Carboni Mons Calpe College 1975 9–1 (A) 24 August 2019
  Gato Lincoln Red Imps College 1975 9–1 (H) 19 September 2019
  Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps College 1975 9–1 (H) 19 September 2019
  Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps Lions Gibraltar 7–1 (A) 29 September 2019
  Juanfri4 St Joseph's Glacis United 8–1 (H) 20 October 2019
  Boro4 St Joseph's Glacis United 8–1 (H) 20 October 2019
  Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar College 1975 4–0 (A) 24 October 2019
  Juanfri St Joseph's Lions Gibraltar 4–0 (A) 26 October 2019
  Manu Dimas Europa College 1975 12–0 (A) 1 November 2019
  Liam Walker Europa College 1975 12–0 (A) 1 November 2019
  Juanfri St Joseph's Mons Calpe 6–0 (A) 24 November 2019
  Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps Boca Gibraltar 8–1 (A) 27 November 2019
  Juampe Europa Glacis United 6–2 (H) 29 November 2019
  Manu Dimas Europa Lions Gibraltar 5–0 (H) 17 January 2020
  Julian Del Rio Lincoln Red Imps Lynx 5–0 (H) 18 January 2020
  Dylan Hernández Lynx Bruno's Magpies 3–1 (H) 1 February 2020
  James Adams Boca Gibraltar College 1975 7–5 (H) 20 February 2020
  Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar College 1975 7–5 (H) 20 February 2020
  José Oncala4 College 1975 Boca Gibraltar 5–7 (A) 20 February 2020
  Sunday Emmanuel Lincoln Red Imps Lions Gibraltar 7–1 (H) 21 February 2020
  Andre Dos Santos Mons Calpe Manchester 62 11–1 (A) 12 March 2020
  Santiago Pastorini Mons Calpe Manchester 62 11–1 (A) 12 March 2020

Clean Sheets

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Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1   Jamie Robba St Joseph's 7
  Dayle Coleing Europa
2   Christian Fraiz Mons Calpe 6
4   Javi Muñoz Europa 5
  Kyle Goldwin Lincoln Red Imps
6   Bradley Banda Lynx 4
7   Francisco Pérez Lions Gibraltar 3
  Matt Cafer Bruno's Magpies
  Frank Warwick Manchester 62
10   Jordan Perez Boca Gibraltar 2
  Conor O'Keefe[a] Bruno's Magpies
  Ivan Moreno Glacis United
  Manuel Soler Lincoln Red Imps
  1. ^ Includes 2 clean sheets for Europa Point.

Awards

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Player of the week

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Monthly awards

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Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Reference
Manager Club Player Club
August   Albert Parody Lynx   Alberto Valdivia Lynx [40]
September   Víctor Afonso Lincoln Red Imps   Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps [41]
October   Víctor Afonso Lincoln Red Imps   Juanfri St Joseph's [42]
November   Rafa Escobar Europa   Liam Walker Europa [43]
December   Albert Ferri Lions Gibraltar   Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar [44]
January   Rafa Escobar Europa   Julian Del Rio Lincoln Red Imps [45]
February   Rafa Escobar Europa   Dayle Coleing Europa [46]

End-of-season awards

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End of season awards were handed out by Football Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Football Association's official UEFA correspondents, on 28 May and 2 June 2020.[47][48][49]

