# 2019 Esiliiga

The 2019 Esiliiga was the 29th season of the Esiliiga, the second tier of Estonian football.

## Teams

A total of 10 teams were contesting the league, including six sides from the 2018 season, one relegated from 2018 Meistriliiga and three promoted from the 2018 Esiliiga B. The 2017 Esiliiga and 2018 Esiliiga champions Maardu Linnameeskond were promoted to the highest tier for the first time. Nõmme Kalju U21 was the first team to suffer relegation after just returning to Esiliiga. Keila also immediately returned to Esiliiga B after losing the relegation play-offs to Järve. Tallinna Kalev U21 narrowly avoided relegation in its debut season thanks to Santos' decision to start the new season in the fourth tier II liiga. The other two promoted teams were Legion, who went almost unbeaten in its previous season, and Tammeka U21, who made its debut in the Esiliiga.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Elva | Elva | Elva linnastaadion | 30 |
| FCI Levadia U21 | Tallinn | Maarjamäe Stadium | 30 |
| Flora U21 | Tallinn | Lilleküla training ground I | 150 |
| Järve | Kohtla-Järve | Kohtla-Järve Sports Centre Stadium | 150 |
| Legion | Tallinn | Kadriorg Stadium | 1,300 |
| Tallinna Kalev U21 | Tallinn | Kalev Keskstaadion artificial turf | 270 |
| Tammeka U21 | Tartu | Tartu Sepa Football Centre | 754 |
| Tarvas | Rakvere | Rakvere linnastaadion | 1,100 |
| Vaprus | Pärnu | Pärnu Rannastaadion | 1,501 |
| Welco | Tartu | Tartu Tamme Stadium | 1,500 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Elva | Veiko Haan | Jürgen Kuresoo | Nike | Sportland |
| FCI Levadia U21 | Vladimir Vassiljev | Moorits Veering | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Flora U21 | Ats Sillaste | | Nike | Tele2 |
| Järve | Andrei Škaleta | Gleb Pevtsov | Adidas | |
| Legion | Denis Belov | | Uhlsport | |
| Tallinna Kalev U21 | Daniel Meijel | | Nike | |
| Tammeka U21 | Marti Pähn | | Nike | |
| Tarvas | Tarmo Rebane | Alari Tovstik | Nike | Aqva Hotel & Spa |
| Vaprus | Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula | Kristen Saarts | Nike | Coolbet |
| Welco | Janar Sagim | Mikk Valtna | Nike | Liisi |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Vaprus | Indrek Zelinsk | Signed by KTP | 10 November 2018 | Pre-season | Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula | 22 November 2018 |
| Welco | Yusuf Erdoğan | Mutual consent | 25 July 2019 | 10th | Janar Sagim | 25 July 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Legion (C, P) | 36 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 127 | 35 | +92 | 91 | Promotion to the Meistriliiga |
| 2 | Flora U21 | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 85 | 37 | +48 | 73 | |
| 3 | Vaprus | 36 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 73 | 48 | +25 | 67 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Tammeka U21 | 36 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 58 | |
| 5 | Elva | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 67 | 63 | +4 | 56 | |
| 6 | FCI Levadia U21 | 36 | 16 | 5 | 15 | 80 | 65 | +15 | 53 | |
| 7 | Järve | 36 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 51 | 82 | −31 | 40 | |
| 8 | Tarvas (R) | 36 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 35 | 98 | −63 | 28 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Tallinna Kalev U21 (R) | 36 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 38 | 82 | −44 | 28 | Relegation to the Esiliiga B |
| 10 | Welco (R) | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 39 | 89 | −50 | 24 | Relegation to the Esiliiga B |
* 1 2 3 4 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion.

## Results
### Matches 1–18

| Home \ Away | ELV | LEV | FLO | JÄR | LEG | KAL | TAM | TAR | VAP | WEL |
| Elva | — | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| FCI Levadia U21 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–3 | 4–1 |
| Flora U21 | 5–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 8–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Järve | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–3 | — | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Legion | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | 9–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Tallinna Kalev U21 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 3–4 | 2–5 | — | 2–1 | 1–6 | 4–2 | 3–0 |
| Tammeka U21 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Tarvas | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Vaprus | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | — | 5–1 |
| Welco | 2–2 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — |
* ↑ The match was awarded to Tallinna Kalev U21 due to Legion fielding an ineligible player.

### Matches 19–36

| Home \ Away | ELV | LEV | FLO | JÄR | LEG | KAL | TAM | TAR | VAP | WEL |
| Elva | — | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| FCI Levadia U21 | 5–1 | — | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 6–1 | 7–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 |
| Flora U21 | 5–1 | 2–0 | — | 5–2 | 5–3 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| Järve | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Legion | 5–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 18–0 | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 6–2 |
| Tallinna Kalev U21 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 |
| Tammeka U21 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Tarvas | 1–4 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | — | 0–5 | 1–1 |
| Vaprus | 0–1 | 1–6 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Welco | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–2 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi won 7–2 on aggregate.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Rejal Alijev | Legion | 38 |
| 2 | Marek Šatov | Legion | 26 |
| 3 | Kristen Saarts | Vaprus | 19 |
| 4 | Raivo Saar | Järve | 17 |
| 5 | Aleksandr Šapovalov | Flora U21 | 16 |
| 5 | Karl Anton Sõerde | Tallinna Kalev U21 | 16 |
| 5 | Ronaldo Tiismaa | Vaprus | 16 |
| 8 | Duván Mosquera | Järve | 15 |
| 9 | Artjom Jermatšenko | Flora U21 | 14 |
| 9 | Erki Mõttus | Tammeka U21 | 14 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Denis Belov | Legion | Raivo Saar | Järve |
| April | Andrei Škaleta | Järve | Ronaldo Tiismaa | Vaprus |
| May | Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula | Vaprus | Daaniel Maanas | Tammeka U21 |
| June | Denis Belov | Legion | Martin Thomson | Elva |
| July | Veiko Haan | Elva | Ralf-Sander Suvinõmm | Flora U21 |
| August | Marti Pähn | Tammeka U21 | Hendrik Vainu | Vaprus |
| September | Vladimir Vassiljev | FCI Levadia U21 | Marek Šatov | Legion |
| October | Denis Belov | Legion | Rejal Alijev | Legion |

### Esiliiga Player of the Year

Denis Vnukov was named Esiliiga Player of the Year.