2021–22 Scottish Championship

The 2021–22 Scottish Championship (known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football. The season began on 31 July.

Scottish Championship
Season2021–22
Dates31 July 2021 – 29 April 2022
ChampionsKilmarnock
PromotedKilmarnock
RelegatedDunfermline Athletic
Queen of the South
Matches played180
Goals scored432 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorerMichael McKenna
(15 goals)
Biggest home winGreenock Morton 5–0 Dunfermline Athletic
(8 January 2022)
Biggest away winHamilton Academical 1–6 Partick Thistle
(15 October 2021)
Greenock Morton 1–6 Inverness CT
(11 December 2021)
Highest scoringRaith Rovers 4–4 Hamilton Academical
(31 July 2021)
Longest winning runInverness CT
5 games
Longest unbeaten runRaith Rovers
13 games
Longest winless runDunfermline Athletic
13 games
Longest losing runQueen of the South
6 games
Highest attendance11,500
Kilmarnock 2–1 Arbroath (22 April 2022)
Lowest attendance197
Queen of the South 0–3 Hamilton Academical (2 January 2022)
All statistics correct as of 29 April 2022.

Ten teams contested the league: Arbroath, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers.

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2020–21 season.

To Championship

Promoted from League One

Relegated from the Premiership

From Championship

Relegated to League One

Promoted to the Premiership

Stadia and locations
Arbroath Ayr United Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton
Gayfield Park Somerset Park East End Park Cappielow
Capacity: 6,600[1] Capacity: 10,185[2] Capacity: 11,480[3] Capacity: 11,589[4]
Hamilton Academical
Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship
 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
New Douglas Park Caledonian Stadium
Capacity: 6,018[5] Capacity: 7,750[6]
Kilmarnock Partick Thistle Queen of the South Raith Rovers
Rugby Park Firhill Stadium Palmerston Park Stark's Park
Capacity: 17,889[7] Capacity: 10,102[8] Capacity: 8,690[9] Capacity: 8,867[10]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
Arbroath Scotland Dick Campbell Scotland Thomas O'Brien Macron Megatech[11]
Ayr United Scotland Lee Bullen Republic of Ireland Sean McGinty Hummel[12] Bitcoin BCH[13]
Dunfermline Athletic Scotland John Hughes Scotland Graham Dorrans Joma[14] SRJ Windows[14]
Greenock Morton Scotland Dougie Imrie South Africa Kyle Jacobs est 1874 McGill's
Hamilton Academical Scotland Stuart Taylor Scotland Brian Easton Adidas Cullen[15]
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Scotland Billy Dodds Scotland Sean Welsh Puma[16] ILI Group[16]
Kilmarnock Scotland Derek McInnes England Chris Stokes Hummel[17] Brownings The Bakers[18]
Partick Thistle Scotland Ian McCall Scotland Ross Docherty O'Neills Just Employment Law[19]
Queen of the South Scotland Willie Gibson England Josh Todd Macron[20] Rosefield Salvage[21]
Raith Rovers Scotland John McGlynn Scotland Kyle Benedictus Joma[22] valmcdermid.com[22](Home)
TAG (Away)

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Scotland Neil McCann End of interim spell 1 May 2021 Pre-season Scotland Billy Dodds 1 June 2021
Dunfermline Athletic Scotland Stevie Crawford Resigned 18 May 2021 Scotland Peter Grant 28 May 2021
Hamilton Academical Scotland Brian Rice 11 August 2021 5th Scotland Stuart Taylor 20 August 2021
Ayr United Scotland David Hopkin 9 September 2021 9th Scotland Jim Duffy 9 September 2021
Dunfermline Athletic Scotland Peter Grant Sacked 31 October 2021 10th Scotland John Hughes 12 November 2021
Greenock Morton Scotland Gus MacPherson 4 December 2021 8th Scotland Dougie Imrie 21 December 2021
Kilmarnock Northern Ireland Tommy Wright 18 December 2021 5th Scotland Derek McInnes 4 January 2022
Ayr United Scotland Jim Duffy 20 December 2021 8th Scotland Lee Bullen 7 January 2022
Queen of the South Scotland Allan Johnston 13 February 2022 10th Scotland Willie Gibson 13 February 2022

