2015–16 Ross County F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was the club's 3rd season in the Scottish Premiership and their fourth consecutive appearance in the top flight of Scottish football. Ross County also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Ross County

2015–16 season
Chairman	Roy MacGregor
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Stadium	Victoria Park
Premiership	Sixth place
League Cup	Winners
Scottish Cup	Quarter Final
Top goalscorer	League: Liam Boyce (15) All: Liam Boyce (20)
Highest home attendance	6,042 vs Celtic Scottish Premiership 8 November 2015
Lowest home attendance	1,341 vs Falkirk League Cup 22 September 2015
Average home league attendance	4,287
Home colours Away colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

On 13 March 2016, Ross County won their first ever major trophy when they beat Hibernian 2–1 in the final of the 2015–16 Scottish League Cup.^[1][2]

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre season / Friendlies

Nairn County v Ross County

8 July 2015[3] Friendly	Nairn County	1–2	Ross County	Nairn
19:30	Wallace 77'	Report	Graham 41' Kyle MacLeod 57'	Stadium: Station Park

Elgin City v Ross County

11 July 2015[4] Friendly	Elgin City	3–5	Ross County	Elgin
15:00	Brian Cameron 28', 42' Mark Nicolson 33'		Graham 9' Gardyne 29' Curran 61' De Vita 63' Reckord 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Borough Briggs

Soroksár SC v Ross County

14 July 2015[3] Friendly	Soroksár SC	1–1	Ross County	Budapest, Hungary
15:00				Stadium: Sporttelep Mihály Szamosi

Szolnoki MÁV FC v Ross County

18 July 2015[3] Friendly	Szolnoki MÁV FC	2–0	Ross County	Szolnok, Hungary
15:00				Stadium: Tiszaligeti Stadion

Ross County v NEC Nijmegen

18 July 2015[5] Friendly	Ross County	0–2	NEC Nijmegen	Victoria Park
15:00			Emilsson 67', 71'	Referee: Don Robertson

Scottish Premiership

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish Premiership

Celtic v Ross County

1 August 2015 1	Celtic	2–0	Ross County	Celtic Park
12:30	Griffiths 4' (pen.) Johansen 35'	Report		Attendance: 45,197 Referee: Collum

Ross County v Hamilton Academical

8 August 2015 2	Ross County	2–0	Hamilton Academical	Victoria Park
15:00	Curran 10', 41'	BBC Report		Attendance: 3,479 Referee: Dallas

St Johnstone v Ross County

11 August 2015 3	St Johnstone	1–1	Ross County	McDiarmid Park
19:45	Cummins 52'	BBC Report	Curran 17'	Attendance: 3,065 Referee: Muir

Ross County v Heart of Midlothian

15 August 2015 4	Ross County	1–2	Heart of Midlothian	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 39' (pen.)	BBC Report	Sow 11' Öztürk 14'	Attendance: 4,806 Referee: Madden

Kilmarnock v Ross County

22 August 2015 5	Kilmarnock	0–4	Ross County	Rugby Park
15:00		BBC Report	Boyce 2', 29' Franks 4' Davies 35'	Attendance: 3,604 Referee: Robertson

Ross County v Dundee United

29 August 2015 6	Ross County	2–1	Dundee United	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 17' (pen.) Davies 28'	BBC Report	Dillon 61'	Attendance: 4,014 Referee: Thomson

Motherwell v Ross County

12 September 2015 7	Motherwell	1–1	Ross County	Fir Park
15:00	Moult 90+1'	BBC Report	Gardyne 33'	Attendance: 3,545 Referee: Robertson

Ross County v Partick Thistle

19 September 2015 8	Ross County	1–0	Partick Thistle	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 18'	BBC Report		Attendance: 3,531 Referee: Aitken

Dundee v Ross County

26 September 2015 9	Dundee	3–3	Ross County	Dens Park
15:00	Stewart 20' Loy 54' (pen.), 69'	BBC Report	Boyce 19' McPake 37' (o.g.) Gardyne 43' Davies  53'	Attendance: 5,128 Referee: Thomson

Ross County v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

3 October 2015 10	Ross County	1–2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 90+1'	BBC Report	Storey 42' Vincent 45'	Attendance: 5,473 Referee: Collum

Ross County v Aberdeen

16 October 2015 11	Ross County	2–0	Aberdeen	Victoria Park
15:00	Graham 36', 49'	BBC Report		Attendance: 5,543 Referee: Thomson

