2017–18 Scottish League Two

The 2017–18 Scottish League Two (known as Ladbrokes League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd 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

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

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

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

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

League summary

League table
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

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 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Montrose232222432222121111111111112221221111
Peterhead423443243333412222222222221112112222
Stirling Albion311111111111233344545544333333333333
Stenhousemuir774634324444556433333333444444554444
Clyde958868788888888888899888777776466555
Elgin City686357565555344666666655555555645666
Annan Athletic897976876777665555454466666667777777
Berwick Rangers169585657666777777777777888999999988
Edinburgh City10101010109999999999999988999999888888899
Cowdenbeath5457910101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

Source:
Updated: 28 April 2018

Results

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

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

Source:[1][49]

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Scotland Blair HendersonAnnan AthleticStenhousemuir3–19 December 2017[50]
Scotland Russell McLeanPeterheadAnnan Athletic3–320 February 2018[51]
Scotland Lewis MilneMontroseStirling Albion5–07 April 2018[52]
Scotland Blair HendersonAnnan AthleticStirling Albion3–121 April 2018[53]

Player

Club

Attendances
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

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

League Two play-offs

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 leg
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
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

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

Second leg
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
  1. "Scottish League Two Top Scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. "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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  8. "Clyde Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. "Cowdenbeath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
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  11. "Elgin City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
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