2015–16 Ayr United F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Ayr United's third season in League One and their 4th consecutive season in the third-tier of Scottish football. Ayr also competed in the League Cup, Scottish Cup and the Challenge Cup.

Ayr United

2015–16 season
Manager	Ian McCall
Stadium	Somerset Park
League One	Second place (Promoted via play-offs)
Challenge Cup	Second Round
League Cup	Second Round
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Craig Moore (14) All: Jordan Preston (15)
Highest home attendance	7,468 vs. Rangers, Challenge Cup, 19 August 2015
Lowest home attendance	763 vs. Forfar Athletic, League One, 20 February 2016
Average home league attendance	1,296
Home colours Away colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Summary

Season

Results and fixtures

Pre-season

  Win   Draw   Loss

St Mirren v Ayr United

7 July 2015 Friendly	St Mirren	0 – 1	Ayr United	Ralston, Paisley
				Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Annan Athletic v Ayr United

11 July 2015 The Raydale Cup	Annan Athletic	1 – 3	Ayr United	Raydale Park, Gretna
15:30		Ayr Report

Gretna 2008 v Ayr United

12 July 2015 The Raydale Cup	Gretna 2008	0 – 1	Ayr United	Raydale Park, Gretna
15:30		Report

Rangers v Ayr United

15 July 2015 Friendly	Rangers	2 – 0	Ayr United	Rangers Training Centre, Auchenhowie
19:15	Templeton 24' Holt (Trialist) 59'	Rangers Report		Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Ayr United v Coleraine

18 July 2015 Martyn Campbell Testimonial	Ayr United	0 – 1	Coleraine	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report

Ayr United v Hibernian

21 July 2015 Friendly	Ayr United	0 – 0	Hibernian	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45

Scottish League One

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish League One

Albion Rovers v Ayr United

8 August 2015 1	Albion Rovers	3 – 0	Ayr United	Cliftonhill, Coatbridge
15:00	Davidson 2' Love 45', 69'	Report		Attendance: 781 Referee: Alan Newlands

Ayr United v Brechin City

15 August 2015 2	Ayr United	2 – 1	Brechin City	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Forrest 21' Trouten 73' (pen.)	Report	Thomson 68' Smith  90+2'	Attendance: 1,074 Referee: Barry Cook

Stranraer v Ayr United

22 August 2015 3	Stranraer	1 – 2	Ayr United	Stair Park, Stranraer
15:00	Stirling 90'	Report	Moore 4' Trouten 77' Docherty  72'	Attendance: 882 Referee: Nick Walsh

Ayr United v Forfar Athletic

29 August 2015 4	Ayr United	2 – 2	Forfar Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Moore 45' Forrest 58'	Report	Allan 26' Travis 90+1'	Attendance: 1,243 Referee: Euan Anderson

Ayr United v Stenhousemuir

1 September 2015 5	Ayr United	5 – 2	Stenhousemuir	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Preston 3', 47' Moore 26' Barclay 35' (o.g.) Caldwell 86'	Report	Boyle 17' (o.g.) McCroary 88'	Attendance: 1,046 Referee: Don Robertson

Dunfermline Athletic v Ayr United

12 September 2015 6	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 2	Ayr United	East End Park, Dunfermline
15:00		Report	Forrest 23' Preston 59'	Attendance: 3,596 Referee: Kevin Graham

Airdrieonians v Ayr United

19 September 2015 7	Airdrieonians	1 – 2	Ayr United	Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
15:00	Watt 5'	Report	Moore 45' Gilmour 66'	Attendance: 1,141 Referee: Steven Kirkland

Ayr United v Peterhead

26 September 2015 8	Ayr United	1 – 1	Peterhead	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Devlin 55'	Report	Redman 87'	Attendance: 1,304 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Ayr United v Cowdenbeath

3 October 2015 9	Ayr United	5 – 0	Cowdenbeath	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Preston 1' Forrest 19' McLauchlan 48' Gilmour 57' Moore 72'	Report		Attendance: 1,171 Referee: Alan Newlands

Forfar Athletic v Ayr United

17 October 2015 10	Forfar Athletic	2 – 2	Ayr United	Station Park, Forfar
15:00	Denholm 2' Campbell 45'	BBC Sport report	Graham 54' Devlin  68' Caldwell 72'	Attendance: 745 Referee: Nick Walsh

Stenhousemuir v Ayr United

24 October 2015 11	Stenhousemuir	0 – 1	Ayr United	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
15:00	Robertson  89'	BBC Sport report	Caldwell 9'	Attendance: 767 Referee: Greg Aitken

