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)
Biggest home win	Elgin City 6–0 Berwick Rangers (10 December 2016)
Biggest away win	Montrose 0–5 Elgin City (15 October 2016)
Highest scoring	Arbroath 5–3 Stirling Albion (27 August 2016) Clyde 5–3 Cowdenbeath (27 August 2016)
Longest winning run	7 matches: Forfar Athletic
Longest unbeaten run	10 matches: Forfar Athletic
Longest winless run	14 matches: Clyde
Longest losing run	7 matches: Cowdenbeath
Highest attendance	1,748 Arbroath 1–1 Stirling Albion (6 May 2017)
Lowest attendance	241 Annan Athletic 2–0 Cowdenbeath (10 December 2016)
Total attendance	96,248
Average attendance	537 (File:Red Arrow Down.svg18)
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 7 May 2017.

The 2016–17 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 (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. The fixtures were published on 17 June 2016. 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.

To League Two

Promoted from Lowland Football League

• Edinburgh City

Relegated from Scottish League One

• Forfar Athletic
• Cowdenbeath

From League Two

Relegated to Lowland Football League

• East Stirlingshire

Promoted to Scottish League One

• East Fife
• Queen's Park

Stadia and locations

Annan Athletic	Arbroath	Berwick Rangers	Clyde
Galabank	Gayfield Park	Shielfield Park	Broadwood Stadium
Capacity: 2,504	Capacity: 6,600	Capacity: 4,099	Capacity: 8,086
File:Galabank - geograph.org.uk - 1221445.jpg	File:Shielfield Park, Home of Berwick Rangers FC - geograph.org.uk - 409958.jpg
Cowdenbeath	2016–17 Scottish League Two is located in Scotland Annan Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Arbroath Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Clyde Clyde Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath Edinburgh City Edinburgh City Elgin City Elgin City Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Montrose Montrose Stirling Albion Stirling Albion 2016–17 Scottish League Two (Scotland)		Edinburgh City	Elgin City	Forfar Athletic	Montrose	Stirling Albion Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Annan Athletic Jim Chapman Steven Black Stanno M&S Engineering Ltd Arbroath Dick Campbell Mark Whatley Pendle Megatech Berwick Rangers John Coughlin Jordyn Sheerin Zoo Sport Simple Energy Scotland Ltd Clyde Jon-Paul McGovern & Peter MacDonald (joint interim) Scott Ferguson Hummel Advance Construction Group (H), Heartfelt Limited (A) Cowdenbeath Gary Locke David McGurn Uhlsport Subsea Pressure Controls Edinburgh City Gary Jardine Dougie Gair Joma Hutchinson Networks Elgin City Jim Weir Archie MacPhee EC 1893 McDonald & Munro Forfar Athletic Gary Bollan David Cox Pendle Orchard Timber Products Montrose Stewart Petrie Paul Watson Nike Intervention Rentals Stirling Albion Dave Mackay Ross McMillan Macron Prudential Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Cowdenbeath Colin Nish Sacked 12 May 2016 Pre-season Liam Fox 23 May 2016 Stirling Albion Stuart McLaren Sacked 24 September 2016 9th Martyn Corrigan (caretaker) 24 September 2016 Stirling Albion Martyn Corrigan (caretaker) Stepped down 5 November 2016 7th Dave Mackay 9 November 2016 Montrose Paul Hegarty Sacked 16 November 2016 9th John Holt (caretaker) 16 November 2016 Montrose John Holt (caretaker) Interim ended 4 December 2016 10th Stewart Petrie 4 December 2016 Clyde Barry Ferguson Resigned 26 February 2017 8th Bob Malcolm (interim) 26 February 2017 Clyde Bob Malcolm (interim) Interim ended 2 March 2017 9th Jon-Paul McGovern & Peter MacDonald (joint interim) 2 March 2017 Cowdenbeath Liam Fox Resigned 6 March 2017 10th Gary Locke 10 March 2017 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 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) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted Positions by round Leader - Promotion to 2017–18 Scottish League One Qualification to League One play-offs Qualification to League Two play-offs 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. 