Heart of Midlothian v Ross County

24 October 2015 12	Heart of Midlothian	2–0	Ross County	Tynecastle Stadium
15:00	Paterson 15' Augustyn  48' Sow 67'	BBC Report		Attendance: 16,264 Referee: Muir

Dundee United v Ross County

31 October 2015 13	Dundee United	1–0	Ross County	Tannadice Park
15:00	McKay 81' (pen.)	BBC Report		Attendance: 5,549 Referee: Robertson

Ross County v Celtic

8 November 2015 14	Ross County	1–4	Celtic	Victoria Park
	Dingwall 59'	BBC Report	Rogić 38' Griffiths 54', 56' Bitton 75'	Attendance: 6,042 Referee: Clancy

Ross County v Motherwell

21 November 2015 15	Ross County	3–0	Motherwell	Victoria Park
15:00	Curran 22' Dingwall 69' Boyce 90+2' (pen.)	BBC Report		Attendance: 3,378 Referee: Allan

Aberdeen v Ross County

28 November 2015 16	Aberdeen	3–1	Ross County	Pittodrie Stadium
15:00	Rooney 51' Hayes 53' McGinn 80'	BBC Report	Curran 14'	Attendance: 10,843 Referee: Beaton

Ross County v St Johnstone

5 December 2015 17	Ross County	2–3	St Johnstone	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 68' Davidson 88' (Own goal)	BBC Report	Wotherspoon 3', 43' Mackay 88'	Attendance: 3,229 Referee: Clancy

Hamilton Academical v Ross County

12 December 2015 18	Hamilton Academical	1–3	Ross County	New Douglas Park
15:00	Kurtaj 26'	BBC Report	Curran 58' Murdoch 86' Boyce 68'	Attendance: 2,120 Referee: Collum

Partick Thistle v Ross County

19 December 2015 19	Partick Thistle	1–0	Ross County	Firhill Stadium
15:00	Andrew Davies 52' (Own goal)	BBC Report		Attendance: 2,762 Referee: Dallas

Ross County v Dundee

26 December 2015 20	Ross County	5–2	Dundee	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 29', 69', 85' Gardyne 55' Irvine 60'	BBC Report	Hemmings 5', 53'	Attendance: 3,687 Referee: Allan

Ross County v Kilmarnock

29 December 2015 21	Ross County	3–2	Kilmarnock	Victoria Park
19:45	Curran 12' Gardyne 50', 56'	Report	Obadeyi 33' Magennis 48'	Attendance: 3,518 Referee: McLean

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Ross County

2 January 2016 22	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2–0	Ross County	Caledonian Stadium
15:00	Storey 26' Tansey 45+2'	BBC Report		Attendance: 5,388 Referee: Beaton

Ross County v Aberdeen

17 January 2016 23	Ross County	2–3	Aberdeen	Victoria Park
12:15	McShane 27', 82'	BBC Report	Reynolds  26'  Rooney 33' (pen.) Logan 36', 60'	Attendance: 4,107 Referee: Allan

Motherwell v Ross County

23 January 2016 24	Motherwell	1–2	Ross County	Fir Park
15:00	Pearson 87'	BBC Report	Irvine 20' Graham 69'	Attendance: 3,279 Referee: Collum

Ross County v Heart of Midlothian

10 February 2016 25	Ross County	0–3	Heart of Midlothian	Victoria Park
19:45			Walker 53' Dauda 86', 89'	Attendance: 3,391 Referee: McLean

Celtic v Ross County

13 February 2016 26	Celtic	2–0	Ross County	Celtic Park
15:00	Sviatchenko  40' Griffiths 45+1' Boyata 57' Rogić  87'	Report	Robertson  23' Gardyne  31'	Attendance: 42,550 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Ross County v Hamilton Academical

20 February 2016 27	Ross County	2–1	Hamilton Academical	Victoria Park
15:00	Schalk 45+1' Reckford  47' Davies  73' McShane 78' Quinn  84'		Jesús García Tena  13' Kurakins  45' Imrie 66'	Attendance: 3,059 Referee: Greg Aitken

Ross County v Dundee United

27 February 2016 28	Ross County	0–3	Dundee United	Victoria Park
15:00	Schalk  17' Woods  61'	Report	Paton 10' Gunning  17' Donaldson  30' Mckay 71' Dow 76'	Attendance: 3,564 Referee: John Beaton

