Falkirk
2008–09 season
ChairmanCampbell Christie
ManagerJohn Hughes
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 Score[1] Attendance Falkirk scorer(s) Match Report
22 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Ross County 2–2 Higdon, Finnigan Falkirk Official Site
23 July 2008 Shielfield Park Berwick Rangers 1–2 J.Stewart Falkirk Official Site
26 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Queens Park Rangers 2–0 Own goal, J.Stewart Falkirk Official Site
28 July 2008 Falkirk Stadium Alloa Athletic 0–0 Falkirk Official Site
30 July 2008 Cambuur Stadion Netherlands SC Cambuur 0–1 Falkirk Official Site
1 August 2008 De Langeleegte Netherlands BV Veendam 2–0 Finnigan, J.Stewart Falkirk Official Site
2 August 2008 Abe Lenstra Stadion Netherlands SC Heerenveen 0–4 Falkirk Official Site

Scottish Premier League

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

Scottish League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersMatch Report
Second round 26 August 2008 Raith Rovers Stark's Park 3–1 2,090 Higdon 16', J.Stewart 35 pen., M.Stewart 84' BBC Sport Report
Third round 23 September 2008 Queen of the South Falkirk Stadium 2–1 2,058 McCann 29', Lovell 73' BBC Sport Report
Quarter-final 28 October 2008 Inverness CT Falkirk Stadium 1–0 3,007 McCann 36' BBC Sport Report
Semi-final 27 January 2009 Rangers Hampden Park 0–3 24,507 BBC Sport Report

Scottish Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersMatch Report
Fourth Round 10 January 2009 Queen of the South Falkirk Stadium 4–2 3,423 Arfield 37' pen., 48' Barrett 68', 81' BBC Sport Report
Fifth Round 7 February 2009 Heart of Midlothian Tynecastle Stadium 1–0 14,569 Lovell 59' BBC Sport Report
Quarter-final 7 March 2009 Inverness CT Caledonian Stadium 1–0 3,024 Finnigan 31' pen. BBC Sport Report
Semi-final 26 April 2009 Dunfermline Athletic Hampden Park 2–0 17,124 Scobbie 54', Arfield 89' pen. BBC Sport Report
Final 30 May 2009 Rangers Hampden Park 0–1 50,956 BBC Sport Report

Squad statistics

Player statistics

As of 30 May 2009(UTC)[2]
No. Pos Nat Player TotalPremier LeagueLeague CupScottish Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Spain ESP Dani Mallo 20015+001+004+00
2 DF Scotland SCO Lee Bullen 37029+302+003+00
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR Dean Holden 22116+311+001+10
4 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Patrick Cregg 31016+702+202+20
5 DF Scotland SCO Jackie McNamara 37029+004+004+00
6 MF Scotland SCO Kevin McBride 35025+304+002+10
7 MF Scotland SCO Neil McCann 31322+213+024+00
8 MF Spain ESP Arnau Riera 20014+300+003+00
10 DF Scotland SCO Steven Pressley 19015+101+002+00
11 FW England ENG Michael Higdon 42827+773+113+10
12 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Stephen Bradley 404+000+000+00
14 DF Netherlands NED Gerard Aafjes 23010+703+002+10
15 FW England ENG Steve Lovell 331025+382+013+01
16 MF Canada CAN Scott Arfield 451035+274+004+03
17 GK Austria AUT Bobby Olejnik 18015+002+001+00
18 DF Scotland SCO Brian Allison 000+000+000+00
19 MF Scotland SCO Sean Lynch 000+000+000+00
20 DF Scotland SCO Darren Barr 44235+024+005+00
21 FW England ENG Carl Finnigan 19510+440+002+31
22 DF Scotland SCO Chris Mitchell 1003+600+100+00
23 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Moffat 400+400+000+00
24 FW Scotland SCO Mark Stewart 2735+1521+211+30
29 MF Scotland SCO Sean Lynch 200+200+000+00
30 GK Scotland SCO Jamie Barclay 000+000+000+00
31 DF Northern Ireland NIR Dermot McCaffrey 201+100+000+00
33 DF Scotland SCO Tam Scobbie 27218+212+104+01
34 FW Scotland SCO Dayne Robertson 400+400+000+00
35 DF Scotland SCO Mark Staunton 000+000+000+00
47 MF Scotland SCO Burton O'Brien 39130+211+104+10
56 DF Sweden SWE Erik Schultz-Eklund 000+000+000+00
Players who left the club during the 2008–09 season
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Graham Barrett 1949+622+101+02
10 MF Trinidad and Tobago TRI Russell Latapy 402+100+100+00
13 GK England ENG Scott Flinders 908+001+000+00
25 FW Scotland SCO John Stewart 514+001+010+00

Team statistics

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2]
11 St Mirren 38 9 10 19 33 52 −19 37
12 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 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
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. 1 2 Falkirk's score is shown first.
  2. ↑ "Falkirk 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "falkirk-sign-northern-ireland-u21-defender". Falkirk FC. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Falkirk complete McNamara swoop". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Falkirk complete Bullen transfer". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Transfer deadline day". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "O'Brien back up north with Bairns". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Ashley Young Signs for Falkirk". lincolnshireonline.net. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Riera passed fit to rejoin Bairns". BBC Sport. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Falkirk secure signing of Lovell". BBC Sport. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Falkirk bring in keeper Flinders". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Falkirk sign up midfielder Lynch". BBC Sport. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Falkirk swoop to sign Pressley". BBC Sport. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Bairns complete keeper Mallo deal". BBC Sport. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Moutinho makes Maritimo switch". BBC Sport. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Falkirk's Craig to stay a Saint". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "St Mirren snap up Bairns player". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Milne completes Scunthorpe switch". BBC Sport. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Berwick boss makes signing spree". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Barclay joins East Stirlingshire". BBC Sport. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Stirling Albion take Gibb on loan". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  22. ↑ John Stewart Joins County TheJailEnder.com, 28 December 2008
  23. ↑ "Russell Latapy heads out of Falkirk and Scotland". Daily Record. Glasgow. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Latapy to star in Pro League". Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
  25. ↑ 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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