2022–23 Scottish League Two

The 2022–23 Scottish League Two (known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of Scottish football.

Scottish League Two
Season2022–23
Dates30 July 2022 – 6 May 2023
ChampionsStirling Albion
PromotedStirling Albion
Annan Athletic (via play-offs)
RelegatedAlbion Rovers
Matches played180
Goals scored489 (2.72 per match)
Top goalscorerTommy Goss
23 goals
Biggest home winEast Fife 8–0 Stranraer (15 April 2023)
Biggest away winElgin City 0–4 Dumbarton (12 November 2022)
Bonnyrigg Rose 0–4 Albion Rovers (7 January 2023)
Stranraer 0–4 Albion Rovers (14 January 2023)
Dumbarton 1–5 Albion Rovers (18 March 2023)
Highest scoringEast Fife 8–0 Stranraer (15 April 2023)
Longest winning runDumbarton
7 games
Longest unbeaten runStirling Albion
19 games
Longest winless runStenhousemuir
9 games
Longest losing runElgin City
6 games
Highest attendance2,057
Bonnyrigg Rose 3–0 Elgin City (6 May 2023)
Lowest attendance219
Albion Rovers 0–2 Forfar Athletic (17 September 2022)
Total attendance101,794
Average attendance565
All statistics correct as of 6 May 2023.

Ten teams contested the league: Albion Rovers, Annan Athletic, Bonnyrigg Rose, Dumbarton, East Fife, Elgin City, Forfar Athletic, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Stranraer.

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2021–22 season.

Stadia and locations

Albion Rovers Annan Athletic Bonnyrigg Rose Dumbarton
Cliftonhill Galabank New Dundas Park Dumbarton Football Stadium
Capacity: 1,238[1] Capacity: 2,504[2] Capacity: 3,000[3] Capacity: 2,020[4]
East Fife Elgin City
Bayview Stadium Borough Briggs
Capacity: 1,980[5] Capacity: 4,520[6]
Forfar Athletic Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer
Station Park Ochilview Park Forthbank Stadium Stair Park
Capacity: 6,777[7] Capacity: 3,746[8] Capacity: 3,808[9] Capacity: 4,178[10]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Albion Rovers Scotland Sandy Clark Scotland Sean Fagan Joma CompliancePath
Annan Athletic Republic of Ireland Peter Murphy England Steven Swinglehurst EV2 Sportswear M & S Engineering
Bonnyrigg Rose Scotland Robbie Horn Scotland Jonathan Stewart Puma G. Fitzsimmons and Son (Home)
Shepherd Chartered Surveyors (Away)
Dumbarton Scotland Stephen Farrell Scotland Gregor Buchanan Macron No Sponsor
East Fife Scotland Greig McDonald Scotland Stewart Murdoch Joma TBC (Home)
The Taxi Centre Fife (Away)
Elgin City Charlie Charlesworth, Ross Draper and Stevie Dunn (interim) Scotland Matthew Cooper Joma McDonald & Munro
Forfar Athletic Scotland Ray McKinnon Scotland Craig Slater Pendle Orchard Timber Products
Stenhousemuir Scotland Gary Naysmith Scotland Sean Crighton Puma LOC Hire
Stirling Albion Scotland Darren Young Scotland Ross McGeachie Joma Prudential
Stranraer Scotland Scott Agnew Scotland Grant Gallagher Joma Stena Line

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
East Fife Scotland Stevie Crawford Signed by Dundee United 25 September 2022 4th Scotland Greig McDonald 25 October 2022
Forfar Athletic Scotland Gary Irvine Sacked 9 November 2022 10th Scotland Ray McKinnon 10 November 2022
Stenhousemuir Scotland Stephen Swift Sacked 7 December 2022 6th Scotland Gary Naysmith 3 January 2023
Albion Rovers Scotland Brian Reid Sacked 25 March 2023 10th Scotland Sandy Clark 28 March 2023
Elgin City Scotland Gavin Price Sacked 8 April 2023 10th Scotland

Charlie Charlesworth, Ross Draper and Stevie Dunn (interim)

