# 2015–16 Slovak First Football League

The 2015–16 Slovak First Football League (known as the Slovak Fortuna Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season of the first-tier football league in Slovakia since its establishment in 1993. AS Trenčín were the defending champions, after winning their 1st Slovak championship.

## Teams

A total of 12 teams competed in the league, including 10 sides from the 2014–15 season and two who were promoted from the 2. liga.
Relegation for MFK Košice and FK Dukla Banská Bystrica to the 2015–16 DOXXbet liga was confirmed on 30 May 2015. These two relegated teams were replaced by 2. liga champion MFK Zemplín Michalovce and 2. liga runner-up MFK Skalica. Both teams made their debut at the highest level. Despite that MFK Košice finished as 6th, they did not obtain a licence for the 2015–16 season.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | 2014–15 season |
| AS Trenčín | Trenčín | Štadión na Sihoti | 3,500 | Champions |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | Dunajská Streda | Mestský štadión | 16,410 | 8th in Fortuna Liga |
| FO ŽP Šport Podbrezová | Podbrezová | ZELPO Aréna | 4,061 | 11th in Fortuna Liga |
| FK Senica | Senica | OMS Arena | 5,070 | 5th in Fortuna Liga |
| Michalovce | Michalovce | Mestský futbalový štadión | 4,440 | 2. Liga Champions |
| MFK Ružomberok | Ružomberok | Štadión pod Čebraťom | 4,817 | 7th in Fortuna Liga |
| MFK Skalica | Skalica | Mestský štadión Skalica | 3,000 | 2nd in 2. Liga |
| MŠK Žilina | Žilina | Štadión pod Dubňom | 11,181 | 2nd in Fortuna Liga |
| Slovan Bratislava | Bratislava | Pasienky | 12,000 | 3rd in Fortuna Liga |
| Spartak Myjava | Myjava | Stadium Myjava | 2,709 | 9th in Fortuna Liga |
| Spartak Trnava | Trnava | Stadium Antona Malatinského | 19,200 | 4th in Fortuna Liga |
| ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Zlaté Moravce | FC ViOn Stadium | 4,000 | 10th in Fortuna Liga |