Kilmarnock v Ross County

1 March 2016 29	Kilmarnock	0–2	Ross County	Rugby Park
19:45		Report	Schalk 8' Fraser  28' Goodwillie  58' Davies  75' Woods  82' Graham 90'	Attendance: 2,633 Referee: Stephen Finnie

St Johnstone v Ross County

16 March 2016 30	St Johnstone	1–1	Ross County	McDiarmid Park
19:45	Wotherspoon 11' Lappin  66'	Report	Graham 65' (pen.)	Attendance: 2,501 Referee: Steven McLean (referee)

Ross County v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

19 March 2016 31	Ross County	0–3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Victoria Park
15:00	Foster  52' Boyce  64' Fraser  70'	Report	Polworth 32' Draper 37' Vigurs  42' Storey 48'	Attendance: 5,912 Referee: Bobby Madden

Dundee v Ross County

2 April 2016 32	Dundee	5–2	Ross County	Dens Park
15:00	Stewart 7' 90+2' Hemmings 9' Loy 38' Konrad  45+2' Holt  76' Wighton 85'	Report	Davies 15' Woods  16' Foster  41' Schalk 45'	Attendance: 5,095 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Ross County v Partick Thistle

9 April 2016 33	Ross County	1–0	Partick Thistle	Victoria Park
15:00	Schalk 14' Murdoch  45'	Report	Miller  75' Lawless  82' Seaborne  84'	Attendance: 3,603 Referee: Nick Walsh

Celtic v Ross County

24 April 2016 34	Celtic	1–1	Ross County	Celtic Park
15:00	Griffiths 23' Lustig  87'	Report	Murdoch 64'  68' De Vita  86'	Attendance: 41,396 Referee: Dom Robertson

Ross County v St Johnstone

30 April 2016 35	Ross County	0–1	St Johnstone	Victoria Park
15:00	Quinn  33'	Report	Craig  25' MacLean 56' Shaughnessy  88'	Attendance: 3,329 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Heart of Midlothian v Ross County

7 May 2016 36	Heart of Midlothian	1–1	Ross County	Tynecastle Stadium
15:00	Souttar  76' Juanma 84'	Report	Woods  65' Goodwillie 88'	Attendance: 15,438 Referee: Nick Walsh

Ross County v Motherwell

11 May 2016 37	Ross County	1–3	Motherwell	Victoria Park
19:45	Boyce 69'	Report	Pearson 4', 90+2' Lasley 16'	Attendance: 2,976 Referee: John Beaton

Aberdeen v Ross County

15 May 2016 38	Aberdeen	0–4	Ross County	Pittodrie Stadium
12:30		BBC Report	Graham 23' (pen.) Gardyne  37' Schalk 45' Boyce 68' Woods 78'	Attendance: 10,003 Referee: Collum

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish League Cup

Ross County v Ayr United

25 August 2015 Second Round [6]	Ross County	2–0	Ayr United	Victoria Park
19:45	Boyce 3' Gardyne 50'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,743 Referee: Craig Charleston

Ross County v Falkirk

22 September 2015 Third Round [7]	Ross County	7–0	Falkirk	Victoria Park
19:45	Boyce 30', 35', 40' De Vita 46' Franks 54' Graham 58' Holden 81'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,341 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Ross County

27 October 2015 Quarter Final	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1–2	Ross County	Caledonian Stadium
19:05	Tansey 78'	BBC Report	Irvine 41' Gardyne 48'	Attendance: 3,004 Referee: McLean

Ross County v Celtic

31 January 2016 Semi Final	Ross County	3–1	Celtic	Hampden Park
15:00	Woods 15' (pen.) Quinn 48' Schalk 63'	BBC Report	Mackay-Steven 1'	Attendance: 22,130 Referee: Thomson

Hibernian v Ross County

13 March 2016 Final	Hibernian	1–2	Ross County	Hampden Park
15:00	Fontaine 45' Bartley  63' McGinn  84'	Report	Gardyne 25' Schalk 90'	Attendance: 38,796 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish Cup

Dunfermline Athletic v Ross County

9 January 2016 Fourth round[8]	Dunfermline Athletic	2–2	Ross County	East End Park
15:00	El Bakhtaoui 15' McKay 56'	BBC Report	Schalk 4' Graham 27' (pen.)	Attendance: 3,439 Referee: Muir

