2015–16 Scottish League One
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2015–16 Scottish League One (referred to as the Ladbrokes League One for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season in the current format of 10 teams in the third-tier of Scottish football.
Season2015–16
ChampionsDunfermline Athletic
PromotedDunfermline Athletic
Ayr United
Ayr United
RelegatedCowdenbeath
Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Promoted | Dunfermline Athletic Ayr United |
| Relegated | Cowdenbeath Forfar Athletic |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 538 (2.99 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Faissal El Bakhtaoui Rory McAllister (22 goals)[1] |
| Best goalkeeper | Sean Murdoch (15 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Peterhead 7–0 Cowdenbeath[2] (21 November 2015) |
| Biggest away win | Brechin City 1–6 Dunfermline Athletic (8 August 2015)[2] |
| Highest scoring | Dunfermline Athletic 7–1 Cowdenbeath (15 August 2015)[2] |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches:[2] Dunfermline Athletic Peterhead |
| Longest unbeaten run | 19 matches:[2] Peterhead |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches:[2] Forfar Athletic |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches:[2] Brechin City |
| Highest attendance | 6,236[2] Dunfermline Athletic 1–0 Peterhead (30 April 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 210[2] Albion Rovers 4–1 Brechin City (23 February 2016) |
| Total attendance | 175,562[2] |
| Average attendance | 975[2] |
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 7 May 2016. | |
Teams
Promoted from Scottish League Two
Relegated from Scottish Championship
Stadia and locations
| Airdrieonians | Albion Rovers | Ayr United | Brechin City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excelsior Stadium | Cliftonhill | Somerset Park | Glebe Park |
| Capacity: 10,170[3] | Capacity: 1,238[4] | Capacity: 10,185[5] | Capacity: 3,960[6] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Cowdenbeath | Dunfermline Athletic | ||
| Central Park | East End Park | ||
| Capacity: 4,309[7] | Capacity: 11,480[8] | ||
 |
 | ||
| Forfar Athletic | Peterhead | Stenhousemuir | Stranraer |
| Station Park | Balmoor | Ochilview Park | Stair Park |
| Capacity: 6,777[9] | Capacity: 3,150[10] | Capacity: 3,746[11] | Capacity: 6,250[12] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Personnel
| Team | Manager | Captain | Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrieonians |  Danny Lennon (acting head coach) |
Marc Fitzpatrick |
Macron | M&H Logistics |
| Albion Rovers | Darren Young |
Michael Dunlop |
Adidas | Reigart Demolition |
| Ayr United | Ian McCall |
Nicky Devlin |
Adidas | Bodog |
| Brechin City | Darren Dods |
Craig Molloy |
Pendle | Delson |
| Cowdenbeath | Colin Nish |
Pat Scullion |
Uhlsport | Subsea Pressure Controls |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Allan Johnston |
Callum Fordyce |
Joma | SRJ Windows |
| Forfar Athletic | Gary Bollan |
Gavin Swankie |
Pendle | Orchard Timber Products |
| Peterhead | Jim McInally |
Steven Noble |
Adidas | LFH Engineering Ltd |
| Stenhousemuir | Brown Ferguson |
Stuart Malcolm |
Prostar | Gulnar Tandoori Restaurant |
| Stranraer | Brian Reid |
Steven Bell |
Stanno | Stena Line |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunfermline Athletic | John Potter |
Stepped down | 30 April 2015[13] | Pre-season | Allan Johnston |
8 May 2015[14] |
| Cowdenbeath |  Jimmy Nicholl |
Resigned | 5 May 2015[15] | Colin Nish |
2 June 2015[16] | |
| Brechin City | Ray McKinnon |
Signed by Raith Rovers | 23 May 2015[17] | Darren Dods |
10 June 2015[18] | |
| Stranraer | Stephen Aitken |
Signed by Dumbarton | 27 May 2015[19] | Brian Reid |
1 June 2015[20] | |
| Forfar Athletic | Dick Campbell |
Sacked | 12 December 2015[21] | 8th | Stewart Petrie (interim) |
15 December 2015[22] |
| Airdrieonians | Gary Bollan |
Signed by Forfar Athletic | 20 December 2015[23] | 5th | Eddie Wolecki Black |
22 December 2015[24] |
| Forfar Athletic | Stewart Petrie (interim) |
End of interim | 21 December 2015[25] | 8th | Gary Bollan |
21 December 2015[23] |
| Airdrieonians | Eddie Wolecki Black |
Illness | 5 March 2016 | 4th | Danny Lennon (acting head coach) |
10 March 2016 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dunfermline Athletic (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 83 | 30 | +53 | 79 | Promotion to Scottish Championship |
| 2 | Ayr United (O, P) | 36 | 19 | 4 | 13 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 61 | Qualification to Championship play-offs |
| 3 | Peterhead | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 72 | 47 | +25 | 59 | |
| 4 | Stranraer | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 43 | 49 | −6 | 51 | |
| 5 | Airdrieonians | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 49 | |
| 6 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 49 | |
| 7 | Brechin City | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 47 | 59 | −12 | 42 | |
| 8 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 46 | 80 | −34 | 40 | |
| 9 | Cowdenbeath (R) | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 46 | 72 | −26 | 39 | Qualification to League One play-offs |
| 10 | Forfar Athletic (R) | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 34 | Relegation to Scottish League Two |
Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results
Teams play each other four times, twice in the first half of the season (home and away) and twice in the second half of the season (home and away), making a total of 36 games.
