title: 1996–97 Meistriliiga
text: # 1996–97 Meistriliiga
  
  The 1996–97 Meistriliiga was the sixth season of the Meistriliiga, Estonia's premier football league. Lantana won their second title.
  
  ## Preliminary round
  
  ### League table
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Lantana | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 9 | +21 | 35 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 2 | Flora | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 29 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 3 | Marlekor | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 22 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 4 | Lelle | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 21 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 5 | Narva Trans | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 20 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 6 | Tallinna Sadam | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 16 | Qualification for Championship Tournament |
  | 7 | Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 20 | −10 | 13 | Qualification for Meistriliiga Transition Tournament |
  | 8 | Vall | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 44 | −35 | 1 | Qualification for Meistriliiga Transition Tournament |
  
  ### Results
  
  | Home \ Away | JEP | FLO | LAN | LEL | MAR | SAD | TRS | VAL |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
  | Flora | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
  | Lantana | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | +:- |
  | Lelle | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 |
  | Marlekor | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
  | Tallinna Sadam | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 3–4 | 4–0 |
  | Narva Trans | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–3 | | 5–3 |
  | Vall | 1–4 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | |
  
  * ↑ Result canceled – JK Vall used a disqualified player. The initial score was 5-1 for Lantana.
  
  ## Championship Tournament
  
  The points obtained during the preliminary round were carried over halved and rounded up.
  
  ### League table
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Lantana (C) | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 6 | +16 | 18 | 41 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
  | 2 | Flora | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 7 | +18 | 15 | 38 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
  | 3 | Tallinna Sadam | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 8 | 24 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
  | 4 | Lelle | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 21 | −15 | 11 | 20 | |
  | 5 | Marlekor | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 11 | 19 | |
  | 6 | Narva Trans | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 19 | −11 | 10 | 17 | |
  
  ### Results
  
  | Home \ Away | FLO | LAN | LEL | MAR | SAD | TRS |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Flora | | 4–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 |
  | Lantana | 0–0 | | 3–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
  | Lelle | 0–2 | 0–2 | | 3–0 | 0–4 | +:- |
  | Marlekor | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 3–1 |
  | Tallinna Sadam | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 3–1 |
  | Narva Trans | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
  
  * ↑ Narva Trans did not show up.
  
  ## Meistriliiga Transition Tournament
  
  Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi and PVall, the teams finishing in the last two positions in the preliminary round, faced four best teams of the 1996-97 Esiliiga in the play-off for two places in the 1997-98 Meistriliiga.
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 5 | +23 | 25 | Promotion to Meistriliiga |
  | 2 | Vall | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 15 | +14 | 22 | Promotion to Meistriliiga |
  | 3 | Pärnu JK | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 27 | −18 | 13 | Relegation to Esiliiga |
  | 4 | FC Lelle | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 12 | Relegation to Esiliiga |
  | 5 | TJK | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 8 | Relegation to Esiliiga |
  | 6 | Sillamäe Kalev | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 21 | −15 | 6 | Relegation to Esiliiga |
  
  ## Top scorers
  
  | Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Sergei Bragin | Lantana | 18 |
  | 2 | Andres Oper | Flora | 13 |
  | 3 | Maksim Gruznov | Lantana | 12 |
  | 4 | Jonatan Johansson | Flora | 9 |
  | 4 | Stanislav Kitto | Narva Trans | 9 |
  