Ross County v Dunfermline Athletic

12 January 2016 Fourth round replay	Ross County	1–0	Dunfermline Athletic	Victoria Park
19:45	De Vita 70'	BBC Report		Attendance: 2,041 Referee: Muir

Ross County v Linlithgow Rose

6 February 2016 Fifth round	Ross County	4–2	Linlithgow Rose	Victoria Park
15:00	Quinn 4' Graham 58', 78' Schalk 63'	BBC Report	Reckord 44' (Own goal) MacLennan 76'	Attendance: 2,208 Referee: Anderson

Ross County v Dundee United

5 March 2016 Quarter-finals	Ross County	2–3	Dundee United	Victoria Park
15:00	Boyce 24' Graham 60' (pen.)	BBC Sport Report	Anier 57', 65' Durnan  59' McKay 89'	Attendance: 3,052 Referee: Craig Thomson

Squad statistics

During the 2015–16 season, Ross County used twenty-seven different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.^[9]

Appearances

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		League Cup		Scottish Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	SCO	Scott Fox	31	0	27	0	2	0	2	0
2	DF	SCO	Marcus Fraser	37	0	29+0	0	4	0	4	0
3	DF	ENG	Jamie Reckord	21	0	14+2	0	3	0	2	0
5	DF	SCO	Scott Boyd	19	0	12+3	0	2	0	2	0
6	DF	SCO	Chris Robertson	26	0	21+2	0	2	0	1	0
7	FW	SCO	Michael Gardyne	43	8	34+1	5	4	3	3+1	0
8	MF	SCO	Ian McShane	26	3	16+2	3	3+1	0	1+3	0
9	FW	SCO	Brian Graham	31	11	10+13	6	2+2	1	4	4
10	FW	NIR	Liam Boyce	42	20	29+6	15	4+1	4	1+1	1
11	FW	ENG	Craig Curran	20	7	15+4	7	1	0	0	0
12	DF	SCO	Richard Foster	40	0	28+4	0	3+1	0	2+2	0
13	GK	USA	Chris Konopka	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	SCO	Darren Holden	2	1	0	0	0+2	1	0	0
15	DF	ENG	Andrew Davies	38	3	31	3	4	0	3	0
17	FW	ENG	Jonathan Franks	36	2	18+11	1	1+2	1	3+1	0
18	MF	SCO	Stewart Murdoch	34	2	14+15	2	2+2	0	1	0
19	MF	SCO	Tony Dingwall	15	2	5+7	2	1+2	0	0	0
21	GK	ENG	Gary Woods	16	0	11+1	0	2	0	2	0
23	FW	NED	Alex Schalk	31	9	14+10	5	2+1	2	3+1	2
24	MF	ITA	Raffaele De Vita	25	2	8+11	0	2	1	2+2	1
25	FW	SCO	David Goodwillie	9	1	4+5	1	0	0	0	0
26	MF	SCO	Martin Woods	31	2	23+3	1	3	1	2	0
31	GK	ENG	James Severn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	MF	AUS	Jackson Irvine	45	3	34+2	2	5	1	4	0
41	GK	ENG	Mark Foden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	MF	SCO	Paul Quinn	18	2	14+0	0	2	1	2	1
44	DF	SCO	Christopher McLaughlin	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
53	MF	SCO	Greg Morrison	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left the club during the 2015–16 season
4	MF	SCO	Rocco Quinn	12	0	5+5	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
21	GK	AUT	Daniel Bachmann	2	0	0+1	0	1	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Ranking	Nation	Number	Name	Scottish Premiership	League Cup	Scottish Cup	Total
1		10	Liam Boyce	15	4	1	20
2		9	Brian Graham	6	1	4	11
3		23	Alex Schalk	5	2	2	9
4		7	Michael Gardyne	5	3	0	8
5		11	Craig Curran	7	0	0	7
6		8	Ian McShane	3	0	0	3
=		15	Andrew Davies	3	0	0	3
=		36	Jackson Irvine	2	1	0	3
9		17	Jonathan Franks	1	1	0	2
=		18	Stewart Murdoch	2	0	0	2
=		19	Tony Dingwall	2	0	0	2
=		24	Raffaele De Vita	0	1	1	2
=		26	Martin Woods	1	1	0	2
=		43	Paul Quinn	0	1	1	2
15		25	David Goodwillie	1	0	0	1
=		14	Darren Holden	0	1	0	1
			Own goal	2	0	0	2
			TOTALS	55	16	9	80

