2015–16 Scottish League Two

Football league season
Scottish League Two
Season2015–16
ChampionsEast Fife
PromotedEast Fife
Queen's Park
RelegatedEast Stirlingshire
Matches played180
Goals scored517 (2.87 per match)
Top goalscorerNathan Austin
(22 goals)[1]
Biggest home winStirling Albion 7–0 Montrose
(9 February 2016)[2]
Biggest away winStirling Albion 0–6 East Fife
(19 March 2016)[2]
Highest scoringEast Fife 5–3 East Stirlingshire
(14 November 2015)[2]
Longest winning run4 matches:[2]
Clyde
East Fife
Elgin City
Longest unbeaten run7 matches:[2]
East Fife
Longest winless run8 matches:[2]
Montrose
Longest losing run6 matches:[2]
Berwick Rangers
Highest attendance1,387[2]
Montrose 0–2 Arbroath
(2 January 2016)
Lowest attendance238[2]
East Stirlingshire 3–1 Montrose
(21 November 2015)
Berwick Rangers 3–2 Annan Athletic
(16 February 2016)
Total attendance99,947[2]
Average attendance555[2]
All statistics correct as of 1 May 2016.

The 2015–16 Scottish League Two (referred to as the Ladbrokes League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season in the current format of 10 teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football. The last placed team entered a play-off with a team nominated by the Scottish Football Association from outside the SPFL to determine which team enters League Two in the 2016–17 season.[3]

Teams

To League Two

Relegated from Scottish League One

From League Two

Promoted to Scottish League One

Stadia and locations

Annan Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Clyde
Galabank Gayfield Park Shielfield Park Broadwood Stadium
Capacity: 2,514[4] Capacity: 6,600[5] Capacity: 4,500[6] Capacity: 7,936[7]
East Fife East Stirlingshire
Bayview Stadium Ochilview Park
Capacity: 1,980[8] Capacity: 3,746[9]
Elgin City Montrose Queen's Park Stirling Albion
Borough Briggs Links Park Hampden Park Forthbank Stadium
Capacity: 4,520[10] Capacity: 3,292[11] Capacity: 51,866[12] Capacity: 3,808[13]

Personnel

Team Manager Captain Manufacturer Sponsors
Annan Athletic Scotland Jim Chapman Scotland Steven Black Stanno M&S Engineering Ltd
Arbroath Scotland Dick Campbell Scotland Mark Whatley Pendle Megatech
Berwick Rangers United States John Coughlin England Jonny Fairbairn Zoo Sport Automatic Retailing Vending Ltd
Clyde Scotland Barry Ferguson Scotland Mark McLaughlin Hummel Cash for Kids
East Fife Scotland Gary Naysmith Scotland Steven Campbell Joma OLS Laundry Service
East Stirlingshire Scotland Craig Tully England Richard Barnard Jako Shire Trust
Elgin City Scotland Jim Weir Scotland Jamie Duff EC 1893 McDonald & Munro
Montrose Scotland Paul Hegarty Scotland Paul Watson Nike Intervention Rentals
Queen's Park Scotland Gus MacPherson Scotland Tony Quinn Under Armour Irn-Bru
Stirling Albion Scotland Stuart McLaren Scotland Ross McMillan Macron Prudential

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Berwick Rangers Scotland Colin Cameron Sacked 31 October 2015[14] 7th United States John Coughlin 6 November 2015[15]
Arbroath England Todd Lumsden Sacked 6 March 2016[16] 8th Scotland Dick Campbell 8 March 2016[17]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 East Fife (C, P) 36 18 8 10 62 41 +21 62 Promotion to Scottish League One
2 Elgin City 36 17 8 11 59 46 +13 59 Qualification to League One play-offs
3 Clyde 36 17 6 13 56 45 +11 57
4 Queen's Park (O, P) 36 15 11 10 46 32 +14 56
5 Annan Athletic 36 16 8 12 69 57 +12 56
6 Berwick Rangers 36 14 7 15 45 50 −5 49
7 Stirling Albion 36 13 9 14 47 46 +1 48
8 Montrose 36 11 10 15 50 70 −20 43
9 Arbroath 36 11 6 19 42 51 −9 39
10 East Stirlingshire (R) 36 9 5 22 41 79 −38 32 Qualification to League Two play-off finals
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

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

Home \ Away ANN ARB BER CLY EFI EST ELG MON QPA STI
Annan Athletic 2–2 1–0 2–3 2–0 3–1 1–1 3–2 3–1 1–1
Arbroath 0–2 3–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–3 3–1 1–2 2–0
Berwick Rangers 0–2 2–2 0–5 1–1 2–1 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–2
Clyde 4–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 4–2 3–1 0–2 0–1
East Fife 0–1 0–1 5–0 1–0 5–3 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–1
East Stirlingshire 3–1 0–4 0–4 0–3 1–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 2–3
Elgin City 3–2 2–0 4–1 1–1 4–2 4–0 2–0 0–0 1–0
Montrose 1–1 3–0 4–1 2–0 1–4 2–1 2–0 1–6 1–3
Queen's Park 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 5–1 3–1 0–1 1–0
Stirling Albion 1–0 3–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on 8 March 2016. Source: Scottish League 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season