League summary

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Kilmarnock (C, P) 36 20 7 9 50 27 +23 67 Promotion to the Premiership
2 Arbroath 36 17 14 5 54 28 +26 65 Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 36 16 11 9 53 34 +19 59 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Partick Thistle 36 14 10 12 46 40 +6 52
5 Raith Rovers 36 12 14 10 44 44 0 50
6 Hamilton Academical 36 10 12 14 38 53 −15 42
7 Greenock Morton 36 9 13 14 36 47 −11 40
8 Ayr United 36 9 12 15 39 52 −13 39
9 Dunfermline Athletic (R) 36 7 14 15 36 53 −17 35 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
10 Queen of the South (R) 36 8 9 19 36 54 −18 33 Relegation to League One
Source: [23][24]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-to head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[25]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, 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 round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it is added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Kilmarnock121322223211111345434332222211111111
Arbroath974433335533355531111111111122222222
Inverness Caledonian Thistle332111111122233112222223333443333333
Partick Thistle213244554455544454555555554334444444
Raith Rovers567565442344422223343444445555555555
Hamilton Academical458699988877778666666666777887667666
Greenock Morton74578889999988981010101010889666766776777
Ayr United1089976676666667778777778888678888988
Dunfermline Athletic691010101010101010101010106989999109799910109999899
Queen of the South810685776778899101097888910101010109910101010101010
Leader and promotion to the Premiership
Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
Qualification for the Championship play-offs
Relegation to League One
Source: [23]

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.

First half of season (Matches 1–18)
Home \ Away ARB AYR DNF GMO HAM ICT KIL PAR QOS RAI
Arbroath — 1–1 4–2 2–1 4–0 0–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–0
Ayr United 2–2 — 3–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–4 2–1 0–2
Dunfermline Athletic 0–3 3–0 — 1–3 0–0 0–0 2–2 0–3 3–3 1–1
Greenock Morton 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 1–1 1–6 0–2 0–0 2–3 0–1
Hamilton Academical 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 — 2–1 0–2 1–6 1–0 0–3
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–2 — 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–0
Kilmarnock 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 — 0–1 4–0 1–3
Partick Thistle 0–2 4–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 — 3–2 1–0
Queen of the South 0–2 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 — 1–1
Raith Rovers 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 4–4 1–1 1–0 3–2 0–1 —
Source: [26]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season (Matches 19–36)
Home \ Away ARB AYR DNF GMO HAM ICT KIL PAR QOS RAI
Arbroath — 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 5–1 3–3
Ayr United 1–0 — 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 0–1 2–0
Dunfermline Athletic 0–3 2–1 — 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 4–1 1–2 2–0
Greenock Morton 0–0 1–1 5–0 — 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2
Hamilton Academical 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 — 1–1 2–3 2–2 1–0 0–2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–0 1–2 2–0 0–1 4–0 — 2–1 3–3 2–2 1–1
Kilmarnock 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 — 2–1 2–1 3–0
Partick Thistle 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–4 1–0 1–1 — 1–0 0–1
Queen of the South 0–0 1–1 0–2 3–0 0–3 2–1 0–2 0–1 — 0–1
Raith Rovers 1–2 0–4 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–3 1–1 0–0 3–3 —
Source: [26]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
As of 29 April 2022
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Michael McKenna Arbroath 15
2 Scotland Oli Shaw Kilmarnock 14
3 Scotland Brian Graham Partick Thistle 13
4 England Tomi Adeloye Ayr United 11
5 Scotland Shane Sutherland Inverness CT 10

