2015–16 Maltese Premier League

Maltese Premier League
Season 2015–16
Champions Valletta
(23rd title)
Relegated Qormi
Naxxar Lions
Champions League Valletta
Europa League Hibernians
Birkirkara
Matches played 198
Goals scored 632 (3.19 per match)
Biggest home win Balzan 8–0 Naxxar Lions
Biggest away win Naxxar Lions 0–8 Hibernians
Highest scoring Birkirkara 6–3 Mosta

All statistics correct as of 30 April 2016.

The 2015–16 Maltese Premier League was the 101st season of the Maltese Premier League. The season began on 21 August 2015 and concluded on 30 April 2016.[1] Hibernians were the defending champions, having won their 11th title the previous season.

The Maltese Premier League consisted of three rounds, for a total of 33 matches per team, with the first two rounds played between 21 August 2015 and 14 February 2016, and the third and final round played from 20 February to 30 April 2016.[1] After the end of the second round, the points earned were halved.

Format

The format for the 2015–16 Maltese Premier League was the same as the previous season. First all teams meet twice in a round-robin format for a total of 22 matches. After the two first rounds all teams advanced to a second phase where half of the points from the first two rounds were carried over and teams played each other once.[2] These rules were changed before the previous season after a decision not to split the teams for a championship round and relegation round.[3]

Teams and stadiums

Location of teams in 2015–16 Maltese Premier League

Pietà Hotspurs and Żebbuġ Rangers were relegated after they finished eleventh and twelfth, respectively, the previous season. Pembroke Athleta, the 2014–15 First Division champion, made their debut in the Premier League. Runner-up St. Andrews returned to the highest level for the first time since the 1993–94 season.

Club City Stadium Capacity
Balzan Balzan Victor Tedesco Stadium 6,000
Birkirkara Birkirkara Ta' Qali National Stadium 17,797
Floriana Floriana Independence Arena 3,000
Hibernians Paola Hibernians Ground 8,000
Mosta Mosta Charles Abela Memorial Stadium 600
Naxxar Lions Naxxar Centenary Stadium 2,000
Pembroke Athleta Pembroke Sirens Stadium 1,500
Qormi Qormi Qormi Ground 1,000
Sliema Wanderers Sliema Tigne Sports Complex 1,000
St. Andrews St. Andrew's Luxol Sports Ground 800
Tarxien Rainbows Tarxien Tony Cassar Sports Ground 1,000
Valletta Valletta Centenary Stadium 2,000

Source: Scoresway

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Valletta 22 17 2 3 49 21 +28 53
2 Hibernians 22 15 5 2 53 25 +28 50
3 Balzan 22 14 3 5 42 21 +21 45
4 Birkirkara 22 12 6 4 41 20 +21 42
5 Floriana 22 12 3 7 36 25 +11 39
6 Tarxien Rainbows 22 10 7 5 37 17 +20 37
7 Mosta 22 8 6 8 29 33 −4 30
8 Pembroke Athleta 22 7 4 11 33 39 −6 25
9 Sliema Wanderers 22 7 3 12 31 36 −5 24
10 Naxxar Lions 22 4 2 16 22 54 −32 14
11 Qormi 22 2 3 17 19 49 −30 9
12 St. Andrews 22 1 2 19 14 66 −52 5
Source: MFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.

Results (matches 1–22)

Home ╲ Away BAL BIR FLOHIBMOSNXXPEMQORSLIStATARVAL
Balzan 1–0 1–0 1–1 4–1 4–2 5–1 1–0 1–0 5–1 0–0 1–2
Birkirkara 4–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 4–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–0 1–2
Floriana 2–0 0–0 2–4 1–2 2–1 4–2 3–0 3–0 3–2 0–3 1–2
Hibernians 3–2 1–1 2–1 1–4 4–1 2–1 4–2 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–0
Mosta 1–3 0–3 0–1 0–4 0–2 3–3 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 2–2
Naxxar Lions 0–2 2–2 0–1 0–7 0–1 1–5 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–5 1–2
Pembroke Athleta 0–0 1–4 1–2 1–1 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 4–3 1–2 2–3
Qormi 0–5 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–3 0–5 1–2 3–6 3–0 1–4 0–2
Sliema Wanderers 0–2 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–0 6–1 0–2 2–4
St. Andrews 0–2 1–3 0–5 2–2 0–3 1–2 0–4 0–4 0–1 1–1 0–3
Tarxien Rainbows 3–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 4–0 0–1 4–0 3–2 1–0 1–3
Valletta 0–1 4–0 3–1 3–2 3–0 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 4–0 1–1