## Personnel and kits

| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| AS Trenčín | Tscheu La Ling | Martin Ševela | Peter Kleščík | Adidas | AEGON |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | Oszkár Világi | Tomislav Marić | Ľubomír Michalík | Adidas | Kukkonia |
| FO ŽP Šport Podbrezová | Július Kriváň | Marek Fabuľa | Jaroslav Kostelný | Adidas | Železiarne Podbrezová |
| FK Senica | Vladimír Levársky | Juraj Sabol | Petr Pavlík | hummel | Business Funding Solutions |
| MFK Ružomberok | Milan Fiľo | Ladislav Pecko | Marek Sapara | Adidas | MAESTRO |
| MŠK Žilina | Jozef Antošík | Adrián Guľa | Viktor Pečovský | Nike | Preto |
| Slovan Bratislava | Ivan Kmotrík | Nikodimos Papavasiliou | Marko Milinković | Adidas | niké |
| Spartak Myjava | Pavel Halabrín | Norbert Hrnčár | Štefan Pekár | Uhlsport | NAD RESS |
| Spartak Trnava | Michal Pethö | Miroslav Karhan | Martin Mikovič | Adidas | ŽOS Trnava, ŠKODA |
| ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Karol Škula | Libor Fašiang | Pavel Kováč | Erreà | ViOn |
| MFK Michalovce | Igor Šoltinský | Stanislav Griga | Marián Kelemen | Adidas | Scorp |
| MFK Skalica | Peter Bartoš | Štefan Horný | Pavol Majerník | Nike |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Spartak Myjava | Peter Gergely | Sacked | 30 May 2015 | Pre-season | Norbert Hrnčár | 2 June 2015 |
| FO ŽP Šport Podbrezová | Branislav Benko | End of caretaker spell | 30 May 2015 | Pre-season | Zdenko Frťala | 15 June 2015 |
| FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Branislav Mráz | signed by FC Spartak Trnava | 16 June 2015 | Pre-season | Milko Gjurovski | 15 June 2015 |
| MFK Skalica | Štefan Horný | End of contract | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season | Aleš Křeček | 3 July 2015 |
| ŠK Slovan Bratislava | Dušan Tittel | Resigned | 21 August 2015 | 4th | Nikodimos Papavasiliou | 21 August 2015 |
| FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Milko Gjurovski | Sacked | 23 August 2015 | 11th | Libor Fašiang | 27 August 2015 |
| FC Spartak Trnava | Juraj Jarábek | Resigned | 28 August 2015 | 9th | Branislav Mráz | 28 August 2015 |
| MFK Ružomberok | Ivan Galád | Sacked | 2 September 2015 | 10th | Ladislav Pecko | 11 September 2015 |
| FC Spartak Trnava | Branislav Mráz | End of interim contract | 2 September 2015 | 6th | Ivan Hucko | 2 September 2015 |
| FK Senica | Eduard Pagáč | Sacked | 8 September 2015 | 8th | Juraj Sabol | 8 September 2015 |
| Podbrezová | Zdenko Frťala | Sacked | 21 September 2015 | 12th | Marek Fabuľa | 21 September 2015 |
| MFK Skalica | Aleš Křeček | Sacked | 28 October 2015 | 11th | Štefan Horný | 28 October 2015 |
| Zemplín Michalovce | František Šturma | Sacked | 30 December 2015 | 10th | Stanislav Griga | 30 December 2015 |
| FC Spartak Trnava | Ivan Hucko | Resigned | 21 April 2015 | 5th | Miroslav Karhan | 21 April 2015 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Trenčín (C) | 33 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 73 | 28 | +45 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Slovan Bratislava | 33 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 50 | 25 | +25 | 69 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Spartak Myjava | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 60 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Spartak Trnava | 33 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Žilina | 33 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 48 | |
| 6 | Ružomberok | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 45 | |
| 7 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 43 | |
| 8 | Podbrezová | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 37 | |
| 9 | ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 31 | |
| 10 | Senica | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 30 | |
| 11 | Zemplín Michalovce | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 29 | |
| 12 | Skalica (R) | 33 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 30 | 62 | −32 | 24 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
* ↑ Trenčín qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Slovak Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.

## Results

| Home \ Away | TRE | DAC | POD | SEN | ZMI | RUŽ | SKA | ŽIL | SLO | MYJ | TRN | ZLM | TRE | DAC | POD | SEN | ZMI | RUŽ | SKA | ŽIL | SLO | MYJ | TRN | ZLM |
| Trenčín | | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 5–3 | 4–1 | | | 2–0 | | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–2 | | 3–1 | 1–3 | |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | 0–2 | | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 3–1 | | | | | 0–2 | 1–1 | | |
| Podbrezová | 0–2 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 6–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | | | | | 2–0 | 3–1 | | 2–0 | | 2–0 | 3–0 | |
| Senica | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | | | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | | |
| Zemplín Michalovce | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | | | | | 1–1 | | | 1–1 |
| Ružomberok | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 | | 3–0 | | | 0–0 | | 3–1 | 0–2 | | | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Skalica | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | | | | | 1–2 | | 1–0 |
| Žilina | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | | 4–1 | | 0–0 | 2–3 | | 1–0 | | 0–0 | | | 6–0 |
| Slovan Bratislava | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | | 2–2 | | | 3–1 | 2–0 | | | 0–1 | 4–1 | |
| Spartak Myjava | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | | 4–2 | 0–0 | | | | | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | | | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Spartak Trnava | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 5–1 | 3–0 | | | | 3–2 |
| ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | | | | 0–0 | | | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    Updated through matches played on 20 May 2016.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Gino van Kessel | AS Trenčín | 17 |
| 2 | Matúš Bero | AS Trenčín | 15 |
| 2 | David Depetris | Spartak Trnava | 15 |
| 4 | Tamás Priskin | Slovan Bratislava | 12 |
| 5 | Peter Sládek | Spartak Myjava | 11 |
| 5 | Leandre Tawamba | ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 11 |
| 7 | Róbert Vittek | Slovan Bratislava | 10 |
| 7 | Erik Pačinda | DAC Dunajská Streda | 10 |
| 7 | Miloš Lačný | MFK Ružomberok | 10 |
| 10 | Marques De Souza | Zlaté Moravce | 9 |
| 10 | Ákos Szarka | DAC Dunajska Streda | 9 |

