2007–08 Scottish First Division

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Irn-Bru Scottish First Division
Season2007–08
ChampionsHamilton Academical
PromotedHamilton Academical
RelegatedStirling Albion
UEFA CupQueen of the South
Top goalscorerRichard Offiong (19)
Biggest home winLivingston 6–1 Greenock Morton
Biggest away winStirling Albion 1–6 Dundee

The 2007–08 First Division season was the 13th season of the First Division in its current format of ten teams.

The team which finished first were automatically promoted to the Scottish Premier League. The team which finished bottom were automatically relegated to the Second Division and the team which finished second bottom were entered into the First division play-offs with the teams which finished second, third and fourth in the Third Division for a place in the 2008–09 First Division.

Promotion and Relegation from 2006–07[]

SPL and First Division[]

Relegated from Premier League to First Division

  • Dunfermline Athletic

Promoted from First Division to Premier League

  • Gretna

First and Second Divisions[]

Relegated from First Division to Second Division

  • Ross County
  • Airdrie United (via play-offs)

Promoted from Second Division to First Division

  • Greenock Morton
  • Stirling Albion (via play-offs)

Events[]

  • 29 March: Gretna are relegated from the SPL to the First Division after losing 2–0 to St Mirren.[1]
  • 5 April: Ross County win promotion to the First Division as Second Division champions after defeating Berwick Rangers 4–0 and second place Airdrie United losing 2–1 to Brechin City.[2]
  • 8 April: Stirling Albion are relegated from the First Division after a 1–0 defeat to Partick Thistle.[3]
  • 19 April: Hamilton Academical win promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 2–0 over Clyde.[4]
  • 10 May: Clyde retain their First Division status after defeating Airdrie United 3–0 on aggregate in the First Division play-off final.[5]
  • 29 May: Play-off runners-up Airdrie United are promoted to the First Division following Gretna's demotion to the Third Division.[6]

League table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Hamilton Academical (C, P) 36 23 7 6 62 27 +35 76 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Dundee 36 20 9 7 58 30 +28 69
3 St Johnstone 36 15 13 8 60 45 +15 58
4 Queen of the South 36 14 10 12 47 43 +4 52 Qualification for the UEFA Cup second qualifying round[a]
5 Dunfermline Athletic 36 13 12 11 36 41 −5 51
6 Partick Thistle 36 11 12 13 40 39 +1 45
7 Livingston 36 10 9 17 55 66 −11 39
8 Greenock Morton 36 9 10 17 40 58 −18 37
9 Clyde 36 9 10 17 40 59 −19 37 Qualification for the First Division Play-offs[b]
10 Stirling Albion (R) 36 4 12 20 41 71 −30 24 Relegation to the Second Division
Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Queen of the South qualified for the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round as Scottish Cup runners-up
  2. ^ The 9th placed team were entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team were awarded a place in the 2008–09 First Division, Clyde won the play-off to stay in the division.

Results[]

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.

First half of season[]

Home \ Away CLY DND DNF GMO HAM LIV PAR QOS STJ STI
Clyde 1–2 2–1 0–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–3
Dundee 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 3–1
Dunfermline Athletic 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–5 0–4 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–1
Greenock Morton 3–2 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–2 4–2 0–1 2–2 1–1
Hamilton Academical 0–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 4–0
Livingston 4–2 0–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 0–4 2–2 0–2 4–3
Partick Thistle 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–3 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–1
Queen of the South 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 3–3 2–2
St Johnstone 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 4–1 5–2 2–1 2–0 2–2
Stirling Albion 0–2 2–2 3–0 0–0 2–4 3–3 1–1 1–3 0–0
Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season[]

Home \ Away CLY DND DNF GMO HAM LIV PAR QOS STJ STI
Clyde 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–3 3–2 1–4 1–4 1–3 1–3
Dundee 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–3 3–2 3–0
Dunfermline Athletic 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 0–1 2–1
Greenock Morton 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–2 2–1
Hamilton Academical 2–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–0
Livingston 0–0 1–1 0–2 6–1 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–2 2–1
Partick Thistle 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–3 3–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–0
Queen of the South 3–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 3–1
St Johnstone 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 5–2 2–0 2–1 2–1
Stirling Albion 1–1 1–6 2–3 1–2 0–1 1–4 1–0 0–0 3–1
Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers[]

Scorer Goals Team
England Richard Offiong 19 Hamilton Academical
Scotland Stephen Dobbie 16 Queen of the South
Republic of Ireland Andy Jackson 11 St Johnstone
Scotland Chris Aitken 13 Stirling Albion
Scotland Graham Dorrans 11 Livingston
Scotland Liam Buchanan Partick Thistle
Scotland Mark Burchill Dunfermline Athletic
Scotland Kevin McDonald 9 Dundee
Scotland Robert Snodgrass Livingston
Scotland Paul Sheerin St Johnstone
France Mickaël Antoine-Curier Dundee
England Peter Weatherson Greenock Morton
England Sean O'Connor 8 Queen of the South
Scotland Colin McMenamin Dundee
Scotland Iain Russell Greenock Morton
Scotland Robert Davidson Dundee

Source: The League Insider

Attendances[]

