Wikipedia

2011–12 Scottish First Division

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).

Irn-Bru Scottish First Division
Season2011–12
ChampionsRoss County
PromotedRoss County
Dundee
RelegatedAyr United
Queen of the South
Matches played180
Goals scored507 (2.82 per match)
Top goalscorerColin McMenamin (19)
Biggest home winPartick Thistle 5–0 Greenock Morton
(30 September 2011)
Raith Rovers 5–0 Greenock Morton
(3 March 2012)
Biggest away winHamilton 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 run9 games
Ross County
Longest unbeaten run34 games
Ross County
Longest winless run9 games
Ayr United
Longest losing run4 games
Queen of the South
Raith Rovers
Falkirk
Ayr United
Highest attendance5,862[1]
Dundee v Greenock Morton
(26 December 2011)
Lowest attendance859[2]
Livingston v Ayr United
(6 March 2011)
Average attendance2,297

Teams

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Location of teams in 2011–12 Scottish First Division

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

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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

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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

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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
Source: SPFL Archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Rangers were liquidated prior to the 2012–13 season. Dundee were chosen to take their place, gaining promotion to the SPL.[5]

Results

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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

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Home \ Away AYR DND FAL GMO HAM LIV PAR QOS RAI ROS
Ayr United 1–3 2–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 2–3
Dundee 1–1 4–2 0–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–2
Falkirk 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 4–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–1
Greenock Morton 4–1 1–2 3–2 0–2 2–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–2
Hamilton Academical 2–3 1–6 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 3–1 2–2 5–1
Livingston 1–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–3
Partick Thistle 4–0 0–1 2–2 5–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–1
Queen of the South 4–1 0–0 1–5 4–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–3 0–0
Raith Rovers 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–2 0–1 2–0 0–2 0–1
Ross County 4–0 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–0 4–2
Updated to match(es) played on 7 March 2012. Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season

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Home \ Away AYR DND FAL GMO HAM LIV PAR QOS RAI ROS
Ayr United 3–2 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–3
Dundee 4–1 3–1 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–1
Falkirk 3–2 1–1 0–2 3–0 2–5 1–1 3–0 2–3 1–1
Greenock Morton 3–1 0–2 0–0 1–2 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–3 1–1
Hamilton Academical 3–2 3–1 0–1 4–3 0–1 2–2 3–0 2–1 0–2
Livingston 0–1 2–3 1–2 0–0 0–4 3–1 2–2 4–0 1–3
Partick Thistle 4–2 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–3 1–0 1–1 0–1
Queen of the South 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–4 0–5 1–0 3–5
Raith Rovers 2–2 0–1 2–2 5–0 2–1 0–3 2–1 3–1 1–1
Ross County 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 5–1 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 5 May 2012. Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

First Division play-offs

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Times are BST (UTC+1)

Semi-finals

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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.Tooltip Aggregate score 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

Dumbarton2 – 1Arbroath
Wallace   16'
Prunty   62'		 Malcolm   5'
Attendance: 911
Referee: Craig Charleston
Airdrie United0 – 0Ayr United
Attendance: 1,871
Referee: Crawford Allan

Second legs

Arbroath0 – 0Dumbarton
Ayr United1 – 3Airdrie United
Geggan   64'
Longridge   17'
Tiffoney   90'		 Holmes   55', 65'
McLaren   85'

Final

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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.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Dumbarton 6–2 Airdrie United 2–1 4–1

First leg

Dumbarton2 – 1Airdrie United
Prunty   29'
Wallace   32'		 Bain   42'

Second leg

Airdrie United1 - 4Dumbarton
Holmes   35'
Bain   80'		 Dargo   9', 21'
Gilhaney   45+3'
Wallace   65'

Statistics

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Top goalscorers

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Dundee 0 - 1 Greenock Morton : Monday, 26 December 2011 Archived 5 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  2. ^ Livingston 1 - 2 Ayr United : Tuesday, 6 March 2012 Archived 24 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e f BBC Sport - Football - Ups and downs, news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  4. ^ Livi relegated to Division Three, 2009-08-05 news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  5. ^ Rangers: Dundee invited to take place in SPL - BBC Sport, 16 July 2012
  6. ^ First Division - Disciplinary, Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "IRN-BRU Phenomenal Awards - September 2011". Scottish Football League. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "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.
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