2008–09 Falkirk F.C. season

Falkirk
2008–09 season
ChairmanCampbell Christie
ManagerJohn Hughes
StadiumFalkirk Stadium
Scottish Premier LeagueTenth Place
League CupSemi-final
Scottish CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague: Steve Lovell (8)
All: Scott Arfield & Steve Lovell (10)
Highest home attendance6,853 vs. Rangers,
5 April 2009
Lowest home attendance4,385 vs. Dundee United,
3 March 2009
Average home league attendance5,640

The 2008–09 season was Falkirk's fourth consecutive season in the Scottish Premier League. Falkirk also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Summary

In their fourth season in the SPL, Falkirk finished in tenth place. The club reached the semi-final of the League Cup, and ended as runners in the Scottish Cup, losing to Rangers in both matches.

Results

  Win   Draw   Loss

Pre-season

Date Venue Opponents Result
F–A 		Attendance Falkirk scorer(s) Ref.
22 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Ross County 2–2 Higdon, Finnigan [1]
23 July 2008 Shielfield Park Berwick Rangers 1–2 J.Stewart [2]
26 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Queens Park Rangers 2–0 Own goal, J.Stewart [3]
28 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Alloa Athletic 0–0 [4]
30 July 2008 Cambuur Stadion SC Cambuur 0–1 [5]
1 August 2008 De Langeleegte BV Veendam 2–0 Finnigan, J.Stewart [6]
2 August 2008 Abe Lenstra Stadion SC Heerenveen 0–4 [7]

Scottish Premier League

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish Premier League
Date Venue Opponents Result
F–A 		Attendance Falkirk scorer(s) Ref.
9 August 2008 Falkirk Stadium Rangers 0–1 6,669 [8]
16 August 2008 Easter Road Hibernian 2–3 12,445 Higdon 30', 53' [9]
23 August 2008 Celtic Park Celtic 0–3 56,031 [10]
30 August 2008 Falkirk Stadium Inverness CT 1–2 4,730 M.Stewart 60' [11]
13 September 2008 Falkirk Stadium Heart of Midlothian 2–1 5,960 McCann 3', Arfield 90' [12]
20 September 2008 Love Street St Mirren 1–1 4,134 Barrett 47' [13]
27 September 2008 Falkirk Stadium Hamilton Academical 4–1 4,734 Lovell 44', Arfield 69', 87' pen., O'Brien 79' [14]
5 October 2008 Fir Park Motherwell 2–3 4,509 Lovell 22', Barrett 48' [15]
18 October 2008 Falkirk Stadium Aberdeen 0–1 5,662 [16]
25 October 2008 Rugby Park Kilmarnock 2–1 4,267 Lovell 28', Arfield 66' pen. [17]
1 November 2008 Falkirk Stadium Dundee United 0–0 5,608 [18]
8 November 2008 New Douglas Park Hamilton Academical 1–1 2,600 Higdon 49' [19]
12 November 2008 Caledonian Stadium Inverness CT 1–1 3,111 Higdon 19' [20]
15 November 2008 Falkirk Stadium Motherwell 1–0 5,279 Higdon 37' [21]
22 November 2008 Tynecastle Stadium Heart of Midlothian 1–2 13,009 Lovell 16' [22]
29 November 2008 Falkirk Stadium Hibernian 1–1 6,260 Barr 69' [23]
6 December 2008 Falkirk Stadium St Mirren 1–2 4,828 Lovell 62' [24]
13 December 2008 Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeen 1–2 8,909 Lovell 89' [25]
21 December 2008 Falkirk Stadium Celtic 0–3 6,543 [26]
27 December 2008 Tannadice Park Dundee United 0–1 7,972 [27]
3 January 2009 Falkirk Stadium Kilmarnock 1–1 5,375 Lovell 41' [28]
17 January 2009 Ibrox Stadium Rangers 1–3 48,811 Lovell 12' [29]
24 January 2009 Fir Park Motherwell 1–1 5,018 Holden 53' [30]
31 January 2009 Falkirk Stadium Aberdeen 1–0 5,605 Higdon 55' [31]
14 February 2009 St Mirren Park St Mirren 2–2 5,504 Finnigan 35', Arfield 85' pen. [32]
21 February 2009 Falkirk Stadium Hamilton Academical 1–2 5,307 Swailes 6' o.g. [33]
28 February 2009 Easter Road Hibernian 0–0 10,682 [34]
3 March 2009 Falkirk Stadium Dundee United 0–1 4,385 [35]
21 March 2009 Falkirk Stadium Inverness CT 4–0 5,523 Finnigan 37', 90' M.Stewart 65', Arfield 82' pen. [36]
5 April 2009 Falkirk Stadium Rangers 0–1 6,853 [37]
8 April 2009 Celtic Park Celtic 0–4 57,669 [38]
11 April 2009 Rugby Park Kilmarnock 0–3 5,835 [39]
18 April 2009 Falkirk Stadium Heart of Midlothian 0–0 6,156 [40]
2 May 2009 Falkirk Stadium Motherwell 2–1 4,937 Finnigan 9', Scobbie 56' [41]
9 May 2009 Rugby Park Kilmarnock 1–1 5,955 Barr 56' [42]
13 May 2009 New Douglas Park Hamilton Academical 1–0 3,710 Arfield 60' [43]
16 May 2009 Falkirk Stadium St Mirren 0–2 6,744 [44]
23 May 2009 Caledonian Stadium Inverness CT 1–0 6,489 Higdon 68' [45]

