2020–21 Gibraltar National League

The 2020–21 Gibraltar National League season is the second season of the new Gibraltar National League in Gibraltar, and the 122nd season of football on the territory overall. There are no reigning champions this season, as the previous season was declared abandoned as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The league is due to kick off on 16 October 2020. Instead of qualifying for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, teams placed 2nd, 3rd and the 2021 Rock Cup winners will qualify for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League.

Gibraltar National League
The Victoria Stadium where each match will be played
Season2020–21
Dates16 October 2020 – 16 May 2021
ChampionsLincoln Red Imps
1st National League title
25th Gibraltar title
Champions LeagueLincoln Red Imps
Europa Conference LeagueEuropa
St Joseph's
Mons Calpe
Matches played104
Goals scored418 (4.02 per match)
Top goalscorerKike Gómez (24 goals)
Best goalkeeperChristian Lopez (11 clean sheets)
Biggest home winSt Joseph's 13–1 College 1975
(12 December 2020)
Biggest away winEuropa Point 0–9 Europa
(25 October 2020)
Highest scoringSt Joseph's 13–1 College 1975
(12 December 2020)
Longest winning run7 matches
Europa
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Europa
Longest winless run10 matches
College 1975
Longest losing run10 matches
College 1975
All statistics correct as of 20 March 2021.

Format

The structure of the league will follow that of the previous season.[2] Teams will play one round of games as a single league, before splitting into two groups: the Championship Group contested by the top 6 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. The league paused after the game on 20 December between Bruno's Magpies and St Joseph's, but resumed on 22 February 2021 with Lions Gibraltar defeating College 1975 3-2.[3]

Teams
Location of the stadium where all teams play

The following 12 teams began the 2020–21 Gibraltar National League. League positions from the previous season represent where teams stood when the season was abandoned.

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 2019–20
Boca Gibraltar Aaron Edwards Lennie Armstrong Forever 17 Plug-N-Go 10th
Bruno's Magpies Johnny Parrado Rubén Díaz Joma GVC Holdings
Chestertons		 5th
College 1975 Ángel Espinosa Nazim Hughes Joma 12th
Europa Rafa Escobar Liam Walker Kappa La Parrilla
Betfred		 1st
Europa Point Craig Cowell Kailan Perez Hope + Glory Marbella Ketones (front)
Eco Wave Power (back)
AKHS Management (sleeve)		 8th
Glacis United Javier Sánchez Alfaro Miguel Londero Nike 11th
Lincoln Red Imps Mick McElwee Roy Chipolina adidas Mansion.com 3rd
Lions Gibraltar Alberto Ferri Jay Bosio Macron 6th
Lynx Albert Parody Chuky González Givova Grupo Casais 4th
Manchester 62 David Wilson Robert Montovio Joma CEPSA GIB 9th
Mons Calpe César Vega Christian Fraiz Givova FanPlay 365 7th
St Joseph's Raúl Procopio Baizán Boro Hope + Glory 2nd

Managerial Changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Lincoln Red Imps Germán Crespo Mutual consent 20 May 2020 Pre-season William 28 May 2020[4]
Bruno's Magpies Juan Maria Sánchez 31 May 2020 Johnny Parrado 23 July 2020
Boca Gibraltar Craig Cowell Moved to U23 Manager 1 June 2020 Stephen Vaughan Jr. 1 June 2020[5]
Boca Gibraltar Stephen Vaughan Jr. Denied license by GFA 9 August 2020 Aaron Edwards 9 August 2020
Glacis United Michele Di Piedi Promoted to Director of Football 1 September 2020 Paul Aigbogun 1 September 2020
Mons Calpe Luis Manuel Blanco Mutual consent 16 September 2020 César Vega 16 September 2020
Europa Point Ian Hendon 1 October 2020 Dani Amaya 1 October 2020
Lincoln Red Imps William 5 October 2020 Mick McElwee 5 October 2020
Glacis United Paul Aigbogun Signed by Nigeria Football Federation 23 October 2020 7th Javier Sánchez Alfaro 25 October 2020
Europa Point Dani Amaya Mutual consent 2 November 2020 11th Steve Cummings 2 November 2020
Steve Cummings Sacked 19 March 2021 12th Craig Cowell 19 March 2021

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1 Europa 10 9 1 0 44 5 +39 28 Qualification for the Championship Group
2 Lincoln Red Imps 10 8 1 1 33 7 +26 25
3 St Joseph's 10 7 1 2 49 11 +38 22
4 Lynx 10 6 1 3 26 10 +16 19
5 Mons Calpe 10 6 1 3 21 13 +8 19
6 Lions Gibraltar 10 4 3 3 12 10 +2 15
7 Bruno's Magpies 10 4 2 4 14 16 −2 14 Qualification for the Challenge Group
8 Glacis United 10 3 0 7 10 18 −8 9
9 Manchester 62 10 2 0 8 8 44 −36 6
10 Europa Point 10 1 0 9 7 38 −31 3
11 College 1975 10 0 0 10 8 60 −52 0
12 Boca Gibraltar (E) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Club expelled, record expunged
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(E) Eliminated
Notes:
  1. Teams play each other once (10 matches), before the league splits into two groups (the top six and the bottom five) for the last 10 matches.