Home \ Away ANN ARB BER CLY EFI EST ELG MON QPA STI
Annan Athletic 4–1 1–0 3–3 2–4 1–3 4–2 3–3 1–0 2–2
Arbroath 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 3–0 2–3 0–0 0–1 1–1
Berwick Rangers 3–2 3–0 3–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0
Clyde 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 3–3 0–1 3–1
East Fife 4–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–0 1–1 1–0
East Stirlingshire 0–1 0–3 0–0 2–4 1–3 0–3 2–4 0–3 3–2
Elgin City 2–2 4–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1
Montrose 0–5 0–2 1–0 2–1 2–2 3–2 3–1 1–1 1–1
Queen's Park 1–3 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–0 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–1
Stirling Albion 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–6 3–0 0–0 7–0 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 April 2016. Source: Scottish League 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of matches played on 30 April 2016[1]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Nathan Austin East Fife 22
2 Scotland Craig Gunn Elgin City 21
3 Scotland Gary Fraser Montrose 19
4 Scotland Blair Henderson Berwick Rangers 17
5 England Peter Weatherson Annan Athletic 15
6 England Josh Todd Annan Athletic 13

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date Ref
Scotland Nathan Austin East Fife Montrose 4–1 26 September 2015 [18]
Scotland David Gormley4 Clyde Berwick Rangers 5–0 21 November 2015 [19]
Scotland Darren Smith Stirling Albion Montrose 3–1 12 December 2015 [20]
Scotland Nathan Austin East Fife Stirling Albion 3–1 26 December 2015 [21]
Scotland Darren Smith Stirling Albion Montrose 7–0 9 February 2016 [22]
Note

4 Player scored 4 goals

Discipline

Player

Yellow cards
As of matches played on 30 April 2016[23]
Rank Player Club Cards
1 Scotland Michael McKenna Berwick Rangers 13
2 Scotland Reece Donaldson East Stirlingshire 11
3 Scotland Steven Notman Berwick Rangers 10
Scotland Gary Fraser Montrose
Scotland Ross Forsyth Stirling Albion
6 Scotland Mark McLaughlin Clyde 9
Scotland Mark Nicolson Elgin City
Scotland Ross Smith Stirling Albion
9 Scotland Graham Webster Montrose 8
10 6 players 7
Red cards
As of matches played on 30 April 2016[23]
Rank Player Club Cards
1 England Peter Weatherson Annan Athletic 2
Scotland Ricky Little Arbroath
Scotland Jordan McGregor Berwick Rangers
Scotland Kevin Walker Berwick Rangers
Scotland Reece Donaldson East Stirlingshire
Scotland Ross Smith Stirling Albion
7 33 players 1

Club

Yellow cards
As of matches played on 30 April 2016[24]
Rank Club Cards
1 Berwick Rangers 74
2 East Stirlingshire 73
3 Stirling Albion 64
Red cards
As of matches played on 30 April 2016[24]
Rank Club Cards
1 Berwick Rangers 8
Stirling Albion
3 Clyde 7

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland Gary Naysmith East Fife Nigeria Smart Osadolor Annan Athletic [25]
September Scotland Gus MacPherson Queen's Park Scotland Bobby Linn Arbroath
October Scotland Paul Hegarty Montrose Scotland Matty Flynn Annan Athletic
November Scotland Barry Ferguson Clyde Scotland David Gormley Clyde
December Scotland Stuart McLaren Stirling Albion Scotland Darren Smith Stirling Albion
January Scotland Jim Weir Elgin City England Nathan Austin East Fife
February Scotland Barry Ferguson Clyde Scotland Steven Doris Stirling Albion
March Scotland Gary Naysmith East Fife Scotland Kyle Wilkie East Fife
April United States John Coughlin Berwick Rangers Scotland Brian Cameron Elgin City

League Two play-offs

The first round was contested between Cove Rangers and Edinburgh City, the winners of the Highland League and Lowland League respectively. City, the winners, then played off against the bottom club in League Two, East Stirlingshire, swapping with them and being promoted to the 2016–17 Scottish League Two with a victory.

Semi-finals

First leg

Cove Rangers v Edinburgh City
23 April 2016 Cove Rangers 0–3 Edinburgh City Harlaw Park, Inverurie
15:00 BBC Report Allum 22', 45'
Donaldson 41'

Second leg

Edinburgh City v Cove Rangers
30 April 2016 Edinburgh City 1–1
(4–1 agg.)
Cove Rangers Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh
15:00 Gair 32' BBC report Watt 86' Attendance: 839

Final

First leg

Edinburgh City v East Stirlingshire
7 May 2016 Edinburgh City 1–1 East Stirlingshire Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh
15:00 Gair 15' (pen.)
Mbu Red card 77'
BBC Report Wright 42'
Donaldson Red card 90+1'
Attendance: 1,090
Referee: Gavin Duncan

Second leg

East Stirlingshire v Edinburgh City
14 May 2016 East Stirlingshire 0–1
(1–2 agg.)
Edinburgh City Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
15:00 Donaldson Red card 86' BBC Report Gair 87' (pen.) Attendance: 1,286
Referee: Don Robertson

References

  1. ^ a b "2015–16 Scottish League Two scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2015–16 Scottish League Two performance". ESPN. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. ^ "The Rules of the SPFL" (PDF). Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Annan Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Arbroath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Berwick Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Clyde Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. ^ "East Fife Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ "East Stirlingshire Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Elgin City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Montrose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Queens Park Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Stirling Albion Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Montrose 4–1 Brewick". berwickrangers.com. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Coughlin named new Berwick boss". SPFL. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Struggling Arbroath part company with manager Todd Lumsden". BBC Sport. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  17. ^ Nicholson, Eric (8 March 2016). "Arbroath appoint Dick Campbell as manager". The Courier. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Montrose 1–4 East Fife". BBC Sport. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Berwick Rangers 0–5 Clyde". BBC Sport. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Montrose 1–3 Stirling". BBC Sport. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Stirling 1–3 East Fife". BBC Sport. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Stirling Albion 7–0 Montrose". BBC Sport. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  23. ^ a b "2015–16 Scottish League Two statistics – Player Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  24. ^ a b "2015–16 Scottish League Two statistics – Club Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  25. ^ "SPFL monthly awards". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. May 28, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
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