2015–16 Macedonian First Football League
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
Vardar 9th Macedonian title 10th domestic title |
| Relegated |
Metalurg Mladost Horizont Turnovo |
| Champions League | Vardar |
| Europa League |
Shkëndija Rabotnički Sileks |
| Matches played | 162 |
| Goals scored | 426 (2.63 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Besart Ibraimi (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Vardar 6–0 Mladost |
| Biggest away win | Mladost 0–5 Bregalnica |
| Highest scoring | Renova 5–2 Horizont Turnovo |
| Longest winning run |
9 games Shkendija |
| Longest unbeaten run |
15 games Rabotnichki |
| Longest winless run |
11 games Mladost |
| Longest losing run |
10 games Mladost |
|
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 19 May 2016. | |
The 2015–16 Macedonian First League was the 24th season of the Macedonian First Football League, the highest football league of Macedonia. It began on 9 August 2015 and ended in 19 May 2016. It was the last season as the format changed from the 2016–17 season which will each team be played the other sides four times on home-away basis, for a total of 36 matches each instead of play-off and play-out after 27th round.[1]
The league was contested by 10 teams. Vardar are the defending champions, having won their eight title in 2014–15.
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from 2014–15 Second League
Relegated to 2015–16 Second League |
Promoted from 2015–16 Second League
Relegated to 2016–17 Second League
|
1 Mladost Carev Dvor was declined their participation from the Second League due to financial problems.[1]
Participating teams
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bregalnica Štip | Štip | Gradski stadion Štip | 4,000 |
| Metalurg Skopje | Skopje | Železarnica Stadium | 3,000 |
| Mladost Carev Dvor | Carev Dvor | SRC Biljanini Izvori | 2,500 |
| Rabotnički | Skopje | Philip II Arena | 33,460 |
| Renova | Džepčište | Gradski stadion Tetovo | 15,000 |
| Shkëndija | Tetovo | Gradski stadion Tetovo | 15,000 |
| Shkupi | Skopje | Čair Stadium | 6,000 |
| Sileks | Kratovo | Gradski stadion Kratovo | 1,800 |
| Horizont Turnovo | Turnovo | Stadion Kukuš | 1,500 |
| Vardar | Skopje | Philip II Arena | 33,460 |
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bregalnica |  Stojanov, IgorIgor Stojanov |
Zdravkov, GoranGoran Zdravkov |
Derbystar | Quehenberger |
| Metalurg | Mackov, AleksoAlekso Mackov |
Krstev, MileMile Krstev |
Macron | Makstil |
| Mladost | Cvetanoski, ZdravkoZdravko Cvetanoski |
Ristevski, AleksandarAleksandar Ristevski |
Legea | |
| Rabotnichki | Franc, TomislavTomislav Franc |
Ilijoski, BazheBazhe Ilijoski |
Zeus | |
| Renova | Osmani, QatipQatip Osmani |
Nuhi, FisnikFisnik Nuhi |
Jako | Renova |
| Shkendija |  Akrapović, BrunoBruno Akrapović |
Hasani, FerhanFerhan Hasani |
Nike | Ecolog |
| Shkupi | Ganiu, VisarVisar Ganiu |
Zendeli, SuatSuat Zendeli |
Lotto | Čair Municipality |
| Sileks | Mitevski, MomchiloMomchilo Mitevski |
Georgiev, NikolchoNikolcho Georgiev |
Legea | |
| Horizont Turnovo | Nikolovski, JaneJane Nikolovski |
Pandev, SashkoSashko Pandev |
Jako | Vitaminka |
| Vardar | Sedloski, GoceGoce Sedloski |
Grncharov, BobanBoban Grncharov |
Hummel | Zdravje |
Regular season
The first 27 Rounds comprise the first phase of the season, also called the Regular season. In the first phase, every team plays against each other team twice on a home-away basis till all the teams have played two matches against each other. The table standings at the end of the Regular season determine the group in which each team is going to play in the Play-offs.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vardar | 27 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 59 | 15 | +44 | 65 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Shkëndija | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 21 | +41 | 63 | |
| 3 | Sileks | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 40 | |
| 4 | Shkupi | 27 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 38 | |
| 5 | Rabotnički | 27 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 36 | |
| 6 | Bregalnica Štip | 27 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 33 | |
| 7 | Horizont Turnovo | 27 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 33 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 8 | Renova | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 31 | |
| 9 | Metalurg Skopje | 27 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 20 | 48 | −28 | 16 | |
| 10 | Mladost Carev Dvor | 27 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 18 | 65 | −47 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Draw; 9) Play-off. (Note: Criteria 2, 3 and 8 is only used if not deciding teams for championship or relegation round).[2]
Results
Matches 1–18
Source: MacedonianFootball.com |
Matches 19–27
Source: MacedonianFootball.com |
Second phase
The second phase are the so-called Play-off Rounds which is divided in two groups: Championship and Relegation. The top 6 ranked teams on the table after the Regular Season qualify for the Championship group, while the bottom 4 advance to the Relegation group.