Results
Home \ Away BOC BRU COL EFC EPO GLA LIN LGI LYN MAN MON SJO
Boca Gibraltar
Bruno's Magpies 1–3 4–0 0–0 3–2 0–3
College 1975 0–3 1–3 1–5 0–8 1–7 0–6
Europa 9–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–0
Europa Point 0–9 1–6 0–1 2–4
Glacis United 0–1 3–0 0–3 0–3 0–1 0–5
Lincoln Red Imps 3–0 3–0 2–0 4–2
Lions Gibraltar 3–2 0–1 3–0 0–3
Lynx 1–1 3–0 2–0 5–0 0–1 1–4
Manchester 62 3–2 0–9 3–1 0–2 0–4
Mons Calpe 4–1 0–2 0–0 5–0 0–5
St Joseph's 13–1 1–4 4–0 1–1 11–0
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Forfeits for Home Grown Player violations

The season suffered early controversy when several teams were forced to forfeit games for violations of the Home Grown Player rule, due to confusion over the new rules regarding time limits for changes if a Home Grown Player is sent off.[6] Below are the games that have been forfeited for rule breaches.

DateOriginal scoreGFA decision
31 October 2020Bruno's Magpies 1–0 Boca Gibraltar3-0 win to Bruno's Magpies
1 November 2020Glacis United 1–1 Lynx3-0 win to Lynx
21 November 2020Glacis United 1–1 Europa Point3-0 win to Glacis United
28 November 2020Europa Point 1–2 Boca Gibraltar3-0 win to Europa Point

Additionally, Boca Gibraltar failed to field a team on 5 December 2020 against Mons Calpe, subsequently forfeiting the tie.[7] After doing so again on 9 December, they were expelled from the league.[8]

Championship and Challenge groups

After 11 games (reduced to 10 after Boca Gibraltar were expelled) the league splits into two groups: the top 6 into the Championship Group, and the bottom 6 (later reduced to 5) into the Challenge Group. The Championship Group will compete for the league title and European qualification places, while the Challenge Group will compete for the GFA Challenge Trophy.

Championship Group
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Lincoln Red Imps (C) 20 15 3 2 62 13 +49 48 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Europa 20 15 2 3 66 14 +52 47 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
3 St Joseph's 20 14 3 3 71 20 +51 45
4 Mons Calpe 20 10 2 8 36 35 +1 32
5 Lynx 20 8 2 10 36 40 −4 26
6 Lions Gibraltar 20 4 4 12 13 33 −20 16
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored
(C) Champion
Notes:
  1. Since the winners of the 2021 Rock Cup, Lincoln Red Imps, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the Europa Conference League berth awarded to the Cup winners was transferred to the fourth-placed team.

Championship Group results
Home \ Away EFC LIN LGI LYN MON SJO
Europa 0–3 3–0 3–0 2–0 0–2
Lincoln Red Imps 3–1 3–0 1–0 5–1 0–1
Lions Gibraltar 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–4 0–2
Lynx 0–6 0–7 4–0 2–2 0–5
Mons Calpe 0–3 0–4 1–0 3–1 0–4
St Joseph's 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 1–4
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Challenge Group
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Bruno's Magpies 18 10 2 6 46 27 +19 32 GFA Challenge Trophy and bye in 2021–22 Rock Cup
2 Glacis United 18 10 0 8 35 27 +8 30
3 Manchester 62 18 5 2 11 25 60 −35 17
4 College 1975 18 2 2 14 23 81 −58 8
5 Europa Point 18 1 0 17 10 73 −63 3
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored

Challenge Group results
Home \ Away BRU COL EPO GLA MAN
Bruno's Magpies 3–0 7–0 1–5 4–0
College 1975 1–8 4–1 0–2 0–0
Europa Point 0–4 0–6 0–3 1–4
Glacis United 4–1 4–1 3–1 4–1
Manchester 62 1–4 3–3 4–0 4–0
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps 24
2 Juanfri St Joseph's 22
3 Rubo Blanco Bruno's Magpies 19
4 Adrián Gallardo Europa 14
5 Boro St Joseph's 13
6 Dylan Borge Europa 11
Aritz Hernández Lynx
Diego Díaz Mons Calpe
9 Luisma Gallardo College 1975 9
Liam Walker Europa