Team Stadium Capacity Highest Lowest Average
Dundee Dens Park 11,856 6,192 3,146 4,264
Dunfermline Athletic East End Park 11,998 4,946 2,444 3,754
St Johnstone McDiarmid Park 10,673 6,279 1,686 2,969
Greenock Morton Cappielow 5,741 3,818 2,228 2,727
Partick Thistle Firhill Stadium 10,887 4,914 1,149 2,591
Hamilton Academical New Douglas Park 5,396 5,078 1,410 2,468
Queen of the South Palmerston Park 6,412 3,005 1,484 1,965
Livingston Almondvale Stadium 10,016 2,865 1,125 1,726
Clyde Broadwood Stadium 8,006 1,979 910 1,298
Stirling Albion Forthbank Stadium 3,808 2,215 431 1,166

Source: The League Insider

Managerial changes[]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment
Clyde Scotland Joe Miller Mutual consent 25 May Scotland Colin Hendry 11 June
St Johnstone Scotland Owen Coyle Mutual consent[7] 22 November Scotland Derek McInnes 27 November
Dunfermline Athletic Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny Sacked 4 December Scotland Jim McIntyre 3 January
Clyde Scotland Colin Hendry Resigned 18 January Scotland John Brown 26 January
Greenock Morton Scotland Jim McInally Resigned 12 February Scotland David Irons 19 February
Livingston England Mark Proctor Sacked 3 June[8] Italy Roberto Landi 11 June[9]

Monthly awards[]

Month First Division manager SFL Player SFL Young player
August Scotland Billy Reid (Hamilton Academical) England Richard Offiong (Hamilton Academical) Scotland Kevin McDonald (Dundee)
September Scotland Owen Coyle (St Johnstone) Second Division player Scotland James McArthur (Hamilton Academical)
October Scotland Billy Reid (Hamilton Academical) England Bryn Halliwell (Hamilton Academical) Republic of Ireland James McCarthy (Hamilton Academical)
November Scotland Alex Rae (Dundee) Scotland Kenny Deuchar (St Johnstone) Third Division player
December Scotland Jim McIntyre (Dunfermline Athletic) Second Division player Scotland Kevin McDonald (Dundee)
January Scotland Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) Second Division player Republic of Ireland Andy Jackson (St Johnstone)
February Scotland Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) France Mickaël Antoine-Curier (Dundee) Scotland Graham Dorrans (Livingston)
March Scotland Ian McCall (Partick Thistle) Northern Ireland Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle) Scotland Leigh Griffiths (Livingston)
April Scotland Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) Scotland Mark McLaughlin (Hamilton Academical) Scotland Brian Easton (Hamilton Academical)

First Division play-offs[]

Semi-finals[]

The ninth placed team in the First Division played the fourth placed team in the Second Division and third placed team in the Second Division played the second placed team in the Second Division. The play-offs were played over two legs, the winning team in each semi-final advanced to the final.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Alloa Athletic 5–6 Clyde 2–1 3–5
Raith Rovers 2–4 Airdrie United 0–2 2–2

First legs


Alloa Athletic2–1Clyde
Scott Goal 31'
Coakley Goal 83'
Report Masterton Goal 62'
Attendance: 1,026
Referee: D Somers

Raith Rovers0–2Airdrie United
Report Russell Goal 31' Goal 39'
Stark's Park, Kirkcaldy
Attendance: 2,841
Referee: D McDonald

Second legs


Clyde5 – 3 (a.e.t.)Alloa Athletic
J. Gibson Goal 30'
Arbuckle Goal 64'
B. Gibson Goal 68'
McSwegan Goal 84'
Clarke Goal 111'
Report B. Ferguson Goal 40'
Goal 42'
Bestvina Goal 46' (o.g.)
Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld
Attendance: 1,548
Referee: M Tumilty

Airdrie United2–2Raith Rovers
Prunty Goal 10'
Donnelly Goal 77'
Report Weir Goal 18' Goal 81' (pen.)
New Broomfield, Airdrie
Attendance: 2,077
Referee: C Thomson

Final[]

The two semi-final winners played each other over two legs, the home team in the 1st Leg was determined by a draw conducted on 1 April 2008. The winning team was awarded a place in the 2008–09 First Division.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Airdrie United 0–3 Clyde 0–1 0–2

First leg


Airdrie United0–1Clyde
Report Clarke Goal 77'
New Broomfield, Airdrie
Attendance: 1,878
Referee: I Brines

Second leg


Clyde2–0Airdrie United
McSwegan Goal 47'
Clarke Goal 65'
Report
Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld
Attendance: 2,548
Referee: J Underhill

Clyde remained in First Division.

Transfer deals[]

See: List of Scottish football transfers 2007–08

References[]

  1. ^ "St Mirren 2–0 Gretna". BBC Sport. 29 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  2. ^ "Ross County 4–0 Berwick Rangers". BBC Sport. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  3. ^ "Partick Thistle 1–0 Stirling Alb". BBC Sport. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Hamilton Accies 2–0 Clyde". BBC Sport. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Clyde 2–0 Airdrie United (3–0)". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Gretna demoted to Division Three". BBC Sport. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  7. ^ Coyle left St Johnstone to become manager of Burnley.
  8. ^ "Livingston sack manager Proctor". BBC Sport. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  9. ^ "Landi teams up with Hay at Livi". BBC Sport. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.

External links[]

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