Championship round
In the Championship round, each team plays against every other one only once, making 5 games in total. Records from the first phase are carried over. Teams play each other once with each team playing five games in this round.[3]
Championship round table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vardar (C) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 80 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Shkëndija | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 75 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1] |
| 3 | Sileks | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 44 | |
| 4 | Rabotnički | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 43 | |
| 5 | Bregalnica Štip | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 38 | |
| 6 | Shkupi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 38 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Draw; 9) Play-off. (Note: Criteria 2, 3 and 8 is only used if not deciding Champion or teams for UEFA competitions).[4]
(C) Champion.
Notes:
- ↑ Shkëndija qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Macedonian Football Cup.
Results
| Home ╲ Away | BRE | RAB | ŠKE | SHK | SIL | VAR |
| Bregalnica Štip | 0–0 | 2–0 | ||||
| Rabotnički | 2–0 | 0–1 | ||||
| Shkëndija | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | |||
| Shkupi | 0–1 | 1–3 | ||||
| Sileks | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |||
| Vardar | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
Source: MacedonianFootball.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation round
In the Relegation round, each team plays twice against every opponent on a home-away basis. Records from the first phase are carried over. Teams play each other twice with each team playing six games in this round.[3]
Relegation round table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Renova | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 47 | |
| 8 | Horizont Turnovo (R) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 46 | Qualification to Relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Metalurg Skopje (R) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 19 | Relegation to Macedonian Second Football League |
| 10 | Mladost Carev Dvor (R) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 19 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Draw; 9) Play-off. (Note: Criteria 2, 3 and 8 is only used if not deciding teams for relegation).[5]
(R) Relegated.
Results
| Home ╲ Away | MET | MLA | REN | TUR |
| Metalurg | 4–0 | 2–4 | 0–4 | |
| Mladost Carev Dvor | 2–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | |
| Renova | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | |
| Horizont Turnovo | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
Source: MacedonianFootball.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation play-offs
First Leg
Second Leg
Pelister won 3–1 on aggregate.
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 19 May 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Besart Ibraimi |
Shkendija | 24 |
| 2 | Sashko Pandev |
Horizont Turnovo | 16 |
| 3 | Bazhe Ilijoski |
Rabotnichki | 13 |
| 4 | Ferhan Hasani |
Shkendija | 12 |
| 5 |  Igor Nedeljković |
Sileks | 11 |
| 6 | Dejan Blazhevski |
Vardar | 10 |
| 7 | Armend Alimi |
Shkendija | 9 |
| Argjent Gafuri |
Renova | ||
| Marjan Radeski |
Shkendija | ||
| 10 | Angel Nacev |
Bregalnica | 8 |
Source: Soccerway
See also
- 2015–16 Macedonian Football Cup
- 2015–16 Macedonian Second Football League
- 2015–16 Macedonian Third Football League
References
- 1 2 "Draw for new season to take place on Monday". MacedonianFootball.com. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ↑ "First League 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- 1 2 "First League: Season Rules". scoresway.com. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ↑ "First League 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ "First League 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
External links
- Football Federation of Macedonia (Macedonian)
- MacedonianFootball.com (Macedonian) (English)