The 2020–21 Highland Football League (known as the Breedon Highland League for sponsorship reasons) was the 118th season of the Highland Football League, and the 7th season as the fifth tier of the Scottish football pyramid system.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 28 November 2020 – 30 March 2021 |
| Champions | Brora Rangers |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 76 (4.75 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Fraserburgh 13–1 Turriff United (2 January 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Fort William 0–10 Brora Rangers (19 December 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Fraserburgh 13–1 Turriff United (2 January 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 3 matches: Brora Rangers & Fraserburgh |
| Longest unbeaten run | 3 matches: Brora Rangers & Fraserburgh |
| Longest winless run | 3 matches: Deveronvale & Huntly |
| Longest losing run | 2 matches: 3 teams |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced in August 2020 that the season would start in October with a shortened a 16-game schedule (teams playing each other once).[1] In late September, the start date was deferred until at least 28 November because the member clubs said they could not play fixtures without fans.[2] The season started on 28 November, but Forres Mechanics withdrew just beforehand (reducing the schedule to 15 games).[3]
On 11 January 2021 the league was suspended by the Scottish Football Association due to the escalating pandemic situation.[4]
Despite having only completed three fixtures, Brora Rangers were declared champions for the second successive season using a points per game formula. The decision was announced by the Highland League on 30 March 2021.[5] Two teams (Clachnacuddin and Fort William) had only played one game and Strathspey Thistle had not played at all.
Brora Rangers faced the winners of the 2020–21 Lowland Football League (Kelty Hearts) in the Pyramid play-off, losing 6–1 on aggregate.
Teams edit
Stadia and locations edit
All grounds are equipped with floodlights as required by league regulations.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brora Rangers | Brora | Dudgeon Park | 4,000 | 200 |
| Buckie Thistle | Buckie | Victoria Park | 5,000 | 400 |
| Clachnacuddin | Inverness | Grant Street Park | 2,074 | 154 |
| Deveronvale | Banff | Princess Royal Park | 2,600 | 360 |
| Formartine United | Pitmedden | North Lodge Park | 2,500 | 300 |
| Fort William | Fort William | Claggan Park | 4,000 | 400 |
| Fraserburgh | Fraserburgh | Bellslea Park | 3,000 | 480 |
| Huntly | Huntly | Christie Park | 2,200 | 270 |
| Inverurie Loco Works | Inverurie | Harlaw Park | 2,500 | 250 |
| Keith | Keith | Kynoch Park | 4,000 | 370 |
| Lossiemouth | Lossiemouth | Grant Park | 2,050 | 250 |
| Nairn County | Nairn | Station Park | 2,250 | 250 |
| Rothes | Rothes | Mackessack Park | 2,700 | 184 |
| Strathspey Thistle | Grantown-on-Spey | Seafield Park | 1,600 | 150 |
| Turriff United | Turriff | The Haughs | 2,135 | 135 |
| Wick Academy | Wick | Harmsworth Park | 2,412 | 102 |
Withdrawn edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forres Mechanics | Forres | Mosset Park | 2,700 | 502 |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brora Rangers (C) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | +19 | 9 | 3.00 | Qualification for the Pyramid play-off |
| 2 | Fraserburgh | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | +15 | 9 | 3.00 | |
| 3 | Buckie Thistle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 | 3.00 | |
| 4 | Formartine United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | 3.00 | |
| 5 | Inverurie Loco Works | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | 3.00 | |
| 6 | Keith | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | 1.50 | |
| 7 | Rothes | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | 1.50 | |
| 8 | Huntly | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | 0.67 | |
| 9 | Lossiemouth | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 | 0.50 | |
| 10 | Deveronvale | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 | 0.33 | |
| 11 | Strathspey Thistle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 12 | Clachnacuddin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 13 | Nairn County | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 14 | Wick Academy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 15 | Fort William | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 16 | Turriff United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 | 0.00 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions
Results edit
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ "Highland League cuts number of fixtures from 32 to 16". BBC Sport. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "Highland League start delayed by at least six weeks". BBC Sport. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ Pollock, Donald (28 November 2020). "Covid in Scotland: Forres Mechanics take break from league". BBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Scottish FA Board confirms three-week suspension of professional football beneath SPFL Championship | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ "Brora & Kelty Hearts declared champions". BBC Sport.
- ^ Durent, Jamie (19 December 2020). "Highland League: Ashley Hollyer aware of Fort William's Brora challenge". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen Journals. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
The game was also originally due to be played at Claggan Park, however due to ongoing maintenance work it has been switched to Brora.