# 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division

The 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division, for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The season started with the preliminary rounds from 14 March to 15 May 2018. The final round of the league took place between 21 May to 30 May 2018 at FSV Arena, Bengaluru.
This season featured 18 teams, divided into three groups of six teams each. The season also featured the reserve sides of seven Indian Super League clubs, none of which were eligible to qualify for the final round. Real Kashmir won the title on 30 May 2018 and earned the promotion to 2018–19 I-League. They also made history becoming first team from state of Jammu & Kashmir to enter the first division of I-League

## Format

Just like the previous season, the I-League 2nd Division will feature a preliminary round and a final round. During the preliminary round, the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six teams each. All the matches during the preliminary round will be played in a double round-robin basis, in which every team plays all others in their group once at home and once away. The winners of the three groups, along with the best second placed team, will qualify for the final round. The seven Indian Super League reserve sides in the league will not be eligible to qualify for the final round.
During the final round, the four teams will face each other in a single-leg league system at a neutral venue, where each team faces each other once. At the end of the round, the team in first will earn promotion to the next division of Indian football.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Team | City/State | Stadium | Capacity |
| Bengaluru (R) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | SSN College Ground | TBA |
| Delhi Dynamos (R) | Delhi | Ambedkar Stadium | 35,000 |
| Delhi United | Delhi | Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground | TBA |
| Fateh Hyderabad | Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh | Anantapur Sports Village Football Ground | TBA |
| Goa (R) | Margao, Goa | Fatorda Stadium | 19,000 |
| Hindustan | Delhi | Ambedkar Stadium | 35,000 |
| Jamshedpur (R) | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand | JRD Tata Sports Complex | 24,500 |
| Kerala | Thrissur, Kerala | Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium | 15,000 |
| Kerala Blasters (R) | Kochi, Kerala | Maharaja's College Stadium | 15,000 |
| Langsning | Shillong, Meghalaya | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 30,000 |
| Lonestar Kashmir | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | TRC Turf Ground | 15,000 |
| Madhya Bharat | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | JLU Ground | TBA |
| Mohammedan | Kolkata, West Bengal | Barasat Stadium | 22,000 |
| Ozone | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| Pune City (R) | Pune, Maharashtra | Pirangute Football Ground | TBA |
| Real Kashmir | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | TRC Turf Ground | 15,000 |
| TRAU | Manipur | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium | 35,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Bengaluru (R) | Naushad Moosa | Puma | JSW |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Syed Sabir Pasha | Performax | Apollo Tyres |
| Delhi Dynamos (R) | Francisco Perez Lazaro | T10 Sports | Kent RO Systems |
| Delhi United | Hugo Martins | None | Peregrine Aviation |
| Goa (R) | Clifford Miranda | None | None |
| Fateh Hyderabad | Ellimishetty Shyam | None | Premier |
| Hindustan | Vikrant Sharma | Cosco | Hero Motocorp |
| Jamshedpur (R) | Hilal Parray | Nivia | Tata |
| Kerala | T G Purushothaman | TGP | Yogakshemam Loans |
| Kerala Blasters (R) | Renjith Ajithkumar | Admiral | Muthoot |
| Langsning | Hering Shangpliang | None | Lotto |
| Lonestar Kashmir | Clebson Duarte da Silva | TBA | TBA |
| Madhya Bharat | José Carlos Hevia | None | None |
| Mohammedan | Biswajit Bhattacharya | Kaizen | TBA |
| Ozone | Dave Booth | None | Ozone Group |
| Pune City (R) | Roger Lamesa Grau | Adidas | Suzuki Gixxer |
| Real Kashmir | David Robertson | TBA | TBA |
| TRAU | L Nandakumar Singh | Nike | HVS |

### Foreign players

Each club, excluding the Indian Super League reserve sides, can register three foreign players in their squad. One of the foreign players has to be from an AFC Member Nation.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | AFC player |
| Delhi United | Ladji Saika Sylla | Kouame Konan Zacharie | |
| Fateh Hyderabad | Edmund Owusu Peprah | Godwin Quashiga | Nuriev Vladislav |
| Hindustan | Amestrong Alexandré | Martins Rami | |
| Kerala | Abdoul Karim Sylla | Bala Alhassan Dahir | |
| Langsning | Lancine Toure | Jacson Glei Da Silva Clemente | Kento Sakurai |
| Lonestar Kashmir | Alexandre Tabillon | | |
| Madhya Bharat | Ibrahim Sylla | | |
| Mohammedan | Fikru Teferra | Echezona Anyichie | Wael Ayan |
| Ozone | Robert de Souza Ribeiro | Chika Wali | Son Yong-chan |
| Real Kashmir | Loveday Enyinnaya | Yao Kouassi Bernard | |
| TRAU | Princewell Emeka | Christoppe Jonnette | |

## Preliminary round

* Tiebreakers
* The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied in the order given to determine the rankings:
* Greater number of points obtained in the matches between the Teams concerned
* Goal difference resulting from the matches between the Teams concerned
* Greater number of goals scored in the matches between the Teams concerned
* Goal difference in all the matches
* Greater number of goals scored in all the matches
* Drawing of lots