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 Arbroath 5 6 4 2 4 4 5 6 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 Forfar Athletic 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 Annan Athletic 1 5 3 5 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 Montrose 9 8 9 9 9 8 8 7 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 9 6 7 9 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 5 6 5 4 4 4 Elgin City 4 1 2 6 3 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 5 5 Stirling Albion 7 7 5 7 8 9 9 8 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 10 8 9 7 6 7 9 8 9 8 7 6 5 5 5 6 5 6 6 6 6 Edinburgh City 7 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 8 7 7 6 6 7 8 8 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 8 7 7 7 7 Berwick Rangers 6 3 6 4 5 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 6 9 10 8 9 9 7 7 7 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 9 8 Clyde 3 4 7 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 8 8 9 8 9 8 8 8 9 Cowdenbeath 10 9 8 8 7 7 7 9 9 9 8 8 8 6 6 8 10 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2017. Source: 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. First half of season Home \ Away ANN ARB BER CLY COW EDC ELG FOR MON STI Annan Athletic 1–2 3–1 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–3 3–2 Arbroath 1–1 1–1 4–0 0–0 0–1 3–2 2–0 0–0 5–3 Berwick Rangers 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–4 1–2 1–2 3–2 Clyde 2–3 3–2 3–2 5–3 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 Cowdenbeath 2–2 0–2 0–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 3–4 2–0 0–2 Edinburgh City 1–0 3–3 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–3 0–1 2–0 Elgin City 0–2 0–1 6–0 0–2 3–1 3–0 2–2 4–1 2–3 Forfar Athletic 5–1 0–1 2–0 4–3 4–3 1–1 3–2 1–3 4–1 Montrose 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–5 1–1 2–2 Stirling Albion 3–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–4 0–3 2–0 Updated to match(es) played on 2 January 2017. Source: Scottish League 2 Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Second half of season Home \ Away ANN ARB BER CLY COW EDC ELG FOR MON STI Annan Athletic 2–5 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 5–1 4–1 Arbroath 1–2 4–1 1–0 4–1 0–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 1–1 Berwick Rangers 4–1 0–2 4–3 1–3 3–2 0–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 Clyde 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 3–1 3–2 2–2 1–2 2–3 Cowdenbeath 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 Edinburgh City 2–0 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 Elgin City 3–2 0–0 2–2 4–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 Forfar Athletic 2–4 1–1 2–3 3–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 Montrose 2–3 1–3 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 0–3 1–0 1–3 Stirling Albion 1–0 1–1 2–2 3–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–3 1–2 Updated to match(es) played on 6 May 2017. Source: Scottish League 2 Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Season statistics Scoring Top scorers As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Goals 1 Shane Sutherland Elgin City 18 2 Peter MacDonald Clyde 17 3 Ryan McCord Arbroath 13 Steven Thomson Berwick Rangers Brian Cameron Elgin City 6 Steven Doris Arbroath 12 Danny Denholm Forfar Athletic 8 David McKenna Annan Athletic 11 Gary Fraser Montrose David Cox Forfar Athletic Josh Peters Forfar Athletic Darren Smith Stirling Albion Source: Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Bobby Linn Arbroath Stirling Albion 5–3 27 August 2016 Shane Sutherland Elgin City Berwick Rangers 6–0 10 December 2016 Shane Sutherland Elgin City Edinburgh City 3–1 28 January 2017 Steven Thomson Berwick Rangers Annan Athletic 4–1 4 February 2017 David Goodwillie Clyde Elgin City 3–2 15 April 2017 Ryan McCord Arbroath Elgin City 3–2 29 April 2017 Discipline Player Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 Michael Bolochoweckyj Montrose 12 2 Mark Nicolson Elgin City 10 Terry Masson Montrose 4 Kyle Miller Cowdenbeath 