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2017–18 Belgian First Division B

The 2017–18 season of the Belgian First Division B began in August 2017 and ended in April 2018. It was the second season of the First Division B following a change in league format from the old Belgian Second Division. The fixtures were announced near the end of June 2017. Cercle Brugge won the title and promotion on 10 March 2018. Although Tubize lost the relegation play-offs and therefore would have been relegated, they were saved as Lierse went bankrupt.

Team changes

In

Out

Team information

Stadiums and locations

2017–18 Belgian First Division B is located in Belgium
Beerschot Wilrijk
Tubize
Westerlo
Cercle Brugge
Roeselare
Lierse
Union SG
OH Leuven
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Locations of the 2017–18 Belgian First Division B teams

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

League table

Opening tournament

Source: Belgian First Division B (in French and Dutch)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[14]

Closing tournament

Source: Belgian First Division B (in French and Dutch)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[14]
  1. ^ The match between Tubize and Beerschot-Wilrijk of 10 December was cancelled as the pitch was not deemed suited for football following long periods of rain and some snow. The match was instead played on 10 January.[15]

Aggregate table

Source: Belgian First Division B (in French and Dutch)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[14]
Notes
  1. ^
    The team that promotes to the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A, either by winning the promotion playoff or by winning both the opening and the closing tournament, will not take part in the Europa League play-offs. The next team in the league will take its spot instead.
  2. ^
    In case the team that wins the promotion playoff finishes in the bottom four, the 4th placed team will play the relegation playoff instead.

Promotion play-offs

The winners of the opening tournament and the closing tournament met in a two-legged match to determine the division champion, who promoted to the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A. The team finishing highest in the aggregate table was allowed to play the second leg at home. In case one team had won both the opening and the closing tournament, these matches would not have been played and that team would have been promoted automatically.

On 5 November 2017, Beerschot Wilrijk won the opening tournament and was therefore assured of playing at least the promotion play-offs. The closing tournament was won by Cercle Brugge on 17 February 2018, who played Beerschot Wilrijk for the title and promotion.

The first leg was a closed match with few chances, until Cercle Brugge goalkeeper Paul Nardi made an error in controlling the ball, allowing Euloge Placca Fessou one of the easiest goals of his career. Shortly after, Beerschot Wilrijk saw midfielder Alexander Maes sent off following a harsh tackle, resulting them in controlling the game without creating more chances. In the return match, Cercle Brugge scored twice early and looked on its way to promotion, only for Beerschot Wilrijk to come back to 2–1 just minutes before the end and gaining the advantage on away goals. In a dramatic finish, Cercle Brugge was awarded a last minute penalty kick, converted by Irvin Cardona to bring them back to the highest division where they last played during the 2014–15 season.

Olympic Stadium, Antwerp
Attendance: 11,750
Referee: Jonathan Lardot
Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut

Cercle Brugge won 3–2 on aggregate.

Relegation play-offs

The four bottom teams in the aggregate table will take part in the relegation play-offs in which they keep half of the points they collected during the overall regular season (rounded up). As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Roeselare 18 points, Union SG 16, Westerlo 14 and Tubize 12 points. The points of Roeselare, Westerlo and Tubize were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, their half point would be deducted. The team finishing in last position will relegate to the 2018–19 Belgian First Amateur Division.

Following a 0-1 loss at home to Union SG on 14 April 2018, Tubize was mathematically relegated as the deficit to Union SG became six points with only two matches to go, while Union SG would always be ranked above Tubize in case of ties as the points of Tubize were rounded up prior to the relegation play-offs. Tubize was however spared of relegation from the Belgian First Division B as Lierse did not obtain a Belgian professional football license after going bankrupt.[16]

Source: Belgian First Division B (in French and Dutch)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Matches won; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Away matches won; 8) Play-off.[17]
(O) Play-off winners
Notes:
  1. ^ Tubize would have been relegated after finishing last, however following the bankruptcy of Lierse, they remained in the First Division B.

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 16 February 2018.[18]
5 goals (5 players)
4 goals (5 players)
3 goals (14 players)
2 goals (19 players)
1 goal (40 players)
1 own goal (7 players)

Number of teams by provinces

Notes

  1. ^ As part of the reform, the rules for obtaining a licence were changed, with clubs now required to have a stadium with a capacity of at least 8,000. As the Stade Joseph Marien has only a capacity of six thousand, Union will play one season in the King Baudouin Stadium while their home stadium is being expanded. This ruling was extended with one additional season as the Stade Joseph Marien was not fully refurbished yet at the start of the 2017–18 season and is now expected to be finalised by June 2018.

References

  1. ^ a b "Mathijssen verlaat Westerlo dan toch, T2 Pelic wordt T1" [Mathijssen does leave Westerlo after all, assistant Pelić becomes head coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "Roeselare slachtoffert coach Arnauld Mercier na 5 speeldagen" [Roeselare sacrifices coach Arnauld Mercier after 5 matchdays] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-09-12.
  3. ^ "Van Wijk begint aan derde ambtstermijn bij Roeselare" [Van Wijk starts third term at Roeselare] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-09-28.
  4. ^ a b "Nigel Pearson nieuwe coach van OH Leuven" [Nigel Pearson new coach of OH Leuven] (in Dutch). ohl.be. 2017-09-22. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  5. ^ "Lierse en coach Vanderbiest zijn uit elkaar" [Lierse and coach Vanderbiest have split up] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-06.
  6. ^ "Lierse geeft 24-jarige William Still kans als hoofdcoach" [Lierse gives 24-year old William Still a chance as head coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-11.
  7. ^ "José Riga krijgt de bons bij Cercle Brugge" [José Riga gets sacked at Cercle Brugge] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-16.
  8. ^ "Vercauteren moet Cercle Brugge weer naar hoogste klasse loodsen" [Vercauteren to guide Cercle Brugge back to the highest division] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-16.
  9. ^ a b "Nieuwe coach moet Tubeke helpen in degradatiestrijd" [New manager to help Tubeke in relegation battle] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-11-13.
  10. ^ a b "Colpaert neemt over van Still bij Lierse: "Maar er verandert niet veel"" [Colpaert takes over form Still at Lierse: "But not much will change"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-06.
  11. ^ a b "Bob Peeters keert na een jaar weer terug naar Westerlo" [Bob Peeters returns to Westerlo after one year] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-10-06.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Samenwerking met Dennis van Wijk stopgezet" [Cooperation with Dennis van Wijk cancelled] (in Dutch). ksvroeselare.be. 2018-01-19.
  13. ^ "Ex-Eupen-coach Condom gaat bij Roeselare aan de slag" [Ex-Eupen-coach Condom starts working at Roeselare] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-01-25.
  14. ^ a b c "General terms Belgian competition" (PDF). kbvb.be. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Tubize - Beerschot Wilrijk afgelast; ondanks beperkte sneeuwlaag in het Stade Leburton" [Tubize - Beerschot Wilrijk cancelled; in spite of only moderate snow at Stade Leburton] (in Dutch). proximus11.be. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Lierse is failliet, stamnummer 30 verdwijnt: "Game over"" [Lierse bankrupt, matricule 30 disappears: "Game over"]. Retrieved 9 May 2018.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Pro League 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Spelersstatistieken". Retrieved 4 October 2017.