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RKFC | HIN | FCP | DU | DD | LK |
| 1 | Real Kashmir | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 22 | Advance to Final round | — | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Hindustan | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 20 | Advance to Final round | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Pune City (R) | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 13 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| 4 | Delhi United | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 9 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| 5 | Delhi Dynamos (R) | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 8 | | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | a |
| 6 | Lonestar Kashmir | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 2 | | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
* 1 2 Reserves team are ineligible for advance to the next round

#### Fixtures and results
### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KB | OFC | FCK | FH | FCG | MBSC |
| 1 | Kerala Blasters (R) | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 17 | +8 | 21 | | — | 1–4 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 6–0 |
| 2 | Ozone | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 19 | Advance to Final round | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 |
| 3 | Kerala | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 19 | | 3–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| 4 | Fateh Hyderabad | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 17 | | 2–4 | 0–0 | 4–2 | — | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| 5 | Goa (R) | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 9 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | — | 5–1 |
| 6 | Madhya Bharat | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 39 | −36 | 0 | | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–2 | — |
* 1 2 Reserves team are ineligible for advance to the next round

#### Fixtures and results
### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TRAU | BFC | LFC | JFC | MSC | CFC |
| 1 | TRAU | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 9 | +17 | 23 | Advance to Final round | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Bengaluru (R) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 17 | | 2–2 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 6–1 |
| 3 | Langsning | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 15 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| 4 | Jamshedpur (R) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 11 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| 5 | Mohammedan | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 12 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 4–0 |
| 6 | Chennaiyin (R) | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 26 | −18 | 6 | | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — |
* 1 2 3 Reserves team are ineligible for advance to the next round

#### Fixtures and results
## Final round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Kashmir (C) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 7 | Promotion to 2018–19 I-League |
| 2 | Hindustan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Ozone | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | TRAU | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |

### Fixtures and results
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Robert D‘Souza Ribiero | Ozone | 10 |
| 2 | C. S. Sabeeth | Ozone | 9 |
| 3 | Aakif Javaid | Lonestar Kashmir | 7 |
| 3 | Shaiborlang Kharpan | Kerala Blasters (R) | 7 |
| 3 | Sahal Abdul Samad | Kerala Blasters (R) | 7 |
| 3 | Kitboklang Pale | Langsning | 7 |
| 3 | Princewill Emeka | TRAU | 7 |
| 8 | Shreyas VG | Kerala | 6 |
| 8 | Gourav Mukhi | Jamshedpur (R) | 6 |
| 8 | Hitova Ayemi | Fateh Hyderabad | 6 |
| 8 | Kushant Chauhan | Hindustan | 6 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Mithun Samanto | Hindustan | 7 |
| 1 | Abhishek Das | Ozone | 7 |
| 3 | Anuj Kumar | Pune City (R) | 6 |
| 4 | Sukhwinder Singh | Real Kashmir | 5 |
| 5 | Royal Basumatary | Delhi United | 4 |
| 6 | Ahamad Afsar | Kerala | 3 |
| 6 | Shayon Roy | Delhi Dynamos (R) | 3 |
| 6 | Surjay Kumar Pariyar | Langsning | 3 |
| 6 | Tajuddin | TRAU | 3 |
| 6 | Avjit Kar | Kerala Blasters (R) | 3 |
| 6 | Mohammed Nawaz | Goa (R) | 3 |

### Highest Attendances

| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium |
| 1 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–3 | Langsning | 8,256 | 4 April 2018 (2018-04-04) | JRD Tata Sports Complex |
| 2 | Jamshedpur (R) | 3–2 | Chennaiyin (R) | 6,315 | 23 March 2018 (2018-03-23) | JRD Tata Sports Complex |
| 3 | Real Kashmir | 0–0 | Pune City (R) | 5,992 | 21 March 2018 (2018-03-21) | TRC Turf Ground |
| 4 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–1 | Mohammedan | 5,342 | 21 April 2018 (2018-04-21) | JRD Tata Sports Complex |
| 5 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–1 | TRAU | 4,200 | 20 March 2018 (2018-03-20) | JRD Tata Sports Complex |
| 6 | Kerala | 3–2 | Kerala Blasters (R) | 4,000 | 12 April 2018 (2018-04-12) | Corporation Stadium |
| 7 | TRAU | 1–2 | Bengaluru (R) | 3,500 | 21 April 2018 (2018-04-21) | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium |
| 8 | TRAU | 4–1 | Mohammedan | 3,100 | 5 April 2018 (2018-04-05) | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium |
| 9 | Lonestar Kashmir | 0–1 | Delhi Dynamos (R) | 3,000 | 20 March 2018 (2018-03-20) | TRC Turf Ground |
| 10 | TRAU | 3–1 | Langsning | 3,000 | 13 May 2018 (2018-05-13) | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium |