The 2011–12 Scottish Football League First Division, also known as the 2011–12 Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the 18th season of the Scottish First Division and the 106th season of a second-tier football league in Scotland. Dunfermline Athletic are the current champions. It began on 6 August 2011 and is scheduled to end on 5 May 2012. The league comprises the teams ranked second through eighth of the 2010–11 season, the relegated side from the 2010–11 Premier League (Hamilton Academical), the 2010–11 Second Division champions, and the winners of the 2010–11 First Division play-off (Livingston and Ayr United respectively).
| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Ross County |
| Promoted | Ross County Dundee |
| Relegated | Ayr United Queen of the South |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 507 (2.82 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Colin McMenamin (19) |
| Biggest home win | Partick Thistle 5–0 Greenock Morton (30 September 2011) Raith Rovers 5–0 Greenock Morton (3 March 2012) |
| Biggest away win | Hamilton Academical 1–6 Dundee (3 December 2011) Queen of the South 0–5 Partick Thistle (17 March 2012) |
| Highest scoring | (8 goals) Queen of the South 3–5 Ross County (5 May 2012) |
| Longest winning run | 9 games Ross County |
| Longest unbeaten run | 34 games Ross County |
| Longest winless run | 9 games Ayr United |
| Longest losing run | 4 games Queen of the South Raith Rovers Falkirk Ayr United |
| Highest attendance | 5,862[1] Dundee v Greenock Morton (26 December 2011) |
| Lowest attendance | 859[2] Livingston v Ayr United (6 March 2011) |
| Average attendance | 2,297 |
← 2010–11 2012–13 → | |
Teams edit
Dunfermline Athletic, champions of the 2010–11 season, were promoted to the 2011–12 Premier League.[3] The club thus completed a five-season tenure in the First Division. Dunfermline were replaced by Hamilton Academical, who were relegated from the 2010–11 Premier League after finishing at the bottom of the table;[3] Hamilton returned to the First Division after three years.
At the bottom end of the table, last-placed Stirling Albion were directly relegated to the 2011–12 Second Division[3] after being promoted to the second tier only one season earlier. They were replaced by the 2010–11 Second Division champions Livingston,[3] who returned to the First Division after two consecutive promotions in two years; the club had previously been demoted for financial irregularities at the end of the 2008–09 season.[4]
An additional place in the league was available via a play-off tournament between the ninth-placed First Division team, Cowdenbeath, and the sides ranked second through to fourth in the Second Division, Ayr United, Forfar Athletic and Brechin City respectively. The tournament was won by Ayr United,[3] who therefore were promoted back to the First Division after a one-year absence; Cowdenbeath hence were relegated,[3] returning to the Second Division after just one season.
Stadia and locations edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr United | Ayr | Somerset Park | 10,243 |
| Dundee | Dundee | Dens Park | 12,085 |
| Falkirk | Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 9,120 |
| Greenock Morton | Greenock | Cappielow | 11,612 |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | New Douglas Park | 6,096 |
| Livingston | Livingston | Braidwood Motor Company Stadium | 10,122 |
| Partick Thistle | Glasgow | Firhill Stadium | 13,079 |
| Queen of the South | Dumfries | Palmerston Park | 6,412 |
| Raith Rovers | Kirkcaldy | Stark's Park | 10,104 |
| Ross County | Dingwall | Victoria Park | 6,310 |
Personnel and kits edit
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr United |  Brian Reid
|
Nike | Bodog |
| Dundee | Barry Smith
|
Puma | Kilmac Energy |
| Falkirk | Steven Pressley
|
Puma | Central Demolition |
| Greenock Morton | Allan Moore
|
Puma | Ferguson's Chocolates (H), Buchanan's Toffees (A), Millions Chews (T) |
| Hamilton Academical | Billy Reid
|
Nike | M&H Logistics (H), Life Skills Centres (A,T) |
| Livingston | John Hughes
|
Umbro | Fasteq |
| Partick Thistle | Jackie McNamara
|
Puma | macb (Until March) Just Employment Law (March onwards) |
| Queen of the South | Gus MacPherson
|
Joma | Border Utilities Ltd |
| Raith Rovers | John McGlynn
|
Puma | Kittys & Styx (H), ACA Sports (A) |
| Ross County | Derek Adams
|
Nike | Highnet |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross County (C, P) | 36 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 72 | 32 | +40 | 79 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Dundee (P) | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 55[a] | |
| 3 | Falkirk | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 52 | |
| 4 | Hamilton Academical | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 55 | 56 | −1 | 49 | |
| 5 | Livingston | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 48 | |
| 6 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 47 | |
| 7 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 44 | |
| 8 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 42 | |
| 9 | Ayr United (R) | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 67 | −23 | 38 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 10 | Queen of the South (R) | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 38 | 64 | −26 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Rangers were liquidated prior to the 2012–13 season. Dundee were chosen to take their place, gaining promotion to the SPL.[5]
Results edit
Teams play each other four times in this league. In the first half of the season each team plays every other team twice (home and away) and then do the same in the second half of the season, for a total of 36 games
