Wikipedia

2017–18 Scottish League Two

The 2017–18 Scottish League Two (known as Ladbrokes League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season in the current format of 10 teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football. The last placed team entered a play-off with a team nominated by the Scottish Football Association from outside the SPFL determining which team enters League Two in the 2018–19 season.[3] The fixtures were published on 23 June 2017.[4]

Scottish League Two
Season2017–18
ChampionsMontrose
PromotedMontrose
Stenhousemuir
Matches played180
Goals scored500 (2.78 per match)
Top goalscorerDavid Goodwillie
(25 goals)[1]
Biggest home winPeterhead 7–0 Elgin City[2]
(2 January 2018)
Biggest away winStirling Albion 0–5 Montrose[2]
(7 April 2018)
Highest scoringMontrose 2–6 Peterhead[2]
(30 December 2017)
Longest winning run7 matches:[2]
Peterhead
Longest unbeaten run10 matches:[2]
Montrose
Longest winless run24 matches:[2]
Cowdenbeath
Longest losing run5 matches:[2]
Cowdenbeath
Edinburgh City
Highest attendance2,380[2]
Montrose 1–1 Elgin City
(28 April 2018)
Lowest attendance216[2]
Cowdenbeath 0–2 Peterhead
(24 February 2018)
Total attendance88,681[2]
Average attendance492[2]
All statistics correct as of 12 May 2018.

Ten teams contested the league: Annan Athletic, Berwick Rangers, Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Edinburgh City, Elgin City, Montrose, Peterhead, Stenhousemuir and Stirling Albion.

Prize money edit

In April 2018, the SPFL confirmed the prize money to be allocated to the league members at the conclusion of the competitions. The League Two winners would receive £64,000 with a total pot of £24.5 million to be distributed across the four divisions.[5]

Teams edit

The following teams changed division since the 2016–17 season.

Stadia and locations edit

Annan Athletic Berwick Rangers Clyde Cowdenbeath
Galabank Shielfield Park Broadwood Stadium Central Park
Capacity: 2,504[6] Capacity: 4,099[7] Capacity: 8,086[8] Capacity: 4,309[9]
       
Edinburgh City
Elgin City
Ainslie Park[10] Borough Briggs
Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 4,520[11]
   
Montrose Peterhead Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion
Links Park Balmoor Ochilview Park Forthbank Stadium
Capacity: 4,936[12] Capacity: 3,150[13] Capacity: 3,746[14] Capacity: 3,808[15]
       

Personnel and kits edit

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Annan Athletic   Peter Murphy   Peter Watson[16] Stanno M&S Engineering Ltd[17]
Berwick Rangers   Robbie Horn   Steven Notman Mitre[18] JMS Harkin (H)[19]
P J Brown (A)[19]
Clyde   Danny Lennon   Kevin Nicoll[20] Hummel[20] Advance Construction Group (H)[21]
Rock Regen (A)[20]
Cowdenbeath   Gary Bollan   Scott Rumsby[22] Uhlsport[23] Subsea Pressure Controls[23]
Edinburgh City   James McDonaugh   Josh Walker[24] Joma[25] CMC Property[26]
Elgin City   Gavin Price   Jon Paul McGovern[27] EC 1893[28] McDonald & Munro[28]
Montrose   Stewart Petrie   Paul Watson[29] Nike[30] Carnegie Fuels Ltd[30]
Peterhead   Jim McInally   David McCracken[31] Adidas Independent Oilfield Services
Stenhousemuir   Brown Ferguson   Michael Dunlop[32] Mitre[33] Warriors in the Community
Stirling Albion   Dave Mackay   Willie Robertson[34] Macron Prudential

Managerial changes edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Clyde   Jon-Paul McGovern &
  Peter MacDonald
(joint interim) 		End of interim 6 May 2017 Pre-season   Jim Chapman 20 May 2017[35]
Annan Athletic   Jim Chapman Signed by Clyde 20 May 2017[35]   Peter Murphy 2 June 2017
Cowdenbeath   Gary Locke Signed by Heart of Midlothian 1 July 2017[36]   Billy Brown 1 July 2017[37]
Berwick Rangers   John Coughlin Sacked 22 August 2017[38] 9th   Robbie Horn 29 August 2017[39]
Edinburgh City   Gary Jardine Resigned 30 September 2017[40] 9th   James McDonaugh 10 October 2017[41]
Elgin City   Jim Weir Signed by Forfar Athletic 1 October 2017[42] 6th   Gavin Price 12 October 2017[43][44]
Cowdenbeath   Billy Brown Resigned 31 October 2017[45] 10th   Gary Bollan 14 November 2017[46]
Clyde   Jim Chapman Sacked 31 October 2017[47] 8th   Danny Lennon 13 November 2017[48]

League summary edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Montrose (C, P) 36 23 8 5 60 35 +25 77 Promotion to League One
2 Peterhead 36 24 4 8 79 39 +40 76 Qualification for the League One play-offs
3 Stirling Albion 36 16 7 13 61 52 +9 55
4 Stenhousemuir (O, P) 36 15 9 12 56 47 +9 54
5 Clyde 36 14 9 13 52 50 +2 51
6 Elgin City 36 14 7 15 54 61 −7 49
7 Annan Athletic 36 12 11 13 49 41 +8 47
8 Berwick Rangers 36 9 10 17 31 59 −28 37
9 Edinburgh City 36 7 9 20 37 62 −25 30
10 Cowdenbeath (O) 36 4 10 22 23 56 −33 22 Qualification for the League Two play-off final
Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted


Positions by round edit

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.

