| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Linfield 38thIrish title |
| Matches | 182 |
| Goals | 503 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Trevor Anderson (14 goals) |
1986–87 → | |
The1985–86 Irish League was the 85th edition of theIrish League, the highest level of league competition inNorthern Irishfootball. The league consisted of 14 teams, andLinfield won the championship.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield(C) | 26 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 59 | 16 | +43 | 43 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Coleraine | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 35 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Ards | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 19 | +18 | 31 | |
| 4 | Glentoran | 26 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 31 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Crusaders | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 31 | |
| 6 | Larne | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 28 | |
| 7 | Ballymena United | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 27 | |
| 8 | Cliftonville | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 25 | |
| 9 | Distillery | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 24 | |
| 10 | Portadown | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 23 | |
| 11 | Glenavon | 26 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 26 | 36 | −10 | 21 | |
| 12 | Bangor | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 18 | |
| 13 | Newry Town | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 28 | 59 | −31 | 17 | |
| 14 | Carrick Rangers | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 58 | −46 | 10 |
| Home \ Away | ARD | BAN | BLM | CRK | CLI | COL | CRU | DIS | GLV | GLT | LRN | LIN | NEW | POR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ards | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | |
| Bangor | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Ballymena United | 1–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | |
| Carrick Rangers | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | |
| Cliftonville | 0–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | |
| Coleraine | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 7–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | |
| Crusaders | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
| Distillery | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 0–6 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | |
| Glenavon | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | |
| Glentoran | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | |
| Larne | 2–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | |
| Linfield | 0–2 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Newry Town | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–6 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 2–6 | 1–3 | 1–0 | |
| Portadown | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |