2014–15 B Group
The 2014–15 B Group was the 60th season of the Bulgarian B Football Group, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
| Season | 2014–15 |
|---|---|
| Promoted | Montana Pirin Blagoevgrad |
| Relegated | Botev Vratsa Chernomorets Rakovski Spartak Varna |
| Matches played | 239 |
| Goals scored | 586 (2.45 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Yanaki Smirnov (22 goals) |
← 2013–14 2015–16 → | |
Team changes from 2013–14
Movement between A PFG and B PFG
At the end of last season the first two teams of the second division of Bulgarian football were promoted to the top division - A PFG. These were Marek Dupnitsa and Haskovo 2009.
Because of the changes made in the number of teams in A PFG for this season the bottom four teams in A Group at the end of the last one were relegated to B Group for season 2014-2015. These were Chernomorets Burgas, Neftochimic Burgas, Pirin Gotse Delchev and Lyubimets 2007.
Movement between B PFG and V AFG
The four V AFG champions - Sozopol (South-East), Benkovski Byala (North-East), Pirin Blagoevgrad (South-West) and Lokomotiv Mezdra (North-West) - were promoted to B PFG because of their standings in their respective groups the previous season.
Further pre-season changes
On June 16 Benkovski Byala sent an official letter to the Bulgarian Football Union and declined to participate in the 2014–15 B PFG, citing financial problems.[1] On the next day media reports suggested that three additional clubs had not met the license criteria in the initial investigation by the BFU - Lyubimets, Neftochimic and Pirin Gotse Delchev. All three clubs were in danger of being refused a spot in the group, while the 2nd placed teams in the 2013/14 V AFG were preparing themselves to make bids to replace them.[2]
On June 19 the BFU confirmed Benkovski's withdrawal and officially invited FC Master Burgas to take their spot as the 2nd placed team in the Southeast V AFG.[3] On June 22, the club announced it had accepted the invitation, and in addition would change its name to FC Burgas and switch colours from red and white to blue and white.[4] On June 30, the BFU announced the final list of participants for the 2014-15 season after a six-hour session. Lyubimets, Neftochimic and Pirin Gotse Delchev were all denied a professional license for the following season due to outstanding debts and would have to compete in the V AFG or fold. The group was kept at 16 teams with the addition of Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa (2nd place in Northwest V AFG), Septemvri Simitli (2nd place in Southwest V AFG) and Vereya Stara Zagora (3rd place in Southeast V AFG). Vereya was chosen ahead of Oborishte Panagyurishte (3rd placed in Southwest V AFG) because of its higher coefficient and better infrastructure.[5]
Stadia and locations
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bansko | Bansko | Saint Peter | 3,000 |
| Botev | Galabovo | Energetik | 3,000 |
| Botev | Vratsa | Hristo Botev | 32,000 |
| Burgas | Burgas | Balgarovo | 3,000 |
| Chernomorets | Burgas | Lazur | 18,037 |
| Dobrudzha | Dobrich | Druzhba | 12,500 |
| Lokomotiv | Gorna Oryahovitsa | Lokomotiv | 12,000 |
| Lokomotiv 2012 | Mezdra | Lokomotiv | 5,000 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta | 8,000 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev | 11,000 |
| Pirin | Razlog | Pirin | 2,000 |
| Rakovski | Rakovski | Legia | 3,000 |
| Septemvri | Simitli | Struma | 8,000 |
| Sozopol | Sozopol | Arena Sozopol | 3,000 |
| Spartak | Varna | Spartak | 8,000 |
| Vereya | Stara Zagora | Trace Arena | 1,000 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana (C, P) | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 72 | 16 | +56 | 78 | Promotion to 2015–16 A Group |
| 2 | Pirin Blagoevgrad (P) | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 52 | 15 | +37 | 61 | |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 59 | |
| 4 | Bansko | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 38 | 18 | +20 | 53 | |
| 5 | Dobrudzha Dobrich | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 46 | |
| 6 | Sozopol | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 46 | |
| 7 | Burgas | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 43 | |
| 8 | Botev Galabovo | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 42 | |
| 9 | Lokomotiv 2012 Mezdra | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 41 | |
| 10 | Pirin Razlog | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 40 | |
| 11 | Vereya | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 37 | |
| 12 | Septemvri Simitli | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 36 | |
| 13 | Botev Vratsa (R) | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 43 | −17 | 29 | Relegation to 2015–16 V Group |
| 14 | Chernomorets Burgas (R) | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 28 | |
| 15 | Rakovski 2011 (R) | 29 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 25 | 71 | −46 | 16[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 16 | Spartak Varna (R) | 29 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 9 | 77 | −68 | 6[lower-alpha 2] |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th number of goals scored; 7th Fair-play points; 8th Draw
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
- Rakovski 2011 decided to cancel their participation in the championship during the winter break due to financial difficulties. They were unable to register four professional players for their matches against Burgas and Botev Galabovo. All remaining fixtures are awarded 0−3 against them.[6] The decision was confirmed by the Bulgarian Football Union on 27 February 2015.[7] On 5 March 2015 the Union deducted 3 points due to the non-attendance of their game against PFC Burgas.[8]
- Spartal Varna decided to cancel their participation in the championship during the winter break due to financial difficulties. They were unable to register four professional players for their match against Bansko, which was the second time a match had to be cancelled due to a fault of Spartak Varna. All remaining fixtures are awarded 0−3 against them.[9] The decision was confirmed by the Bulgarian Football Union on 5 March 2015.[8]
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yanaki Smirnov |
Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 22 |
| 2 | Miroslav Antonov |
Montana | 18 |
| 3 | Atanas Iliev |
Dobrudzha Dobrich | 17 |
| 4 | Petar Atanasov |
Rakovski | 13 |
| 5 | Georgi Kirilov |
Botev Galabovo | 12 |
| 6 | Nikolay Tsvetkov |
Lokomotiv 2012 Mezdra | 11 |
| 7 | Antoniy Balakov |
Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 10 |
| 8 | Deyan Hristov |
Chernomorets Burgas | 9 |
| Sergey Georgiev |
Montana | 9 | |
| Martin Toshev |
Pirin Blagoevgrad | 9 | |
| 11 | Vladimir Kaptiev |
Pirin Razlog | 8 |
Updated on 24 May 2015
References
- "Бенковски се отказа от участие в Б група" (in Bulgarian). www.sportal.bg. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Б група може да стартира с намален състав" (in Bulgarian). www.sportal.bg. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Мастер Бс ще играе в Б група" (in Bulgarian). www.sportal.bg. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Мастер Бургас си смени името" (in Bulgarian). www.gong.bg. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Окончателно: Три отбора от "Б" група без лиценз" (in Bulgarian). www.sportal.bg. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Б група остава с един отбор по-малко" (in Bulgarian). www.gong.bg. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Официално: Мачът ПФК Бургас - Раковски няма да се играе" (in Bulgarian). www.gong.bg. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- "БФС изхвърли Спартак Вн от Б група" (in Bulgarian). www.gong.bg. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- "Мач Спартак Варна - Банско няма да има" (in Bulgarian). www.gong.bg. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- "Голмайсторите в "Б" Група" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg.