2016–17 Scottish League Two

Scottish League Two
Season 2016–17
Champions Arbroath
Promoted Arbroath
Forfar Athletic
Matches played 180
Goals scored 531 (2.95 per match)
Top goalscorer Shane Sutherland
(18 goals)[1][2]
Biggest home win Elgin City 6–0 Berwick Rangers[3]
(10 December 2016)
Biggest away win Montrose 0–5 Elgin City[3]
(15 October 2016)
Highest scoring Arbroath 5–3 Stirling Albion[3]
(27 August 2016)
Clyde 5–3 Cowdenbeath[3]
(27 August 2016)
Longest winning run 7 matches:[3]
Forfar Athletic
Longest unbeaten run 10 matches:[3]
Forfar Athletic
Longest winless run 14 matches:[3]
Clyde
Longest losing run 7 matches:[3]
Cowdenbeath
Highest attendance 1,748[3]
Arbroath 1–1 Stirling Albion[3]
(6 May 2017)
Lowest attendance 241[3]
Annan Athletic 2–0 Cowdenbeath[3]
(10 December 2016)
Total attendance 96,248[3]
Average attendance 537[3] (18[4])
All statistics correct as of 7 May 2017.

The 2016–17 Scottish League Two (known as Ladbrokes League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season in the current format of 10 teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football. The last placed team (Cowdenbeath) entered a play-off with a team nominated by the Scottish Football Association from outside the SPFL (East Kilbride), to determine which team entered League Two in the 2017–18 season.[5] The fixtures were published on 17 June 2016.[6]

Ten teams contested the league: Annan Athletic, Arbroath, Berwick Rangers, Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Edinburgh City, Elgin City, Forfar Athletic, Montrose and Stirling Albion. Arbroath won the league and were promoted, while Forfar were also promoted via the League One play-offs.

Teams

The following teams changed division since the 2015–16 season.

Stadia and locations

Annan Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Clyde
Galabank Gayfield Park Shielfield Park Broadwood Stadium
Capacity: 2,504[7] Capacity: 6,600[8] Capacity: 4,099[9] Capacity: 8,086[10]
Cowdenbeath Edinburgh City
Central Park Meadowbank Stadium
Capacity: 4,309[11] Capacity: 5,000[12]
Elgin City Forfar Athletic Montrose Stirling Albion
Borough Briggs Station Park Links Park Forthbank Stadium
Capacity: 4,520[13] Capacity: 6,777[14] Capacity: 4,936[15] Capacity: 3,808[16]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Annan Athletic Scotland Jim Chapman Scotland Steven Black Stanno M&S Engineering Ltd
Arbroath Scotland Dick Campbell Scotland Mark Whatley Pendle Megatech
Berwick Rangers United States John Coughlin Scotland Jordyn Sheerin Zoo Sport Simple Energy Scotland Ltd
Clyde Scotland Jon-Paul McGovern &
Scotland Peter MacDonald (joint interim)		 Scotland Scott Ferguson Hummel Advance Construction Group (H),
Heartfelt Limited (A)
Cowdenbeath Scotland Gary Locke Scotland David McGurn Uhlsport Subsea Pressure Controls
Edinburgh City Scotland Gary Jardine Scotland Ian McFarland Joma Hutchinson Networks
Elgin City Scotland Jim Weir Scotland Archie MacPhee EC 1893 McDonald & Munro
Forfar Athletic Scotland Gary Bollan Scotland David Cox Pendle Orchard Timber Products
Montrose Scotland Stewart Petrie Scotland Paul Watson Nike Intervention Rentals
Stirling Albion Scotland Dave Mackay Scotland Ross McMillan Macron Prudential