10 April 2023
Stranraer Scotland Jamie Hamill Sacked 16 April 2023 7th Scotland Scott Agnew 17 April 2023

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Stirling Albion (C, P) 36 21 10 5 67 37 +30 73 Promotion to League One
2 Dumbarton 36 18 8 10 49 39 +10 62 Qualification for the League One play-offs
3 Annan Athletic (O, P) 36 14 9 13 61 51 +10 51
4 East Fife 36 14 8 14 54 50 +4 50
5 Forfar Athletic 36 13 9 14 37 43 6 48
6 Stenhousemuir 36 12 11 13 51 55 4 47
7 Stranraer 36 12 9 15 43 57 14 45
8 Bonnyrigg Rose 36 11 9 16 36 47 11 42
9 Elgin City 36 11 7 18 44 62 18 40
10 Albion Rovers (R) 36 11 6 19 47 48 1 39 Qualification for the League Two play-off final
Source: [11]
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).[12]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Tommy Goss Annan Athletic 23
2 Scotland Charlie Reilly Albion Rovers 22
3 Scotland Dale Carrick Stirling Albion 19
4 Scotland Kane Hester Elgin City 18
5 Scotland Matty Yates Stenhousemuir 14

Awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland Stephen Farrell Dumbarton Scotland Declan Byrne Dumbarton
September/October Scotland Darren Young Stirling Albion Scotland Kane Hester Elgin City
November Scotland Stephen Farrell Dumbarton Scotland Charlie Reilly Albion Rovers
December Scotland Stephen Farrell Dumbarton Scotland Chris Johnston Annan Athletic
January Scotland Ray McKinnon Forfar Athletic Scotland Charlie Reilly Albion Rovers
February Scotland Gary Naysmith Stenhousemuir Scotland Matty Yates Stenhousemuir
March Scotland Greig McDonald East Fife Scotland Tommy Goss Annan Athletic
April Scotland Darren Young Stirling Albion Scotland Dale Carrick Stirling Albion

The SPFL League Two manager of the year was Darren Young of Stirling Albion.

The SPFL League Two player of the year was Dale Carrick of Stirling Albion.

League Two play-offs

The Pyramid play-off was contested between the champions of the 2022–23 Highland Football League and the 2022–23 Lowland Football League. The Spartans secured their place in the play-offs as the Lowland Football League representative on 8 April 2023. Brechin City secured their place in the play-offs as the Highland Football League representative on 22 April 2023. The winners, The Spartans, then faced the bottom club Albion Rovers in the League Two play-off final. The Spartans won 2–1 over two legs, being promoted to League Two for the 2023–24 season as a result, with Albion Rovers relegated to the Lowland League.

First leg

29 April 2023 The Spartans 1–0 Brechin City Edinburgh
15:00 Henderson 90' [14] Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 2,020[15]
Referee: Graham Grainger

Second leg

6 May 2023 Brechin City 3–2
(3–3 agg.)
(3–4 p)
The Spartans Brechin
15:00
  • MacLeod 45'
  • Inglis 61'
  • Biabi 65'
[16]
  • Whyte 15'
  • Henderson 55'
Stadium: Glebe Park
Attendance: 1,900
Referee: Grant Irvine
Penalties
  • soccer ball with check mark Henderson
  • soccer ball with check mark Russell
  • soccer ball with check mark Brown
  • soccer ball with check mark Dishington

First leg

13 May 2023 The Spartans 1–1 Albion Rovers Edinburgh
15:00 Leslie 66' (o.g.) [17] Graham 39' Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 2,120
Referee: Peter Stuart

Second leg

20 May 2023 Albion Rovers 0–1
(1–2 agg.)
The Spartans Coatbridge
15:00 [18] Henderson 16' (pen.) Stadium: Cliftonhill
Attendance: 1,250
Referee: Matthew McDermid

References

  1. "Albion Rovers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. "Annan Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. "Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. "Dumbarton Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. "East Fife Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. "Elgin City Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. "Forfar Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. "Stenhousemuir Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. "Stirling Albion Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. "Stranraer Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. "cinch League Two Table". Scottish Prefessional Football League. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  13. "cinch League Two Results". SPFL. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  14. "The Spartans 1–0 Brechin City". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  15. "Spartans 1 Brechin City 0". brechincity.com. Brechin City F.C. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  16. "Brechin City 3–2 The Spartans". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  17. "The Spartans 1–1 Albion Rovers". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  18. "Albion Rovers 0–1 The Spartans". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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