Disciplinary record

As of 6 February 2016

Number	Nation	Position	Name	Premiership		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Total
1		GK	Scott Fox	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2		DF	Marcus Fraser	1	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
3		DF	Jamie Reckord	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
4		MF	Rocco Quinn	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
5		DF	Scott Boyd	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
6		DF	Chris Robertson	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
8		MF	Ian McShane	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
9		FW	Brian Graham	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10		FW	Liam Boyce	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
11		FW	Craig Curran	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
12		DF	Richard Foster	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
15		DF	Andrew Davies	5	1	1	0	0	0	6	1
18		MF	Stewart Murdoch	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
19		MF	Tony Dingwall	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
24		MF	Raffaele De Vita	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
26		MF	Martin Woods	2	0	2	0	1	0	5	0
36		MF	Jackson Irvine	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
			TOTALS	34	0	7	0	5	0	46	0

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
4	St Johnstone	38	16	8	14	58	55	+3	56
5	Motherwell	38	15	5	18	47	63	−16	50
6	Ross County	38	14	6	18	55	61	−6	48
7	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	38	14	10	14	54	48	+6	52
8	Dundee	38	11	15	12	53	57	−4	48

Source: Scottish Premiership, Soccerway (first phase), Soccerway (second phase)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification and second stage group allocation).^[10]
Notes:

1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	W	D	L	W	W	D	W	D	L	W	L	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	D	L	D	L	W
Position	11	6	6	6	5	5	4	4	5	5	3	4	5	5	5	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	6	7	5	6	4	4	6	8	6	6	6	6	6	6

Updated to match(es) played on 15 May 2016. Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Management statistics

Name	From	To	P	W	D	L	Win%[nb 1]
Jim McIntyre[11]	1 August 2015	Present	47	21	7	19	044.68

Transfers

Main articles: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2015 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2015–16

In Date Player From Fee 25 May 2015 Ian McShane Queen of the South Undisclosed[12] 27 May 2015 Michael Gardyne Dundee United Free[13] 29 May 2015 Scott Fox Partick Thistle Free[14] 10 June 2015 Brian Graham Dundee United Free[15] 16 June 2015 Darren Holden Hartlepool United Free[16] 18 June 2015 Jonathan Franks Hartlepool United Free[17] 30 June 2015 Richard Foster Rangers Free[18] 30 June 2015 Andrew Davies Bradford City Free[18] 30 June 2015 Chris Robertson Port Vale Free[18] 1 July 2015 Stewart Murdoch Fleetwood Town Free[17] 28 July 2015 Jackson Irvine Celtic Compensation[19] 28 July 2015 Daniel Bachmann Stoke City Loan[19] 31 August 2015 Martin Woods Shrewsbury Town Free[20] 2 September 2015 Gary Woods Leyton Orient Loan[21] 6 October 2015 Alex Schalk Go Ahead Eagles Free[22] 16 October 2015 James Severn Worcester City Free[23] 26 January 2016 Paul Quinn Aberdeen Free[24] 1 February 2016 David Goodwillie Aberdeen Loan[25] 8 March 2016 Chris Konopka Toronto FC Free[26]

Out Date Player To Fee 20 May 2015 Richard Brittain Brora Rangers Free[27] 20 May 2015 Jake Jervis Plymouth Argyle Free[27][28] 20 May 2015 Mark Brown Dumbarton Free[27][29] 20 May 2015 Joe Cardle Dunfermline Athletic Free[27][30] 20 May 2015 Graham Carey Plymouth Argyle Free[27][31] 20 May 2015 Antonio Reguero Hibernian Free[27][32] 20 May 2015 Terry Dunfield Toronto Atomic Free[27] 20 May 2015 Ben Frempah Hendon Free[27] 20 May 2015 Abdoulaye Méïté SJK Seinäjoki Free[27] 20 May 2015 Rubén Palazuelos CD Guijuelo Free[27] 20 May 2015 Steven Saunders Dumbarton Free[27] 20 May 2015 Darvydas Šernas Žalgiris Vilnius Free[27] 20 May 2015 Darren Barr Dumbarton Free[27][33] 27 May 2015 Martin Woods Shrewsbury Town Free[34][35] 27 May 2015 Paul Quinn Aberdeen Free[36] 15 January 2016 Rocco Quinn St Mirren Free[37]

See also

• List of Ross County F.C. seasons

Notes

1. Win% is the percentage of matches won rounded to two decimal places.