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Cowdenbeath Scotland Colin Nish Sacked 12 May 2016[17] Pre-season Scotland Liam Fox 23 May 2016[17]
Stirling Albion Scotland Stuart McLaren Sacked 24 September 2016[18] 9th Scotland Martyn Corrigan (caretaker) 24 September 2016[18]
Stirling Albion Scotland Martyn Corrigan (caretaker) Stepped down 5 November 2016[19] 7th Scotland Dave Mackay 9 November 2016[20]
Montrose Scotland Paul Hegarty Sacked 16 November 2016[21] 9th Scotland John Holt (caretaker) 16 November 2016[21]
Montrose Scotland John Holt (caretaker) Interim ended 4 December 2016[22] 10th Scotland Stewart Petrie 4 December 2016[22]
Clyde Scotland Barry Ferguson Resigned 26 February 2017[23] 8th Scotland Bob Malcolm (interim) 26 February 2017[24]
Clyde Scotland Bob Malcolm (interim) Interim ended 2 March 2017[25] 9th Scotland Jon-Paul McGovern &
Scotland Peter MacDonald
(joint interim)		 2 March 2017[25]
Cowdenbeath Scotland Liam Fox Resigned 6 March 2017[26] 10th Scotland Gary Locke 10 March 2017[27]

League Summary

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Arbroath (C, P) 36 18 12 6 63 36 +27 66 Promotion to 2017–18 Scottish League One
2 Forfar Athletic (O, P) 36 18 10 8 69 49 +20 64 Qualification to League One play-offs
3 Annan Athletic 36 18 4 14 61 58 +3 58
4 Montrose 36 14 10 12 44 53 −9 52
5 Elgin City 36 14 9 13 67 47 +20 51
6 Stirling Albion 36 12 11 13 50 59 −9 47
7 Edinburgh City 36 11 10 15 38 45 −7 43
8 Berwick Rangers 36 10 10 16 50 65 −15 40
9 Clyde 36 10 8 18 49 64 −15 38
10 Cowdenbeath (O) 36 9 8 19 40 55 −15 35 Qualification to League Two play-off finals
Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (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 2017–18 Scottish League One
Qualification to League One play-offs
Qualification to League Two play-offs
Team \ Round 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Arbroath564244564443344322222222222222222211
Forfar Athletic221111111111111111111111111111111122
Annan Athletic153566656666555555444444444343343333
Montrose98999887889991010967985555555666565444
Elgin City412635332222422233333333333434434555
Stirling Albion7757899877777991089767989876555656666
Edinburgh City710101010101010101010101088776678898999998987777
Berwick Rangers6364534455556776910899777667777779998
Clyde347322223334233444556666788889898889
Cowdenbeath10988777999888668108101010101010101010101010101010101010

Source:
Updated: 7 May 2017

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 36 games.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of matches played on 6 May 2017
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Shane Sutherland Elgin City 18
2 Scotland Peter MacDonald Clyde 17
3 Scotland Ryan McCord Arbroath 13
Scotland Steven Thomson Berwick Rangers
Scotland Brian Cameron Elgin City
6 Scotland Steven Doris Arbroath 12
Scotland Danny Denholm Forfar Athletic
8 Scotland David McKenna Annan Athletic 11
Scotland Gary Fraser Montrose
Scotland David Cox Forfar Athletic
Scotland Josh Peters Forfar Athletic
Scotland Darren Smith Stirling Albion

Source:[1][2][28]

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Scotland Bobby LinnArbroathStirling Albion5–327 August 2016[29]
Scotland Shane SutherlandElgin CityBerwick Rangers6–010 December 2016[30]
Scotland Shane SutherlandElgin CityEdinburgh City3–128 January 2017[31]
Scotland Steven ThomsonBerwick RangersAnnan Athletic4–14 February 2017[32]
Scotland David GoodwillieClydeElgin City3–215 April 2017[33]
Scotland Ryan McCordArbroathElgin City3–229 April 2017[34]

Discipline

Player

Club

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Annan Athletic 6,955 461 241 386 −13.6%†
2 Arbroath 13,078 1,731 482 726 +11.5%†
3 Berwick Rangers 7,679 695 302 426 −7.6%†
4 Clyde 9,472 738 365 526 −14.1%†
5 Cowdenbeath 6,216 571 258 345 −42.0%†
6 Edinburgh City 7,212 590 256 400 n/a†
7 Elgin City 12,366 1,091 519 687 −6.7%†
8 Forfar Athletic 10,861 1,564 337 638 −8.6%†
9 Montrose 10,901 1,324 283 605 +7.1%†
10 Stirling Albion 11,508 1,748 412 639 +3.7%†
League total 96,248 1,748 241 537 −3.2%†