9 David Gormley Clyde 6 Darren Lavery Berwick Rangers 8 Sean Higgins Clyde Aaron Dunsmore Edinburgh City Ryan Porteous Edinburgh City Martyn Fotheringham Forfar Athletic Gavin Swankie Forfar Athletic Source: Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 Michael McKenna Berwick Rangers 3 2 Darren Ramsay Annan Athletic 2 Ricky Little Arbroath Jassem Sukar Arbroath Gary Fraser Montrose Terry Masson Montrose Source: Club Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Club Cards 1 Forfar Athletic 72 2 Berwick Rangers 68 Clyde Source: Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Club Cards 1 Berwick Rangers 9 2 Montrose 8 3 Forfar Athletic 6 Source: 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: Awards Monthly awards Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref. Manager Club Player Club August Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Josh Peters Forfar Athletic September Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Thomas O'Brien Forfar Athletic October Jim Weir Elgin City Shane Sutherland Elgin City November Gary Jardine Edinburgh City Marc Laird Edinburgh City December Gary Jardine Edinburgh City Andrew Stobie Edinburgh City January Gary Bollan Forfar Athletic Shane Sutherland Elgin City February Jim Chapman Annan Athletic Gavin Skelton Annan Athletic March Dave Mackay Stirling Albion Greg Rutherford Berwick Rangers April Dick Campbell Arbroath Ryan McCord Arbroath File:Soccer Field Transparant.svg Smith Little O'Brien Hamilton MacPhee Cameron Reilly Linn Doris Sutherland MacDonald PFA Scotland Team of the Year Annual awards League Two Manager of the Season The League Two Manager of the Season was awarded to Dick Campbell. League Two Player of the Season The League Two Player of the Season was awarded to Shane Sutherland. PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year The PFA Scotland Scottish Championship Team of the Year was: Goalkeeper: Chris Smith (Stirling Albion) Defence: Ricky Little (Arbroath), Thomas O'Brien (Forfar Athletic), Colin Hamilton (Arbroath), Archie MacPhee (Elgin City) Midfield: Brian Cameron (Elgin City), Thomas Reilly (Elgin City), Bobby Linn (Arbroath) Attack: Steven Doris (Arbroath), Shane Sutherland (Elgin City), Peter MacDonald (footballer) (Clyde) League Two play-offs The semi-final was contested between the winners of the 2016–17 Highland Football League (Buckie Thistle) and the 2016–17 Lowland Football League (East Kilbride). The winners then played off against the bottom club in League Two (Cowdenbeath). Semi-finals First leg Buckie Thistle v East Kilbride 29 April 2017 Buckie Thistle 2 – 2 East Kilbride Buckie 15:00 Angus File:Soccerball shade.svg 9' Urquhart File:Soccerball shade.svg 31' (pen.) BBC Sport report Victoria File:Soccerball shade.svg 44' McLean File:Soccerball shade.svg 85' Stadium: Victoria Park Referee: David Munro Second leg East Kilbride v Buckie Thistle 6 May 2017 East Kilbride 2 – 1 (4–3 agg.) Buckie Thistle East Kilbride 15:00 Winter File:Soccerball shade.svg 5' Strachan File:Soccerball shade.svg 21' BBC Sport report Proctor File:Soccerball shade.svg 31' (o.g.) Copeland Yellow card 44' Yellow-red card Angus Red card 80' Stadium: K-Park Training Academy Final First leg East Kilbride v Cowdenbeath 13 May 2017 East Kilbride 0–0 Cowdenbeath East Kilbride 15:00 BBC Sport report Stadium: K-Park Training Academy Attendance: 548 Referee: Gavin Duncan Second leg Cowdenbeath v East Kilbride 20 May 2017 Cowdenbeath 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (1–1 agg.) (5 – 3 p) East Kilbride Cowdenbeath 14:00 Mullen File:Soccerball shade.svg 3' BBC Sport report Gibbons File:Soccerball shade.svg 64' Stadium: Central Park Attendance: 1,676 Referee: Craig Charleston Penalties Mullen soccer ball with check mark Renton soccer ball with check mark Syme soccer ball with check mark Johnston soccer ball with check mark Henderson soccer ball with check mark Strachan soccer ball with check mark McLean soccer ball with check mark Woods soccer ball with red X Victoria soccer ball with check mark References