2023 Esiliiga B

The 2023 Esiliiga B was the 11th season of the Esiliiga B, the third tier of Estonian football. The season began on 5 March 2023 and concluded on 12 November 2023.

Esiliiga B

Season	2023
Dates	5 March 2023 – 12 November 2023
Champions	Welco
Promoted	Welco Tallinna Kalev U21
← 2022 2024 →

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Kuressaare U21

Trans U21

Kalev U21
Kalju U21

Pärnu

Tammeka U21
Tartu Welco

Tartu Kalev

Läänemaa

Tulevik

Locations of the 2023 Esiliiga B teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Kuressaare U21	Kuressaare	Kuressaare linnastaadion	1,000[1]
Läänemaa	Haapsalu	Haapsalu linnastaadion	1,080[2]
Narva Trans U21	Narva	Narva Kalev-Fama Stadium	612[3]
Nõmme Kalju U21	Tallinn	Hiiu Stadium	300[4]
Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi	Pärnu	Pärnu Rannastaadion	1,501[5]
Tallinna Kalev U21	Tallinn	Kalev Keskstaadion artificial turf	270[6]
Tammeka U21	Tartu	Tartu Sepa Football Centre	754[7]
Tartu Kalev	Ülenurme	Ülenurme Stadium	312[8]
Tulevik	Viljandi	Viljandi linnastaadion	384[9]
Welco	Tartu	Holm Football Park	580[10]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Welco (C, P)	36	23	5	8	92	42	+50	74	Promotion to Esiliiga
2	Tallinna Kalev U21 (P)	36	19	10	7	99	53	+46	67
3	Narva Trans U21	36	19	7	10	69	48	+21	64
4	Tartu Kalev	36	18	7	11	85	71	+14	61	Qualification for Esiliiga play-off
5	Kuressaare U21	36	17	10	9	87	76	+11	61
6	Tulevik	36	16	7	13	58	55	+3	55
7	Tammeka U21	36	12	8	16	63	70	−7	44
8	Nõmme Kalju U21 (O)	36	12	5	19	90	103	−13	41	Qualification for Esiliiga B play-off
9	Läänemaa (O)	36	8	2	26	67	120	−53	26
10	Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi[a]	36	3	5	28	34	106	−72	14

Source: Esiliiga B
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Less matches awarded against; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Away goals scored; 9) Fair-play points; 10) Draw^[11]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:

1. Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi were reprieved from relegation after Alliance, relegated to the 2024 Esiliiga B, folded.

Results

Matches 1–18 Home \ Away KUR LÄÄ NAR NÕM PJK KAL TAM TAR TUL WEL Kuressaare U21 — 2–2 2–0 5–4 3–0 2–1 4–0 3–3 0–1 3–3 Läänemaa 0–3 — 1–4 8–6 3–2 3–5 2–2 2–3 1–2 4–1 Narva Trans U21 5–1 3–0 — 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–3 2–0 2–1 2–1 Nõmme Kalju U21 1–2 0–1 1–3 — 2–0 1–4 5–2 4–5 7–2 0–4 Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi 0–6 0–2 0–2 0–7 — 0–1 3–4 2–2 1–1 0–1 Tallinna Kalev U21 3–3 6–0 1–0 3–4 6–0 — 2–1 3–3 3–0 1–0 Tammeka U21 0–1 4–3 1–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 — 3–3 1–1 0–1 Tartu Kalev 5–4 2–1 4–1 5–2 7–0 0–3 2–1 — 1–3 0–2 Tulevik 4–1 3–2 4–0 2–2 3–1 2–0 0–1 0–3 — 0–1 Welco 2–2 4–0 0–2 5–2 5–0 4–4 1–2 2–0 1–1 — Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–36 Home \ Away KUR LÄÄ NAR NÕM PJK KAL TAM TAR TUL WEL Kuressaare U21 — 3–2 1–1 4–3 3–2 2–2 4–2 5–2 1–3 1–6 Läänemaa 2–4 — 3–4 2–5 3–2 2–5 2–3 2–3 1–2 1–3 Narva Trans U21 1–1 7–1 — 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–0 4–1 0–1 4–3 Nõmme Kalju U21 2–0 1–6 1–2 — 1–2 3–3 4–4 5–3 2–0 3–4 Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi 2–4 0–1 1–4 2–0 — 2–1 1–2 3–3 1–3 0–5 Tallinna Kalev U21 2–2 8–1 2–1 2–4 7–2 — 3–1 0–0 7–2 3–2 Tammeka U21 1–1 6–0 2–1 7–0 3–0 0–3 — 0–3 1–0 2–2 Tartu Kalev 4–1 5–2 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–3 2–1 — 2–2 1–0 Tulevik 0–3 4–1 1–1 5–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 0–1 — 0–2 Welco 5–0 3–0 4–0 4–2 3–1 1–0 3–0 3–1 1–0 — Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Esiliiga B play-off

The two runners-up (or highest eligible team) from the 2023 II liiga (Jõhvi Phoenix and Saku Sporting) contested the semi-finals over two legs.

The semi-final winners and second highest-ranked II liiga team (Harju II) advanced to each face either the eighth or ninth-placed Esiliiga B teams (Nõmme Kalju U21 and Läänemaa) over two legs, with the two winners securing the final two places in the following season's Esiliiga B.

Semi-final

First leg

Jõhvi Phoenix v Saku Sporting

19 November 2023	Jõhvi Phoenix	6–1	Saku Sporting	Jõhvi
12:00 BST				Stadium: Voka Stadium

Second leg

Saku Sporting v Jõhvi Phoenix

22 November 2023	Saku Sporting	2–5 (3–11 agg.)	Jõhvi Phoenix	Saku Parish
17:00 BST				Stadium: Saku staadion

Final

First legs

Harju II v Nõmme Kalju U21

22 November 2023	Harju II	1–2	Nõmme Kalju U21	Laagri
17:00 BST				Stadium: Laagri kunstmurustaadion

Jõhvi Phoenix v Läänemaa

22 November 2023	Jõhvi Phoenix	3–0	Läänemaa	Jõhvi
17:00 BST				Stadium: Voka Stadium

Second legs

Nõmme Kalju U21 v Harju II

25 November 2023	Nõmme Kalju U21	0–0 (2–1 agg.)	Harju II	Nõmme
12:00 BST				Stadium: Hiiu Stadium

Läänemaa v Jõhvi Phoenix

29 November 2023	Läänemaa	6–2 (6–5 agg.)	Jõhvi Phoenix	Haapsalu
16:00 BST				Stadium: Haapsalu linnastaadion

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[12]
1	Priit Peedo	Tartu Kalev	36
2	Kenlou Laasner	Tallinna Kalev U21	33
3	Martin Jõgi	Welco	31
4	Andero Kivi	Kuressaare U21	30
5	Promise David	Nõmme Kalju U21	22
6	Akaki Gvineria	Tammeka U21	18
7	Maarek Suursaar	Kuressaare U21	17
	Andreas Tiits	Läänemaa
9	Deniss Drabinko	Nõmme Kalju U21	15
10	Juhan Jograf Siim	Läänemaa	14

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
March[13]	Sander Viira	Kuressaare U21	Priit Peedo	Tartu Kalev
April[14]	Indrek Ilves	Tulevik	Martin Jõgi	Welco
May[15]	Maksim Gruznov	Narva Trans U21	Kenlou Laasner	Tallinna Kalev U21
June/July[16]	Sander Viira	Kuressaare U21	Priit Peedo	Tartu Kalev