The 2015 Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) was the fourteenth season of the Scottish Women's Premier League, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since its inception in 2002.
| Season | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Glasgow City (10th title) |
| Relegated | Heart of Midlothian Hamilton Academical Hutchison Vale Inverness City |
| Champions League | Glasgow City Hibernian |
← 2014 2016 → | |
A total of twelve teams contested the league. Glasgow City were the reigning champions.[1] The newly-promoted teams from the SWFL First Division were Heart of Midlothian and Stirling University, replacing relegated Queen's Park and Buchan.
The SWPL continued in the format applied since 2012. The 12 clubs faced each other once (11 games per club), after which the league split into top six and bottom six sections based on league position. Each club then played home and away against clubs in their respective sections to give a total of 21 games. For the first time, two Scottish teams qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League, due to an expanded entry list starting from 2016–17.[2]
Glasgow City won the championship by a 6-point margin ahead of Hibernian. This was their ninth title in a row, and their tenth overall. Glasgow City also won the 2015 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup and the 2015 Scottish Women's Cup to complete an unbeaten 'treble' (the fourth time in a row they had claimed all three domestic trophies, and the fifth time in their history). With the SWPL restructuring into two smaller divisions, four clubs – Hearts, Hamilton Academical, Hutchison Vale and Inverness City – were relegated from the top level.
Format
editLike in the previous season, the teams played each other once. After that the top and bottom six split. Teams in both groups then played each other twice more, for a combined total of 21 games. Points of both rounds were added.
In 2016 the Premier League would consist of two levels of eight teams. The top eight finishers qualified for the SWPL 1, the last four teams and the four best-placed teams of the SWFL First Division formed the SPWL 2 for the 2016 season.[3]
Teams
editFalkirk LFC partnered with Stirling University and now compete under their name.
| Team | Location | Home ground | Finishing position 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Aberdeen | Heathryfold Park | 6th |
| Celtic | Glasgow | K Park Training Academy, East Kilbride | 5th |
| Forfar Farmington | Forfar | Station Park | 10th |
| Glasgow City | Glasgow | Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie | 1st |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | New Douglas Park | 7th |
| Heart of Midlothian | Edinburgh | Kings Park, Dalkeith | 3rd, SWFL1 |
| Hibernian | Edinburgh | Albyn Park, Broxburn | 3rd |
| Hutchison Vale | Edinburgh | Saughton Enclosure | 9th |
| Inverness City | Inverness | Bught Park | 8th |
| Rangers | Glasgow | Tinto Park | 2nd |
| Spartans | Edinburgh | Spartans Academy | 4th |
| Stirling University | Stirling | University of Stirling | 1st, SWFL1 |
League standings
editAfter 12 games the top two clubs, Glasgow City and Hibernian had moved 12 points clear of third placed Aberdeen. Both newly promoted teams also had a good first half, leading the relegation group after 12 matches.[4] In the second half of the season Hearts were overtaken by Forfar Farmington and didn't make the new reduced Premier League. The two Champions League places were taken by Glasgow City and Hibernian three match days before the end.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow City (C, Q) | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 11 | +88 | 59 | 2016–17 Champions League |
| 2 | Hibernian (Q) | 21 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 72 | 20 | +52 | 53 | |
| 3 | Celtic | 21 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 54 | 28 | +26 | 35 | |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 34 | |
| 5 | Spartans | 21 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 25 | |
| 6 | Rangers | 21 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 30 | 57 | −27 | 24 | |
| 7 | Stirling University | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 36 | |
| 8 | Forfar Farmington | 21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 34 | |
| 9 | Heart of Midlothian (R) | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 22 | 2016 SPWL 2 |
| 10 | Hamilton Academical (R) | 21 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 24 | 62 | −38 | 22 | |
| 11 | Hutchison Vale (R) | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 31 | 65 | −34 | 18 | |
| 12 | Inverness City (R) | 21 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 89 | −75 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Results
edit1st stage
editFinal stage
edit
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References
edit- ^ "Glasgow City make it eight in a row". BBC Sport.
- ^ "UEFA increase countries eligible for two slots in Champions League". 25 March 2015.
- ^ 2015 Competition rules, Scottish FA
- ^ http://www.shekicks.net/news/view/11982 [dead link]
External links
edit- Season at soccerway.com
- Season at shekicks.net
- Women's League Competitions at Scottish Football Historical Archive