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers Match Report
Second round 26 August 2008 Raith Rovers Stark's Park 3–1 2,090 Higdon 16', J.Stewart 35' pen., M.Stewart 84' [46]
Third round 23 September 2008 Queen of the South Falkirk Stadium 2–1 2,058 McCann 29', Lovell 73' [47]
Quarter-final 28 October 2008 Inverness CT Falkirk Stadium 1–0 3,007 McCann 36' [48]
Semi-final 27 January 2009 Rangers Hampden Park 0–3 24,507 [49]

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers Ref.
Fourth Round 10 January 2009 Queen of the South Falkirk Stadium 4–2 3,423 Arfield 37' pen., 48' Barrett 68', 81' [50]
Fifth Round 7 February 2009 Heart of Midlothian Tynecastle Stadium 1–0 14,569 Lovell 59' [51]
Quarter-final 7 March 2009 Inverness CT Caledonian Stadium 1–0 3,024 Finnigan 31' pen. [52]
Semi-final 26 April 2009 Dunfermline Athletic Hampden Park 2–0 17,124 Scobbie 54', Arfield 89' pen. [53]
Final 30 May 2009 Rangers Hampden Park 0–1 50,956 [54]

Squad statistics

Player statistics

As of 30 May 2009(UTC)[55]
No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League League Cup Scottish Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK  ESP Dani Mallo 20 0 15+0 0 1+0 0 4+0 0
2 DF  SCO Lee Bullen 37 0 29+3 0 2+0 0 3+0 0
3 DF  NIR Dean Holden 22 1 16+3 1 1+0 0 1+1 0
4 MF  IRL Patrick Cregg 31 0 16+7 0 2+2 0 2+2 0
5 DF  SCO Jackie McNamara 37 0 29+0 0 4+0 0 4+0 0
6 MF  SCO Kevin McBride 35 0 25+3 0 4+0 0 2+1 0
7 MF  SCO Neil McCann 31 3 22+2 1 3+0 2 4+0 0
8 MF  ESP Arnau Riera 20 0 14+3 0 0+0 0 3+0 0
10 DF  SCO Steven Pressley 19 0 15+1 0 1+0 0 2+0 0
11 FW  ENG Michael Higdon 42 8 27+7 7 3+1 1 3+1 0
12 MF  IRL Stephen Bradley 4 0 4+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
14 DF  NED Gerard Aafjes 23 0 10+7 0 3+0 0 2+1 0
15 FW  ENG Steve Lovell 33 10 25+3 8 2+0 1 3+0 1
16 MF  CAN Scott Arfield 45 10 35+2 7 4+0 0 4+0 3
17 GK  AUT Bobby Olejnik 18 0 15+0 0 2+0 0 1+0 0
18 DF  SCO Brian Allison 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
19 MF  SCO Sean Lynch 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
20 DF  SCO Darren Barr 44 2 35+0 2 4+0 0 5+0 0
21 FW  ENG Carl Finnigan 19 5 10+4 4 0+0 0 2+3 1
22 DF  SCO Chris Mitchell 10 0 3+6 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
23 FW  SCO Kevin Moffat 4 0 0+4 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
24 FW  SCO Mark Stewart 27 3 5+15 2 1+2 1 1+3 0
29 MF  SCO Sean Lynch 2 0 0+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
30 GK  SCO Jamie Barclay 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
31 DF  NIR Dermot McCaffrey 2 0 1+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
33 DF  SCO Tam Scobbie 27 2 18+2 1 2+1 0 4+0 1
34 FW  SCO Dayne Robertson 4 0 0+4 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
35 DF  SCO Mark Staunton 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
47 MF  SCO Burton O'Brien 39 1 30+2 1 1+1 0 4+1 0
56 DF  SWE Erik Schultz-Eklund 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
Players who left the club during the 2008–09 season
9 FW  IRL Graham Barrett 19 4 9+6 2 2+1 0 1+0 2
10 MF  TRI Russell Latapy 4 0 2+1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
13 GK  ENG Scott Flinders 9 0 8+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
25 FW  SCO John Stewart 5 1 4+0 0 1+0 1 0+0 0

Team statistics

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
8 Kilmarnock 38 12 8 18 38 48 −10 44
9 Hamilton Academical 38 12 5 21 30 53 −23 41
10 Falkirk 38 9 11 18 37 52 −15 38 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[b]
11 St Mirren 38 9 10 19 33 52 −19 37
12 Inverness Caledonian Thistle (R) 38 10 7 21 37 58 −21 37 Relegation to the First Division
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. ^ Since Rangers, the winners of the Scottish Cup, already qualified for the Champions League via their league position, Falkirk, the losing finalist, earned a spot in the Europa League.

