The 2017–18 Croatian Second Football League (also known as Druga HNL and 2. HNL) was the 27th season of the

Croatian Second Football League The Croatian Second Football League (), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL, is the third tier of the Croatian football league system. The league was established in 1991, following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Croatian ...

, the second level football competition for men's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

teams in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 18 August 2017 and ended on 23 May 2018. The league is contested by twelve teams and played in a triple round robin format, with each team playing every other team three times over 33 rounds.

Teams

On 21 April 2017, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2016–17 season was completed. For the 2017–18 Druga HNL, eight clubs outside of top level were issued a second level license: Rudeš,

Solin Solin is a town and a suburb of Split, in Split-Dalmatia county, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro. Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the capital o ...

, Gorica, Dinamo Zagreb II, Dugopolje. In the second stage of licensing procedure clubs that were not licensed in the first round appealed the decision. On 23 May 2017, all remaining Druga HNL were granted second division license, along with third level clubs Kustošija, Hajduk Split II,

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

and

Trnje Trnje () is a district in the City of Zagreb, Croatia. According to the 2011 census, the district had 42,282 residents. It is located in the central part of the city, south of Donji grad across the railway ( Zagreb Main Station), east of Trešn ...

Stadia and locations

Number of teams by county

League table

Results

Matches 1–22

Matches 23–33

Relegation play-offs

At the end of the season, eleventh placed team Hrvatski Dragovoljac was to contest a two-legged relegation play-off tie against RNK Split, runners-up of the 2017–18 Croatian Third Football League South Division. The matches, however, were not played because RNK Split did not receive a licence for

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga (), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second League. The 1. NL is ope ...

First leg

Second leg

Top scorers

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian Second Football League, 2017-18 2017-18 Cro 2