Leader - Promotion to 2018–19 Scottish League One
Qualification to League One play-offs
Qualification to League Two play-offs
Team \ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Montrose 2 3 2 2 2 2 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1
Peterhead 4 2 3 4 4 3 2 4 3 3 3 3 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2
Stirling Albion 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Stenhousemuir 7 7 4 6 3 4 3 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 4
Clyde 9 5 8 8 6 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 4 6 6 5 5 5
Elgin City 6 8 6 3 5 7 5 6 5 5 5 5 3 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 4 5 6 6 6
Annan Athletic 8 9 7 9 7 6 8 7 6 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 5 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Berwick Rangers 1 6 9 5 8 5 6 5 7 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8
Edinburgh City 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9
Cowdenbeath 5 4 5 7 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Source: [citation needed]
Updated: 28 April 2018

Results edit

Teams play each other four times, twice in the first half of the season (home and away) and twice in the second half of the season (home and away), making a total of 180 games, with each team playing 36.

Season statistics edit

Scoring edit

Top scorers edit

As of matches played on 28 April 2018
Rank Player Club Goals
1   David Goodwillie Clyde 25
2   Darren L. Smith Stirling Albion 22
3   Rory McAllister Peterhead 20
  Mark McGuigan Stenhousemuir
5   Blair Henderson Annan Athletic 16
6   Russell McLean Peterhead 15
7   Aidan Smith Annan Athletic 12
8   Lewis Milne Montrose 11
  Chris Templeman Montrose
10   Brian Cameron Elgin City 10

Source:[1][49]

Hat-tricks edit

Player For Against Result Date Ref
  Blair Henderson Annan Athletic Stenhousemuir 3–1 9 December 2017 [50]
  Russell McLean Peterhead Annan Athletic 3–3 20 February 2018 [51]
  Lewis Milne Montrose Stirling Albion 5–0 7 April 2018 [52]
  Blair Henderson Annan Athletic Stirling Albion 3–1 21 April 2018 [53]

Discipline edit

Player edit

Club edit

Attendances edit

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Montrose 13,023 2,380 353 723 +19.5%†
2 Stirling Albion 11,839 1,012 395 657 +2.8%†
3 Peterhead 11,013 1,049 394 611 +21.2%†
4 Elgin City 10,933 883 393 607 −11.6%†
5 Clyde 8,865 804 402 492 −6.5%†
6 Berwick Rangers 7,807 596 295 433 +1.6%†
7 Stenhousemuir 6,598 976 220 420 −1.9%†
8 Annan Athletic 6,236 507 248 346 −10.4%†
9 Edinburgh City 5,794 464 223 321 −19.7%†
10 Cowdenbeath 5,751 406 216 319 −7.5%†
League total 88,681 2,380 216 492 −8.4%†

Updated to games played on 28 April 2018
Source: [2][56]

Awards edit

Monthly awards edit

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
August   Dave Mackay Stirling Albion   Darren L. Smith Stirling Albion [57]
September   Brown Ferguson Stenhousemuir   Mark McGuigan Stenhousemuir
October   Gavin Price Elgin City   Craig Johnston Montrose
November   Stewart Petrie Montrose   Cammy Ballantyne Montrose
December   Jim McInally Peterhead   Rory McAllister Peterhead
January   Jim McInally Peterhead   Darren L. Smith Stirling Albion
February   Dave Mackay Stirling Albion   Peter MacDonald Stirling Albion
March   Danny Lennon Clyde   Chris McStay Clyde

League Two play-offs edit

The first round was contested between the winners of the 2017–18 Highland Football League (Cove Rangers) and the 2017–18 Lowland Football League (Spartans). The winners then played against the bottom club in League Two, and would have been promoted to League Two for the 2018–19 season if they had won.

Due to fixture congestion in the Highland League preventing a champion being crowned in time, the dates for the first round were pushed back a week.[58]

First round edit

First leg edit

28 April 2018 Cove Rangers 4–0 Spartans Inverurie
15:00 Megginson   42'
McManus   49' (pen.), 67'
Watson   52'		 The Scotsman Stadium: Harlaw Park
Referee: David Munro

Second leg edit

1 May 2018 Spartans 2–1
(2–5 agg.)		 Cove Rangers Edinburgh
19:45 Dishington  78'
Atkinson   87'		 Edinburgh Evening News McManus   67' Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 655
Referee: Steven Reid

Second round edit

First leg edit

5 May 2018 Cove Rangers 0–0 Cowdenbeath Inverurie
15:00 Report Stadium: Harlaw Park
Attendance: 650
Referee: John McKendrick

Second leg edit

12 May 2018 Cowdenbeath 3–2
(3–2 agg.)		 Cove Rangers Cowdenbeath
14:00 Swann   7' (pen.), 50'
Smith   70'		 Report Megginson   9, 22' Stadium: Central Park
Attendance: 1762
Referee: Steven Kirkland

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Scottish League Two Top Scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "2017–18 Scottish League Two Statistics". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  3. ^ "The Rules of the SPFL" (PDF). Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
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  5. ^ "SPFL: Announcement on last round of fixtures delayed until after weekend". BBC Sport. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Annan Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Berwick Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Clyde Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Cowdenbeath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ Pilcher, Ross (29 March 2017). "Edinburgh City and Spartans confirm three-season groundshare". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Elgin City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Montrose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Peterhead Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Stenhousemuir Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Stirling Albion Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
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  36. ^ Anderson, Barry (1 July 2017). "Gary Locke leaves Cowdenbeath to rejoin Hearts". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
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