Ayr United v Stranraer

31 October 2015 12	Ayr United	3 – 1	Stranraer	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Crawford 15' Adams 39' Preston 83'	Report	Robertson 29'	Attendance: 1,415 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Brechin City v Ayr United

7 November 2015 13	Brechin City	1 – 1	Ayr United	Glebe Park, Brechin
15:00	Layne 47'	Report	Adams 43'	Attendance: 541 Referee: Barry Cook

Ayr United v Albion Rovers

14 November 2015 14	Ayr United	1 – 0	Albion Rovers	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Trouten 38'	Report		Attendance: 1,389 Referee: George Salmond

Ayr United v Airdrieonians

21 November 2015 15	Ayr United	3 – 0	Airdrieonians	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,403 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Ayr United v Dunfermline Athletic

12 December 2015 16	Ayr United	1 – 2	Dunfermline Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 2,076 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Peterhead v Ayr United

19 December 2015 17	Peterhead	3 – 0	Ayr United	Balmoor Stadium, Peterhead
15:00		Report		Attendance: 612 Referee: Alan Newlands

Ayr United v Brechin City

26 December 2015 18	Ayr United	2 – 1	Brechin City	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,485 Referee: Nick Walsh

Cowdenbeath v Ayr United

29 December 2015 19	Cowdenbeath	4 – 2	Ayr United	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
15:00		Report		Attendance: 640 Referee: George Salmond

Stranraer v Ayr United

2 January 2016 20	Stranraer	1 – 0	Ayr United	Stair Park, Stranraer
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,178 Referee: Colin Steven

Albion Rovers v Ayr United

23 January 2016 21	Albion Rovers	1 – 3	Ayr United	Cliftonhill, Coatbridge
15:00		Report		Attendance: 427 Referee: David Lowe

Ayr United v Peterhead

6 February 2016 22	Ayr United	1 – 2	Peterhead	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,155 Referee: Alan Muir

Dunfermline v Ayr United

13 February 2016 23	Dunfermline	3 – 2	Ayr United	East End Park, Dunfermline
15:00		Report		Attendance: 3,319 Referee: Nick Walsh

Ayr United v Forfar

20 February 2016 24	Ayr United	2 – 1	Forfar	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 763 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Airdrieonians v Ayr United

27 February 2016 25	Airdrieonians	0 – 1	Ayr United	Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Mike Roncone

Ayr United v Cowdenbeath

1 March 2016 26	Ayr United	4 – 1	Cowdenbeath	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 856 Referee: Gavin Ross

Brechin v Ayr United

5 March 2016 27	Brechin	1 – 0	Ayr United	Glebe Park, Brechin
15:00		Report		Attendance: 491 Referee: David Munro

Ayr United v Stenhousmuir

8 March 2016 28	Ayr United	4 – 1	Stenhousmuir	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 889 Referee: Alan Newlands

Ayr United v Dunfermline

12 March 2016 29	Ayr United	0 – 2	Dunfermline	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 2,190 Referee: Don Robertson

Forfar v Ayr United

19 March 2016 30	Forfar	3 – 1	Ayr United	Station Park, Forfar
		Report		Attendance: 614 Referee: Gavin Ross

Ayr United v Stranraer

26 March 2016 31	Ayr United	2 – 1	Stranraer	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 1,244 Referee: Colin Steven

Cowdenbeath v Ayr United

2 April 2016 32	Cowdenbeath	1 – 0	Ayr United	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
		Report		Attendance: 429 Referee: David Munro

Ayr United v Albion

9 April 2016 33	Ayr United	0 – 1	Albion	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 1,044 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Stenhousemuir v Ayr United

16 April 2016 34	Stenhousemuir	0 – 4	Ayr United	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
15:00		Report		Attendance: 652 Referee: Barry Cook

Peterhead v Ayr United

23 April 2016 35	Peterhead	0 – 4	Ayr United	Balmoor Stadium, Peterhead
15:00	McAllister	Report	Moore 24', 81' McCrorie 45' Preston 56'	Attendance: 617 Referee: Euan Anderson

Ayr United v Airdrieonians

30 April 2016 36	Ayr United	0 – 3	Airdrieonians	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report		Attendance: 1,594 Referee: Greg Aitken

Scottish Championship play-offs

Peterhead v Ayr United

3 May 2016[1]	Peterhead	1 – 4	Ayr United	Balmoor, Peterhead
20:00	McIntosh 35'	BBC Report	Donald 18' Preston 41', 59' Crawford 74'	Attendance: 807 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Ayr United v Peterhead