Transfers

References

  1. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/honours-even-in-friendly-2.html
  2. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/berwick-r.-2-falkirk-xi-1-2.html
  3. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/slick-bairns-on-top-2.html
  4. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/no-goals-at-the-stadium-2.html
  5. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/ht-sc-cambuur-0-0-falkirk-fc-2.html
  6. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/score-update-bv-veendam-0-1-falkirk-fc-2.html
  7. ^ http://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/club-news/latest-score-update-2.html
  8. ^ "Falkirk 0-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008.
  9. ^ "Hibernian 3-2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 16 August 2008.
  10. ^ "Celtic 3-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 23 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Falkirk 1-2 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 30 August 2008.
  12. ^ "Falkirk 2-1 Hearts". BBC Sport. 13 September 2008.
  13. ^ "St Mirren 1-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 20 September 2008.
  14. ^ "Falkirk 4-1 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. 27 September 2008.
  15. ^ "Motherwell 3-2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 5 October 2008.
  16. ^ "Falkirk 0-1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 19 October 2008.
  17. ^ "Kilmarnock 1-2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 25 October 2008.
  18. ^ "Falkirk 0-0 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 1 November 2008.
  19. ^ "Hamilton Accies 1-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 8 November 2008.
  20. ^ "Inverness CT 1-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 12 November 2008.
  21. ^ "Falkirk 1-0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008.
  22. ^ "Hearts 2-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 22 November 2008.
  23. ^ "Falkirk 1-1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 29 November 2008.
  24. ^ "Falkirk 1-2 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 6 December 2008.
  25. ^ "Aberdeen 2-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 13 December 2008.
  26. ^ "Falkirk 0-3 Celtic". BBC Sport. 21 December 2008.
  27. ^ "Dundee Utd 1-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 27 December 2008.
  28. ^ "Falkirk 1-1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 3 January 2009.
  29. ^ "Rangers 3-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 17 January 2009.
  30. ^ "Motherwell 1-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 24 January 2009.
  31. ^ "Falkirk 1-0 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009.
  32. ^ "St Mirren 2-2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 14 February 2009.
  33. ^ "Falkirk 1-2 Hamilton". BBC Sport. 21 February 2009.
  34. ^ "Hibernian 0-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 28 February 2009.
  35. ^ "Falkirk 0-1 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 3 March 2009.
  36. ^ "Falkirk 4-0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 21 March 2009.
  37. ^ "Falkirk 0-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 5 April 2009.
  38. ^ "Celtic 4-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 8 April 2009.
  39. ^ "Kilmarnock 3-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 11 April 2009.
  40. ^ "Falkirk 0-0 Hearts". BBC Sport. 18 April 2009.
  41. ^ "Falkirk 2-1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 2 May 2009.
  42. ^ "Kilmarnock 1-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 9 May 2009.
  43. ^ "Hamilton 0-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 13 May 2009.
  44. ^ "Falkirk 0-2 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 16 May 2009.
  45. ^ "Inverness CT 0-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 23 May 2009.
  46. ^ "Raith Rovers 1-3 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 26 August 2008.
  47. ^ "Falkirk 2-1 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 23 September 2008.
  48. ^ "Falkirk 1-0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 28 October 2008.
  49. ^ "Rangers 3-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 27 January 2009.
  50. ^ "Falkirk 4-2 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 10 January 2009.
  51. ^ "Hearts 0-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 7 February 2009.
  52. ^ "Inverness CT 0-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 7 March 2009.
  53. ^ "Falkirk 2-0 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009.
  54. ^ "Rangers 1-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 30 May 2009.
  55. ^ "Falkirk 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  56. ^ "falkirk-sign-northern-ireland-u21-defender". Falkirk FC. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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  58. ^ a b "Falkirk complete Bullen transfer". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  59. ^ "Transfer deadline day". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  60. ^ "O'Brien back up north with Bairns". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  61. ^ "Ashley Young Signs for Falkirk". lincolnshireonline.net. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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  63. ^ "Falkirk secure signing of Lovell". BBC Sport. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  64. ^ "Falkirk bring in keeper Flinders". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  65. ^ "Falkirk sign up midfielder Lynch". BBC Sport. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  66. ^ "Falkirk swoop to sign Pressley". BBC Sport. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  67. ^ "Bairns complete keeper Mallo deal". BBC Sport. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  68. ^ "Moutinho makes Maritimo switch". BBC Sport. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  69. ^ "Falkirk's Craig to stay a Saint". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  70. ^ "St Mirren snap up Bairns player". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  71. ^ "Milne completes Scunthorpe switch". BBC Sport. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  72. ^ "Berwick boss makes signing spree". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  73. ^ "Barclay joins East Stirlingshire". BBC Sport. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  74. ^ "Stirling Albion take Gibb on loan". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  75. ^ John Stewart Joins County TheJailEnder.com, 28 December 2008
  76. ^ "Russell Latapy heads out of Falkirk and Scotland". Daily Record. Glasgow. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  77. ^ "Latapy to star in Pro League". Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
  78. ^ BARRETT ARRIVES TO INCREASE STRIKING OPTIONS Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine St Johnstone FC Official Website, 24 February 2009
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