Awards
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland Billy Dodds Inverness CT Scotland Michael McKenna Arbroath
September Scotland Dick Campbell Arbroath England Joel Nouble Arbroath
October Scotland John McGlynn Raith Rovers Scotland Oli Shaw Kilmarnock
November Scotland Ian McCall Partick Thistle Scotland Ethan Ross Raith Rovers
December Scotland Dick Campbell Arbroath Scotland Anton Dowds Arbroath
January Scotland Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Scotland Gavin Reilly Greenock Morton
February Scotland Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Northern Ireland Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock
March Scotland Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Northern Ireland Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock
April Scotland Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Scotland Logan Chalmers Inverness CT

Championship play-offs

The semi-finals will be contested by the teams placed second to fourth in Scottish League One, as well as the team placed ninth in the Scottish Championship. The winners will advance to the final, with the highest-ranked team hosting the second leg.[27]

Bracket
Semifinals Final
          
1 Dunfermline Athletic 0 0 0
4 Queen's Park 0 1 1
Airdrieonians 1 1 2
Queen's Park (a.e.t.) 1 2 3
3 Airdrieonians (a.e.t.) 0 6 6
2 Montrose 1 4 5

First leg
4 May 2022 Queen's Park 0–0 Dunfermline Athletic Glasgow
19:45 Stadium: Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 1,403
Referee: Colin Steven
3 May 2022 Montrose 1–0 Airdrieonians Montrose
19:45 Johnston 8' Stadium: Links Park
Attendance: 1,362
Referee: Graham Grainger

Second leg
7 May 2022 Dunfermline Athletic0–1
(0–1 agg.)		 Queen's Park Dunfermline
15:00 Murray 89' Stadium: East End Park
Attendance: 3,179
Referee: Craig Napier
7 May 2022 Airdrieonians 6–4 (a.e.t.)
(6–5 agg.)		MontroseAirdrie
15:00 Smith 53', 70', 75'
Gallagher 86'
Afolabi 105'
G.McGill 119'		 Ballantyne 12', 26'
Milne 69'
Rennie 120'		 Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 2,080
Referee: Alan Newlands

First leg
12 May 2022 Queen's Park 1–1 Airdrieonians Glasgow
19:30 Murray 64' McCabe 87' (pen.) Stadium: Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 1,899
Referee: Gavin Duncan

Second leg
15 May 2022 Airdrieonians 1–2 (a.e.t.)
(2–3 agg.)		 Queen's Park Airdrie
13:10 McCabe 13' Smith 17'
Murray 112' (pen.)		 Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 3,026
Referee: Steven McLean

References
  1. "Arbroath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. "Ayr United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. "Dunfermline Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. "Greenock Morton Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. "Hamilton Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. "Partick Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. "Queen of the South Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. "Raith Rovers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. "New strips – sneak peak!". Arbroath FC. 24 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  12. "Hummel partner club in record deal". Ayr United FC. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. "New sponsor announced". Ayr United F.C. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  14. "Away kit launched". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  15. "Hamilton announce fantastic new two year partnership with Cullen". Hamilton Academical FC. 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  16. "New partners and new kit for season 2020-21". Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. "CLUB SIGN CLUB-RECORD KIT DEAL WITH HUMMEL". Kilmarnock FC. 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  18. "STORY OF THE SHIRT: 2020/21". Kilmarnock FC. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  19. "Just Employment Law backs the Jags for another season". Partick Thistle F.C. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  20. "Introducing ... 2017/18 kit". Queen of the South F.C. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  21. "QosFC: Shirt Draw". Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
  22. "introducing our 2020-21 home kit". Raith Rovers FC. 28 May 2020. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  23. "Scottish Championship Table". BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  24. "cinch Championship League Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  25. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  26. "cinch Championship League Results". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  27. "SPFL confirms play-off schedule | SPFL". spfl.co.uk.
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