7 May 2016[1]	Ayr United	2 – 1 (6 – 2 agg.)	Peterhead	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Crawford 26' Devlin 57'	BBC Report	Donald 31' (o.g.)	Attendance: 1,848 Referee: Crawford Allan

Stranraer v Ayr United

11 May 2016[2]	Stranraer	1 – 1	Ayr United	Stair Park, Stranraer
19:45	McGuigan 54'	BBC Report	Docherty 90+5'	Attendance: 1,652 Referee: Bobby Madden

Ayr United v Stranraer

15 May 2016[2]	Ayr United	0 – 0 (a.e.t.) (1 – 1 agg.) (3–1 p)	Stranraer	Somerset Park, Ayr
14:45		BBC Report		Attendance: 4,581 Referee: Andrew Dallas
	Penalties
	Preston Trouten Docherty Graham		Cairney Longworth Barron Gibson

Scottish Challenge Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish Challenge Cup

Ayr United v Albion Rovers

25 July 2015 First Round	Ayr United	3 – 1	Albion Rovers	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 1,003 Referee: Gavin Ross

Ayr United v Rangers

19 August 2015 Second Round	Ayr United	0 – 2	Rangers	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45		BBC Report Rangers Report SPFL Report		Attendance: 7,468 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish League Cup

Ayr United v Brechin City

1 August 2015 Round 1	Ayr United	2 – 0	Brechin City	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report		Attendance: 976 Referee: Euan Anderson

Ross County v Ayr United

25 August 2015 Round 2	Ross County	2 – 0	Ayr United	Victoria Park, Dingwall
		Report		Attendance: 1,743 Referee: Craig Charleston

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Scottish Cup

Ayr United v Dunfermline Athletic

28 November 2015 Round 3	Ayr United	0 – 1	Dunfermline Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
		Report	Geggan 22'	Attendance: 1,576 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Player statistics

Squad, appearance and goals

As of 15 May 2016^[3][4]

No.	Nat	Player	Total		League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Other
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
		Greg Fleming	45	0	36	0	1	0	2	0	6	0
		Shaun Newman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
		Patrick Boyle	37	1	27 (1)	0	1	0	2	1	6	0
		Martyn Campbell	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
		Nicky Devlin	42	3	33 (1)	1	0	0	2	0	6	2
		Gerry McLauchlan	29	3	21 (3)	2	1	0	2	1	2	0
		Craig McCracken	3	0	1	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	0 (1)	0
		Ross McCrorie	15	0	11	2	0	0	0	0	4	0
		Andy Graham	28	2	22 (3)	2	1	0	0	0	1 (1)	0
		Adam Hodge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Andrew Muir	4	0	1 (2)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
		Peter Murphy	36	0	29 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
		Jamie Adams	26	2	17 (3)	2	1	0	1	0	4	0
		Robbie Crawford	35	3	15 (12)	1	0	0 (1)	1	0	5 (1)	2
		Ross Docherty	35	1	25 (1)	0	1	0	2	0	6	1
		Michael Donald	40	3	16 (15)	2	1	0	2	0	5 (1)	1
		Alan Forrest	39	5	22 (12)	5	1	0	0 (2)	0	0 (2)	0
		Brian Gilmour	31	2	19 (4)	2	0 (1)	0	2	0	3 (3)	0
		Alan Trouten	39	7	25 (6)	6	1	0	2	0	2 (3)	1
		Michael Wardrope	10	1	4 (6)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
		Ross Caldwell	22	5	6 (11)	4	0 (1)	0	2	0	2	1
		Sean McKenzie	5	0	0 (5)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Craig Moore	30	14	23 (2)	14	0	0	0 (1)	0	4	0
		Jordan Preston	40	15	28 (6)	13	1	0	0 (1)	0	4	2
		Ryan Nisbet	4	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (2)	0
		Ryan Stevenson	22	6	16 (2)	6	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (2)	0

Club statistics

Final League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Dunfermline Athletic (C, P)	36	24	7	5	83	30	+53	79	Promotion to Scottish Championship
2	Ayr United (O, P)	36	19	4	13	65	47	+18	61	Qualification to Championship play-offs
3	Peterhead	36	16	11	9	72	47	+25	59
4	Stranraer	36	15	6	15	43	49	−6	51
5	Airdrieonians	36	14	7	15	48	50	−2	49

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

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
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H
Result	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	W	L
Position	9	6	4	5	3	2	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2

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

Ayr United play each other team in the Scottish League One four times, twice in the first half of the season (home and away) and twice in the second half of the season (home and away), making a total of 36 games.