First half of season edit
Second half of season edit
First Division play-offs edit
Semi-finals edit
The fourth placed team in the Second Division (Airdrie United) will play the ninth placed team in the First Division (Ayr United) and third placed team in the Second Division (Dumbarton) will play the second placed team in the Second Division (Arbroath). The play-offs will be played over two legs, the winning team in each semi-final will advance to the final.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbarton | 2–1 | Arbroath | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Airdrie United | 3–1 | Ayr United | 0–0 | 3–1 |
First legs
Second legs
| Ayr United | 1 – 3 | Airdrie United |
|---|---|---|
Geggan  64'Longridge  17'Tiffoney 90' |
Holmes 55', 65' McLaren 85' |
Final edit
The two semi-final winners will play each other over two legs. Originally, the winning team only was to be awarded a place in the 2012–13 First Division. Following the Rangers F.C. administration situation, both teams were awarded places.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbarton | 6–2 | Airdrie United | 2–1 | 4–1 |
First leg
| Dumbarton | 2 – 1 | Airdrie United |
|---|---|---|
| Prunty 29' Wallace 32' |
Bain 42' |
Second leg
| Airdrie United | 1 - 4 | Dumbarton |
|---|---|---|
| Holmes 35' Bain 80' |
Dargo 9', 21' Gilhaney 45+3'Wallace 65' |
Statistics edit
Top goalscorers edit
- As of 21 April 2012
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin McMenamin
|
Ross County | 19 |
| 2 |  Farid El Alagui
|
Falkirk | 18 |
| 3 | Kris Doolan
|
Partick Thistle | 13 |
| Michael Gardyne
|
Ross County | ||
| 4 |  Rory Boulding
|
Livingston | 11 |
| Paul Cairney
|
Partick Thistle | ||
| Ryan Conroy
|
Dundee | ||
| Brian Graham
|
Raith Rovers | ||
| Marc McNulty
|
Livingston | ||
| Steven Milne
|
Dundee |
Hat-tricks edit
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Smith |
Queen of the South | Greenock Morton | 4–1 | 17 September 2011 |
| Steven Milne |
Dundee | Hamilton Academical | 6–1 | 3 December 2011 |
| Marc McNulty |
Livingston | Raith Rovers | 4–0 | 18 February 2012 |
| Richard Brittain |
Ross County | Ayr United | 3–2 | 29 February 2012 |
| Rory Boulding |
Livingston | Raith Rovers | 3–0 | 10 April 2012 |
| Brian Graham |
Raith Rovers | Falkirk | 3–2 | 21 April 2012 |
| Paul Cairney |
Partick Thistle | Dundee | 3–0 | 21 April 2012 |
Disciplinary by player edit
- As of 7 March 2011 23:25 (BST)
| Rank[6] | Player | Team |  Yellow
|
 Red
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark McLaughlin
|
Hamilton Academical | 5 | 2 |
 Simon Mensing
|
Hamilton Academical | 8 | 1 | |
| 3 | Stephen O'Donnell
|
Dundee | 4 | 2 |
| Darren Dods
|
Falkirk | 7 | 1 | |
| 5 | Craig Reid
|
Queen of the South | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | Stuart Kettlewell
|
Ross County | 5 | 1 |
| Mark Fotheringham
|
Livingston | 5 | 1 | |
| Paul Watson
|
Livingston | 5 | 1 | |
| 9 | Farid El Alagui
|
Falkirk | 8 | 0 |
| Stephen McKenna
|
Queen of the South | 8 | 0 |
Awards edit
| Month | First Division Manager of the Month | SFL Player of the Month | SFL Young player of the Month | Ginger Boot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |
| August[7] | Allan Moore
|
Greenock Morton | Dougie Imrie
|
Hamilton Academical | Craig Sibbald
|
Falkirk | Third division player | |
| September[8] | Steven Pressley
|
Falkirk | Farid El Alagui
|
Falkirk | Second division player | Peter MacDonald
|
Greenock Morton | |
| October[9] | Derek Adams Steven Pressley
|
Ross County Falkirk |
Darren Dods Grant Munro
|
Falkirk Ross County |
Aaron Sinclair
|
Partick Thistle | Second division player | |
| November[10] | Barry Smith
|
Dundee | Nicky Riley
|
Dundee | Second division player | Third division player | ||
| December[11] | Jackie McNamara
|
Partick Thistle | Farid El Alagui
|
Falkirk | Third division player | Third division player | ||
| January[12] | Steven Pressley
|
Falkirk | Third division player | Third division player | Third division player | |||
| February[13] | Steven Pressley
|
Falkirk | Second division player | Andy Ryan
|
Hamilton | Second division player | ||
| March | ||||||||
| April | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ Dundee 0 - 1 Greenock Morton : Monday, 26 December 2011 Archived 5 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Livingston 1 - 2 Ayr United : Tuesday, 6 March 2012 Archived 24 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e f BBC Sport - Football - Ups and downs, news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ Livi relegated to Division Three, 2009-08-05 news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2011-05-29.
- ^ Rangers: Dundee invited to take place in SPL - BBC Sport, 16 July 2012
- ^ First Division - Disciplinary, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ "IRN-BRU Phenomenal Awards for August 2011". Scottish Football League. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "IRN-BRU Phenomenal Awards - September 2011". Scottish Football League. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - October 2011". Scottish Football League. 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
- ^ "IRN-BRU SFL November Manager and Player of the Month Awards". Scottish Football League. 18 December 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - December 2011". Scottish Football League. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - January 2012". Scottish Football League. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - February 2012". Scottish Football League. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.