Source: Malta Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second phase

All teams advanced to the second phase. Teams kept their records from the first phase, but their points from the first phase were halved and rounded. Teams played each other once.[2]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Valletta (C) 33 25 4 4 69 27 +42 53 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 Hibernians 33 22 8 3 85 33 +52 49 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3 Birkirkara 33 20 8 5 64 29 +35 47
4 Balzan 33 20 6 7 69 33 +36 44
5 Floriana 33 18 4 11 60 42 +18 39
6 Tarxien Rainbows 33 15 8 10 59 31 +28 35
7 Sliema Wanderers[lower-alpha 1] 33 12 6 15 49 51 −2 30
8 Pembroke Athleta 33 10 6 17 48 61 −13 24
9 Mosta 33 10 7 16 42 60 −18 22
10 St. Andrews (O) 33 4 3 26 32 90 −58 13 Qualification to Relegation play-offs
11 Naxxar Lions (R) 33 5 4 24 29 95 −66 12 Relegation to Maltese First Division
12 Qormi (R) 33 3 4 26 26 80 −54 9
Source: MFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (only if deciding champion and UEFA competition places); 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Sliema Wanderers would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[4]

Results (matches 23–33)

Home ╲ Away BAL BIR FLOHIBMOSNXXPEMQORSLIStATARVAL
Balzan 1–1 8–0 2–1 1–0 2–2 1–2
Birkirkara 0–1 2–1 6–3 2–0 2–1
Floriana 0–2 4–0 2–3 3–1 2–3 2–0
Hibernians 3–1 3–1 3–0 6–0 1–1
Mosta 0–3 2–4 3–5 1–1 1–2
Naxxar Lions 0–4 0–8 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–3
Pembroke Athleta 0–1 1–1 3–1 0–2 0–4
Qormi 0–3 1–3 0–1 1–0 2–4 0–2
Sliema Wanderers 3–3 2–2 1–0 4–2 3–1 0–3
St. Andrews 1–3 1–4 3–1 3–1 2–3
Tarxien Rainbows 1–2 0–1 0–1 6–1 0–1
Valletta 0–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 2–1 2–0

Source: Malta Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between St. Andrews, the tenth-placed team from the Premier League and Senglea Athletic, the third-placed team from the First Division for a place in the 2016–17 Maltese Premier League.

6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)
19:30
St. Andrews 2–1 Senglea Athletic
Pena Beltre  52'
Nwoko  86'		 Report Dalli  20' (pen.)
Hibernians Ground
Referee: Malcolm Spiteri

Top goalscorers

As of 12 April 2016
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Malta Lydon Micallef Balzan 17
2 Malta Alfred Effiong Balzan 16
3 Italy Mario Fontanella Floriana 15
4 Brazil Gilmar Da Silva Ribeiro Hibernians 14
Argentina Matias Falcone Valletta
5 Malta Michael Mifsud Valletta 12
Tunisia Abdelkarim Nafti Valletta
Brazil Jorge Da Silva Pereira Hibernians

Source: MFA

References

  1. 1 2 "MFA Match calendar for 2015/16 season". mfa.com.mt. Malta Football Association. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Premier League: season rules". scoresway.com. Scoresway. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "BOV Premier League kicks-off on Saturday". maltafootball.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Old meets new in KO duel". Times of Malta. 14 May 2016.

External links

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