Award Winner Club Nominees
Rank Player Club
Manager of the Season   Rafa Escobar Europa 2   Raúl Procopio Baizán St Joseph's
3   Albert Ferri Lions Gibraltar
4   Albert Parody Lynx
Goalkeeper of the Season   Dayle Coleing Europa 2   Jamie Robba St Joseph's
3   Kyle Goldwin Lincoln Red Imps
4   Bradley Banda Lynx
Defender of the Season   Olmo González Europa 2   Sergio Sánchez Europa
3   Ezequiel Rojas St Joseph's
4   Bernardo Lopes Lincoln Red Imps
Midfielder of the Season   Liam Walker Europa 2   Christian Pecci St Joseph's
3   Alejandro Avilés Europa
4   Dan Bent Bruno's Magpies
Striker of the Season   Juanfri St Joseph's 2   Juampe Europa
3   Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps
4   Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar
Player of the Season   Liam Walker Europa 2   Juanfri St Joseph's
3   Juampe Europa
Young Player of the Season   Jayce Olivero Europa 2   Ethan Britto Lincoln Red Imps
3   Jaron Vinet Bruno's Magpies
Challenge Group Player of the Season   Andre dos Santos Mons Calpe N/A
Challenge Group Young Player of the Season   Ayoub El Hmidi Mons Calpe N/A
Fans' Player of the Season   Liam Walker Europa 2   Dayle Coleing Europa
3   Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps
Fans' Young Player of the Season   Ayoub El Hmidi Mons Calpe 2   Jayce Olivero Europa
3   Ethan Britto Lincoln Red Imps
Fans' Team of the Season
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Dayle Coleing   Jack Sergeant
  Bernardo Lopes
  Olmo González
  Jayce Olivero
  Lee Casciaro
  Nacho Fernández
  Aymen Mouelhi
  Liam Walker
  Juanfri
  Kike Gómez

References

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  1. ^ a b "Gibraltar National League Season Declared Null and Void". gibraltarfa.com. Gibraltar Football Association. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Senior League Rules" (PDF). GFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  3. ^ Key changes to the domestic league revealed to clubs Gibraltar Chronicle. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Two Teams withdraw from Gibraltar National League". GFA. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Leo FC Withdraw from Gibraltar National League". GFA. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Domestic Football Season Terminated". Gibraltar Football Association. 1 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Top three qualify for Europe but no date set for return of football in Gibraltar". Gibraltar Chronicle. 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ Restructuring of the Domestic Men's Senior League Archived 2019-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Gibraltar FA. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  9. ^ Gibraltar Phoenix withdraw from the National League Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  10. ^ Pay up or league for Gibraltar United Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  11. ^ Leo FC withdraw from the National League Archived 2020-09-11 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  12. ^ El Olympique no se presenta y apunta a otra retirada en Gibraltar EuropaSur (in Spanish). 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ Bula joins Europa Point Football Gibraltar. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  14. ^ New Manager Announcement Mons Calpe on Twitter. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  15. ^ New technical team Leo FC on Facebook. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  16. ^ Jeff Wood takes over Man 62 Football Gibraltar. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  17. ^ Gibraltar, español... y también valenciano Superdeporte. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  18. ^ New Head Coach Mons Calpe SC. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  19. ^ David Wilson is new coach at Manchester 62 Gibraltar Chronicle. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  20. ^ BREAKING: Head coach and Club Part Ways Lincoln Red Imps FC. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019
  21. ^ "Top Scorers".
  22. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 1 Football Gibraltar. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  23. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 2 Football Gibraltar. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  24. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 3 Football Gibraltar. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  25. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 4 Football Gibraltar. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  26. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 5 Football Gibraltar. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  27. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 6 Football Gibraltar. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  28. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 7 Football Gibraltar. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  29. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team o the Week 8 Football Gibraltar. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  30. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 9 Football Gibraltar. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  31. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 10 Football Gibraltar. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  32. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 11 Football Gibraltar. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  33. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 12 Football Gibraltar. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  34. ^ Julian Del Rio is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  35. ^ Kike is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  36. ^ Dylan Hernández is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  37. ^ Juanlu Becerra is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  38. ^ Sunday Emmanuel is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  39. ^ Liam Walker is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  40. ^ Lynx duo awarded Player and Manager of the Month Football Gibraltar. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  41. ^ Lincoln Pair win September Player and Manager of the Month Football Gibraltar. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  42. ^ Juanfri and Afonso win FG Monthly Awards in October Football Gibraltar. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  43. ^ Walker and Escobar win FG Monthly Awards in November Football Gibraltar. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  44. ^ Lions Pair win FG Monthly Awards in December Football Gibraltar. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  45. ^ Del Rio and Escobar grab January FG Monthly Awards Football Gibraltar. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  46. ^ Coleing and Escobar take FG Monthly Awards in February Football Gibraltar. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  47. ^ FG Awards 20: Part 1 - Positional Awards and Manager of the Season Football Gibraltar. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  48. ^ FG Awards 20: Part 2 - Young Player, Player and Team of the Season Football Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  49. ^ FG Awards 20: Challenge Group Player and Young Player of the Season Football Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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