Updated to games played on 6 May 2017
Source: [3][4]

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Scotland Josh Peters Forfar Athletic [37]
September Scotland Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Scotland Thomas O'Brien Forfar Athletic
October Scotland Jim Weir Elgin City Scotland Shane Sutherland Elgin City
November Scotland Gary Jardine Edinburgh City Scotland Marc Laird Edinburgh City
December Scotland Gary Jardine Edinburgh City Scotland Andrew Stobie Edinburgh City
January Scotland Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Scotland Shane Sutherland Elgin City
February Scotland Jim Chapman Annan Athletic England Gavin Skelton Annan Athletic
March Scotland Dave Mackay Stirling Albion England Greg Rutherford Berwick Rangers
April Scotland Dick Campbell Arbroath Scotland Ryan McCord Arbroath

Annual awards

League Two Manager of the Season

League Two Player of the Season

PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year

The PFA Scotland Scottish Championship Team of the Year was:[38][39]

League Two play-offs

The semi-final was contested between the winners of the 2016–17 Highland Football League (Buckie Thistle)[41] and the 2016–17 Lowland Football League (East Kilbride).[42] The winners then played off against the bottom club in League Two (Cowdenbeath).[43]

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

Final

First leg

Second leg

References

  1. 1 2 "2016–17 Scottish League Two scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Scottish League Two Top Scorers". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "2016–17 Scottish League Two performance". ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "2015–16 Scottish League Two performance". ESPN. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Rules of the SPFL" (PDF). Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "The SPFL has today unveiled the fixture lists for the 2016/17 Ladbrokes Premiership, Ladbrokes Championship, Ladbrokes League 1 and Ladbrokes League 2 seasons". spfl.co.uk. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Annan Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Arbroath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "Berwick Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Clyde Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Cowdenbeath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Edinburgh City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "Elgin City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Forfar Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Montrose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Stirling Albion Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Cowdenbeath on the hunt for new manager after parting company with Colin Nish". The Courier. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Club statement". Stirling Albion FC. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Club statement". Stirling Albion FC. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  20. ↑ "New manager". Stirling Albion FC. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Paul Hegarty sacked as Montrose manager". Montrose Review. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 16 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Montrose: Stewart Petrie is new manager at Links Park". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Barry Ferguson resigns as Clyde manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "Tuesday Night's Match". Clyde FC. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Clyde appoint Peter MacDonald & JP McGovern as interim bosses". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "Liam Fox". Cowdenbeath FC. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "New Managerial Appointment". Cowdenbeath FC. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  28. 1 2 3 "Scottish League Two 2016–17". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "Arbroath 5–3 Stirling Albion". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  30. ↑ "Elgin City 6–0 Berwick Rangers". BBC Sport. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  31. ↑ "League 2: Elgin City 3–1 Edinburgh City". Scottish Professional Football League. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  32. ↑ "League 2: Berwick Rangers 4–1 Annan Athletic". Scottish Professional Football League. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  33. ↑ "Clyde 3–2 Elgin City". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  34. ↑ "Arbroath 3–2 Elgin City". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  35. 1 2 "2016–17 Scottish League Two statistics – Player Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  36. 1 2 3 "2016–17 Scottish League Two statistics – Club Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  37. ↑ "SPFL monthly awards". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. May 28, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  38. 1 2 "Liam Lindsay with Celtic & Dons players in Premiership team of the year". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  39. 1 2 "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year 2017". PFA Scotland. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  40. ↑ "Campbell lands League 2 award". Scottish Professional Football League. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  41. ↑ Douglass, Sean (22 April 2017). "Buckie demolish Strathspey 9-0 to secure Highland League title on final day". Evening Express. DC Thomson & Co Ltd. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  42. ↑ Thomson, Paul (1 April 2017). "East Kilbride are Lowland League champions after thumping win at Gala". Daily Record. Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  43. ↑ "Scottish League Two: Arbroath seal title as Cowden face play-off". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  44. 1 2 "Play-off fixtures for the coming week". Scottish Professional Football League. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.