  Win   Draw   Loss

First half of the season Opposition Home score Away score Airdrieonians 3 – 0 1 – 2 Albion Rovers 1 – 0 3 – 0 Brechin City 2 – 1 1 – 1 Cowdenbeath 5 – 0 4 – 2 Dunfermline Athletic 1 – 2 0 – 2 Forfar Athletic 2 – 2 2 – 2 Peterhead 1 – 1 3 – 0 Stenhousemuir 5 – 2 0 – 1 Stranraer 3 – 1 1 – 2 Last updated: 30 April 2016. Source: Competitive matches

Second half of season Opposition Home score Away score Airdrieonians 0 – 3 0 – 1 Albion Rovers 0 – 1 1 – 3 Brechin City 2 – 1 1 – 0 Cowdenbeath 4 – 1 1 – 0 Dunfermline Athletic 0 – 2 3 – 2 Forfar Athletic 2 – 1 3 – 1 Peterhead 1 – 2 0 – 4 Stenhousemuir 4 – 1 0 – 4 Stranraer 2 – 1 1 – 0 Last updated: 30 April 2016. Source: Competitive matches

Home attendances

  Win   Draw   Loss

Comp	Date	Score	Opponent	Attendance	Ref.
Challenge Cup	25 July 2015	3 – 1	Albion Rovers	1,003	[5]
League Cup	1 August 2015	2 – 0	Brechin City	976	[6]
League One	15 August 2015	2 – 1	Brechin City	1,074	[7]
Challenge Cup	19 August 2015	0 – 2	Rangers	7,468	[8]
League One	29 August 2015	2 – 2	Forfar Athletic	1,243	[9]
League One	1 September 2015	5 – 2	Stenhousemuir	1,046	[10]
League One	26 September 2015	1 – 1	Peterhead	1,304	[11]
League One	3 October 2015	5 – 0	Cowdenbeath	1,171	[12]
League One	31 October 2015	3 – 1	Stranraer	1,415	[13]
League One	14 November 2015	1 – 0	Albion Rovers	1,389	[14]
League One	21 November 2015	3 – 0	Airdrieonians	1,403	[15]
Scottish Cup	28 November 2015	0 – 1	Dunfermline	1,576	[16]
League One	12 December 2015	1 – 2	Dunfermline	2,076	[17]
League One	26 December 2015	2 – 1	Brechin City	1,485	[18]
League One	6 February 2016	1 – 2	Peterhead	1,155	[19]
League One	20 February 2016	2 – 1	Forfar Athletic	763	[20]
League One	1 March 2016	4 – 1	Cowdenbeath	856	[21]
League One	8 March 2016	4 – 1	Stenhousemuir	889	[22]
League One	12 March 2016	0 – 2	Dunfermline Athletic	2,190	[23]
League One	26 March 2016	2 – 1	Stranraer	1,244	[24]
League One	9 April 2016	0 – 1	Albion Rovers	1,044	[25]
League One	30 April 2016	0 – 3	Airdrieonians	1,594	[26]
Play-off	7 May 2016	2 – 1	Peterhead	1,848	[27]
Play-off	15 May 2016	0 – 0 (3-1p)	Stranraer	4,581	[28]
			Total attendance:	40,793
			Average total attendance:	1,670
			Total league attendance:	24,317
			Average league attendance:	1,296	[29]

Last updated: 15 May 2016
Source: Match reports in Results

Transfers

Players in Player From Fee Patrick Boyle Airdrieonians Free[30] Alan Trouten Brechin City Free[31] Gerry McLauchlan Brechin City Free[32] Greg Fleming Stenhousemuir Free[33] Ross Docherty Airdrieonians Free[34] Jamie Adams Wigtown & Bladnoch Free[35] Ross Caldwell Greenock Morton Free[35] Craig Moore Motherwell Loan[36] Jordan Preston Blackburn Rovers Loan[37] Andy Graham Dumbarton Free[38] Ryan Stevenson Partick Thistle Free[39] Ross McCrorie Rangers Loan[40] Adam Hodge Kilmarnock Free

Players out Player To Fee David Hutton Dunfermline Athletic Free[41] Craig Beattie Stirling Albion Free[42] David Robertson Selkirk Free Jon-Paul McGovern Stirling Albion Free Dale Shirkie Troon Free