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2017–18 Scottish League Two

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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

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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

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

Stadia and locations

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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

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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

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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

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League table

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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

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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

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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

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Scoring

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Top scorers

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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

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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

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Player

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Club

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Attendances

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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

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Monthly awards

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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

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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

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First leg

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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

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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

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First leg

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

Second leg

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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

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  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.
  4. ^ "2017/18 fixture release day confirmed". Scottish Professional Football League. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  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.
  16. ^ "Watson named club captain". Annan Athletic FC. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Club Sponsors". Annan Athletic FC. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  18. ^ "New team kit announcement". Berwick Rangers FC. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  19. ^ a b "'Gers first-team kit sponsors announced". Berwick Rangers FC. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  20. ^ a b c "Rock Regen sponsor away shirt". Clyde FC. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Advance Construction extend sponsorship". Clyde FC. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Rumsby re-signs". Cowdenbeath FC. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  23. ^ a b "New Uhlsport & FN Teamwear kit deal". Cowdenbeath FC. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  24. ^ Pilcher, Ross (29 May 2017). "Josh Walker new Edinburgh City captain after extending deal". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Edinburgh City FC partnership". Edinburgh City FC. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "CMC Property sponsor Edinburgh City FC". CMC Property. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "Elgin 1 Cowdenbeath 1: Manager Billy Brown praise young battlers". The Courier. DC Thomson Co Ltd. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  28. ^ a b Walker, Aimee (22 May 2017). "New home strip 2017/18". Elgin City FC. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  29. ^ "Watch Montrose skipper Paul Watson score unbelievable goal from his own half". Daily Record. Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Done deal! New shirt sponsor". Montrose FC. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  31. ^ "Ferry sheds a burden as he hands over the Peterhead armband". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  32. ^ Herron, Lindsay (5 August 2017). "Captain Kerr looks ahead to season 2017-18". Falkirk Herald. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  33. ^ Spencer, Nathan (14 July 2017). "Stenhousemuir announce exciting new partnership with Mitre Sports & RJM Sports". Mitre. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  34. ^ "Willie Robertson named captain". Stirling Albion FC. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  35. ^ a b "Jim Chapman Appointed". Clyde FC. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  36. ^ Anderson, Barry (1 July 2017). "Gary Locke leaves Cowdenbeath to rejoin Hearts". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  37. ^ Temple, Alan (1 July 2017). "Hearts 1 - 0 Livingston: Cole Stockton secures victory". Scotsman. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  38. ^ "Berwick Rangers: Manager John Coughlin leaves after three league games". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  39. ^ "Berwick Rangers appoint Robbie Horn as new manager on two-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  40. ^ "League Two round-up: Elgin comeback cuts Albion's lead". Scotsman. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  41. ^ "Club statement". Edinburgh City. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  42. ^ "Weir appointed manager of Forfar". SPFL. 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  43. ^ "City begin life without Weir against Welsh champs". The Northern Scot. Scottish Provincial Press Ltd. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  44. ^ "Directors announcement". Elgin CIty FC. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  45. ^ "Billy Brown". Cowdenbeath FC. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  46. ^ "Bollan for Blue Brazil". Cowdenbeath FC. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  47. ^ "Clyde part with manager Jim Chapman after poor run of results". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  48. ^ "Danny Lennon Appointed". Clyde FC. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  49. ^ a b c "Scottish League Two 2017–18". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  50. ^ "Stenhousemuir 1–3 Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  51. ^ "Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  52. ^ "Stirling Albion 0–5 Montrose". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  53. ^ "Annan Athletic 3–1 Stirling Albion". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  54. ^ a b "2016–17 Scottish League Two statistics – Player Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  55. ^ a b "2016–17 Scottish League Two statistics – Club Discipline". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  56. ^ "2016–17 Scottish League Two performance". ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  57. ^ "SPFL monthly awards". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. May 28, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  58. ^ "Pyramid Play-Off dates confirmed". Scottish Football Association. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
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