First half of season
|
Second half of season
|
|
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
- As of matches played on 30 April 2016[1]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Faissal El Bakhtaoui |
Dunfermline Athletic | 22 |
| Rory McAllister |
Peterhead | ||
| 3 | Greig Spence |
Cowdenbeath | 17 |
| 4 | Robert Thomson |
Brechin City | 15 |
| 5 |  Joe Cardle |
Dunfermline Athletic | 14 |
| Craig Moore |
Ayr United | ||
| 7 | Ally Love |
Albion Rovers | 13 |
| Shane Sutherland |
Peterhead |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Cardle | Dunfermline Athletic | Forfar Athletic | 4–0 | 5 September 2015 | [26] |
| Rory McAllister | Peterhead | Stenhousemuir | 3–4 | 31 October 2015 | [27] |
| Leighton McIntosh | Peterhead | Cowdenbeath | 7–0 | 21 November 2015 | [28] |
| Joe Cardle | Dunfermline Athletic | Stranraer | 6–1 | 27 February 2016 | [29] |
| Rory McAllister | Peterhead | Brechin City | 4–1 | 27 February 2016 | [30] |
| Faissal El Bakhtaoui | Dunfermline Athletic | Brechin City | 3–1 | 26 March 2016 | [31] |
| Robert Thomson | Brechin City | Peterhead | 5–1 | 16 April 2016 | [32] |
Discipline
Player
Yellow cards
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Red cards
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Club
Yellow cards
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Red cards
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Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August | Dick Campbell |
Forfar Athletic | Faissal El Bakhtaoui |
Dunfermline Athletic | [35] |
| September | Ian McCall |
Ayr United | Nicky Devlin |
Ayr United | |
| October | Darren Young |
Albion Rovers | Sean Murdoch |
Dunfermline Athletic | |
| November | Brown Ferguson |
Stenhousemuir | Leighton McIntosh |
Peterhead | |
| December | Allan Johnston |
Dunfermline Athletic | Greig Spence |
Cowdenbeath | |
| January | Jim McInally |
Peterhead | Shane Sutherland |
Peterhead | |
| February | Jim McInally |
Peterhead | Rory McAllister |
Peterhead | |
| March | Allan Johnston |
Dunfermline Athletic | Faissal El Bakhtaoui |
Dunfermline Athletic | |
| April | Darren Dods |
Brechin City | Robert Thomson |
Brechin City | |
League One play-offs
Cowdenbeath, the second bottom team, entered into a 4-team playoff with the 2nd-4th placed teams in 2015–16 Scottish League Two; Elgin City, Clyde, and Queen's Park.
Semi-finals
First leg
| 3 May 2016[36] | Clyde | 3–1 | Elgin City | Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld |
| 19:45 | Gemmell  19'Linton 41'McLaughlin 67' |
BBC Report | MacLeod 49' |
Attendance: 804 Referee: John McKendrick |
| 4 May 2016[36] | Queen's Park | 2–0 | Cowdenbeath | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| 19:45 | Duggan 1', 66' (pen.) |
BBC Report | Attendance: 572 Referee: Greg Aitken |
Second leg
| 7 May 2016[36] | Elgin City | 0–2 (1–5 agg.) | Clyde | Borough Briggs, Elgin |
| 15:00 | BBC Report | Kirkpatrick 62' Linton 90+5' |
Attendance: 1,371 Referee: Euan Anderson |
| 7 May 2016[36] | Cowdenbeath | 1–0 (1–2 agg.) | Queen's Park | Central Park, Cowdenbeath |
| 15:00 | Spence 54' |
BBC Report | Attendance: 585 Referee: Craig Charleston |
Final
The winners of the semi-finals, Clyde and Queen's Park, then competed against one another over two legs, with the winner replacing Cowdenbeath and being promoted to the 2016–17 Scottish League One.
First leg
| 10 May 2016[37] | Clyde | 1–3 | Queen's Park | Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld |
| 19:45 | Gemmell 15' |
BBC Report | Burns 5' (pen.) Berry 63'Galt 84' |
Referee: Kevin Clancy |
Second leg
| 14 May 2016[37] | Queen's Park | 0–1 (3–2 agg.) | Clyde | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| 15:00 | BBC Report | Linton 33' (pen.) |