    Hat-tricks
    PlayerForAgainstResultDate
    Kike Gómez4Lincoln Red ImpsCollege 19758–0 (A)19 October 2020
    Alberto CaravacaLions GibraltarGlacis United3–0 (H)24 October 2020
    Liam WalkerEuropaEuropa Point9–0 (A)25 October 2020
    Luke WallBoca GibraltarCollege 19756–1 (H)25 October 2020
    Aritz HernándezLynxManchester 625–0 (H)27 October 2020
    Diego Díaz4Mons CalpeCollege 19756–0 (A)2 November 2020
    Juanfri4St Joseph'sManchester 6211–0 (H)21 November 2020
    Ángel Guirado4St Joseph'sCollege 197513–1 (H)12 December 2020
    BoroSt Joseph'sCollege 197513–1 (H)12 December 2020
    Adrián Gallardo4EuropaManchester 629–0 (A)13 December 2020
    Andre Dos Santos4Mons CalpeEuropa Point4–2 (A)14 December 2020
    Kelvin MorganBruno's MagpiesEuropa Point4–0 (H)6 March 2021
    Darlington NwosuGlacis UnitedCollege 19754–1 (H)20 March 2021
    Rubo BlancoBruno's MagpiesCollege 19758–1 (A)9 April 2021
    Elyakim MusoniMons CalpeLions Gibraltar4–0 (A)11 April 2021
    Adam Gracia4College 1975Europa Point6–0 (A)18 April 2021
    Juanfri4St Joseph'sLynx5–0 (A)27 April 2021
    Rubo Blanco4Bruno's MagpiesEuropa Point7–0 (H)30 April 2021
    Adrián GallardoEuropaMons Calpe3–0 (A)15 May 2021

    Clean Sheets
    Rank Player Club Clean sheets
    1 Christian Lopez Europa 11
    2 Jamie Robba St Joseph's 9
    3 Kyle Goldwin Lincoln Red Imps 8
    4 Christian Fraiz Mons Calpe 7
    5 Bradley Banda Lynx 6
    6 Borja Valadés Lions Gibraltar 5
    7 Alan Martin Bruno's Magpies 4
    Marcos Zappacosta Glacis United
    9 Jordan Perez Bruno's Magpies 3
    Manuel Soler Lincoln Red Imps
    Ayden Viñales Manchester 62

    Awards

    Player of the week

    Monthly awards
    Month Player of the Month Manager of the Month Reference
    Manager Club Player Club
    October Albert Ferri Lions Gibraltar Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps [20]
    November Juanfri St Joseph's Rafa Escobar Europa [21]
    December League paused 20 December–22 February
    January
    February
    March

    See also

    References
    1. "Gibraltar National League Season Declared Null and Void". gibraltarfa.com. Gibraltar Football Association. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
    2. Restructuring of the Domestic Men's Senior League Gibraltar FA. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
    3. Gibraltar National League will restart on Monday 22 February 2021 Gibraltar FA. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
    4. Club Statement - New Head Coach Appointed Lincoln Red Imps FC. 28 May 2020. 28 May 2020.
    5. New Technical Team Announced Archived 30 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Boca Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
    6. http://footballgibraltar.com/2020/11/magpies-lynx-awarded-wins-via-forfeit/ Magpies and Lynx awarded wins via forfeit] Football Gibraltar. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
    7. FC Boca Gibraltar advise they will not fulfil National League fixture Gibraltar FA. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    8. FC Boca Juniors Gibraltar will not fulfil their Gibraltar National League fixture scheduled for this evening. Gibraltar FA. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
    9. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 1 Football Gibraltar. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
    10. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 2 Football Gibraltar. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
    11. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 3 Football Gibraltar. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
    12. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 5 Football Gibraltar. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
    13. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 6 Football Gibraltar. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    14. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 7 Football Gibraltar. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
    15. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 8 Football Gibraltar. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
    16. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 9 Football Gibraltar. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
    17. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 10 Football Gibraltar. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
    18. FG Team of the Week: Matchday 11 Football Gibraltar. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
    19. Mustapha Yahaya is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
    20. Kike and Ferri win FG Monthly Awards in October Football Gibraltar. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
    21. Juanfri and Escobar win FG Monthly Awards in November Football Gibraltar. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.