### Hat-tricks

| Round | Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| 7 | Ákos Szarka$^4$ | DAC D.Streda | Podbrezová | 5–1 | 29 August 2015 |
| 11 | Matúš Bero | AS Trenčín | MFK Skalica | 3–0 | 26 September 2015 |
| 17 | Leandre Tawamba | Zlaté Moravce | MFK Skalica | 3–1 | 21 November 2015 |
| 24 | Filip Hlohovský | MŠK Žilina | Zlaté Moravce | 6–0 | 18 March 2016 |
| 27 | David Depetris | Spartak Trnava | MFK Skalica | 5–1 | 16 April 2016 |
| 32 | Gino van Kessel$^4$ | AS Trenčín | MŠK Žilina | 5–2 | 13 May 2016 |

#### Note

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Clean sheets

    Updated through matches played on 20 May 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Igor Šemrinec | AS Trenčin | 15 |
| 2 | Ján Mucha | Slovan Bratislava | 14 |
| 3 | Miloš Volešák | MŠK Žilina | 11 |
| 3 | Martin Kuciak | FO ZP Sport Podbrezová | 11 |
| 3 | Matúš Hruška | Spartak Myjava | 11 |
| 6 | Tomáš Tujvel | DAC Dunajská Streda | 8 |
| 7 | Michal Šulla | FK Senica | 7 |
| 7 | Darko Tofiloski | MFK Ružomberok | 7 |
| 9 | Ľuboš Kamenár | Spartak Trnava | 6 |
| 9 | Adam Jakubech | Spartak Trnava | 6 |
| 9 | Marián Kelemen | Zemplin Michalovce | 6 |

### Discipline

    As of matches played on 20 May 2016.

#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 12
** Marin Ljubičić (DAC Dunajska Streda)
* Most red cards: 3
** Ján Maslo (MFK Ružomberok)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 95
** FC Spartak Trnava
* Most red cards: 8
** MFK Ružomberok

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| August | Ákos Szarka | DAC D.Streda |
| September | Matúš Bero | AS Trenčín |
| October | Léandre Tawamba | Zlaté Moravce |
| November | Gino van Kessel | AS Trenčín |
| March | Miloš Lačný | MFK Ružomberok |
| April | Ryan Koolwijk | AS Trenčín |
| May | Gino van Kessel | AS Trenčín |

### Top Eleven

Source:
* Goalkeeper: Ján Mucha (Slovan Bratislava)
* Defence: Martin Šulek (AS Trenčín), Kornel Saláta (Slovan Bratislava), Milan Škriniar (MŠK Žilina), Kingsley Madu (AS Trenčín)
* Midfield: Viktor Pečovský (MŠK Žilina), Ibrahim Rabiu (AS Trenčín), Gino van Kessel (AS Trenčín), Matúš Bero (AS Trenčín), Erik Pačinda (DAC D.Streda)
* Attack: David Depetris (Spartak Trnava)

### Individual awards

Manager of the season
Martin Ševela (AS Trenčín)
Player of the Year
Matúš Bero (AS Trenčín)
Young player of the Year
Martin Šulek (AS Trenčín)