The 2014 Esiliiga was the 24th season of the Esiliiga. The season started on Sunday 2 March 2014, and concluded on Sunday 9 November 2014. Flora II Tallinn won the Esiliiga, finishing with 78 points.
Teams A total of 10 teams contested the league, including 7 teams from the 2013 season. The 2013 runners-up Lokomotiv Jõhvi were promoted to Meistriliiga, while 9th place Puuma Tallinn and 10th place Irbis Kiviõli escaped relegation due to dissolving of 5th place Tartu SK 10 and 6th place Tammeka II Tartu. For this season those three teams will be replaced by the Meistriliiga relegated Kuressaare and Esiliiga B promoted Nõmme Kalju II and Pärnu Linnameeskond. The previous runners-up Tarvas Rakvere failed to win a promotion, losing the promotion play-off, while 8th placed Tulevik Viljandi managed to avoid relegation by winning the relegation play-off.
Stadiums and locations
Team Location Stadium CapacityFlora II Tallinn Tallinn Sportland Arena 600Irbis Kiviõli Kiviõli Kiviõli Stadium 255Kuressaare Kuressaare Kuressaare linnastaadion 2,000Levadia II Tallinn Tallinn Maarjamäe Stadium 1,000Nõmme Kalju II Tallinn Hiiu Stadium 300Pärnu Linnameeskond Pärnu Pärnu Kalev Stadium 1,000Puuma Tallinn Tallinn Lasnamäe SPK Stadium 666Tarvas Rakvere Rakvere Rakvere linnastaadion 2,500Tulevik Viljandi Viljandi Viljandi linnastaadion 2,506Vaprus Vändra Vändra Vändra Stadium 277
Personnel and kits Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Flora II Tallinn Jürgen Henn Ragnar PiirNikeTele2Irbis Kiviõli Erik Šteinberg Dmitri KirilovAdidasKuressaare Pelle Pohlak Sander ViiraJomaSaaremaa LihatööstusLevadia II Tallinn Argo Arbeiter Kristjan TammeAdidasViimsi KeevitusNõmme Kalju II Zaur Tšilingarašvili Martin MägiAdidasOptibetPärnu Linnameeskond Gert Olesk Taavi KitselAdidasPuuma Tallinn Aivar Tiidus Vitas MališauskasAdidasTarvas Rakvere Valeri Bondarenko Alari TovstikJomaAqvaTulevik Viljandi Aivar Lillevere Raiko MutleJomaVaprus Vändra Ranet Lepik Karel OttoMacron
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointmentPuuma Tallinn Dmitri KrasilnikovContract expired31 December 2013Pre-season Aivar Tiidus1 January 2014Kuressaare Sergei ZamogilnõiMutual consent7 January 2014 Pelle Pohlak8 January 2014Tarvas Rakvere Reijo KuusikMutual consent3 July 20147th Valeri Bondarenko3 July 2014
League table
Promotion play-offs Tulevik Viljandi, who finished 5th, faced Lokomotiv Jõhvi, the 9th-placed 2014 Meistriliiga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2015 Meistriliiga. Tulevik Viljandi won 1–1 on aggregate.
Relegation play-offs Tarvas Rakvere remained in Esiliiga after HÜJK Emmaste voluntarily declined joining the league.
Season statistics Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Kristen SaartsPärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn312 Henri HansonPärnu Linnameeskond253 Martin KaseFlora II Tallinn244 Sergei AkimovTarvas Rakvere215 Anton IssakovPärnu Linnameeskond176 Aleksei MamontovIrbis Kiviõli167 Mark Oliver RoosnuppLevadia II Tallinn158 Peeter KleinNõmme Kalju II14 Rasmus PeetsonPärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn1410 Aleksandr PruttšenkoIrbis Kiviõli12
Awards
Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubMarch Argo ArbeiterLevadia II Tallinn Kristen SaartsPärnu LinnameeskondApril Jürgen HennFlora II Tallinn Erkki KubberFlora II TallinnMay Pelle PohlakKuressaare Indrek IlvesTulevik ViljandiJune Gert OleskPärnu Linnameeskond Marek ŠatovIrbis KiviõliJuly Aivar LillevereTulevik Viljandi Sander LahtKuressaareAugust Aivar LillevereTulevik Viljandi Joseph SalisteFlora II TallinnSeptember Erik ŠteinbergIrbis Kiviõli Madis VihmannLevadia II TallinnOctober Jürgen HennFlora II Tallinn Sören KaldmaNõmme Kalju II
See also
2013–14 Estonian Cup 2014–15 Estonian Cup 2014 Meistriliiga 2014 Esiliiga B
References