2011–12 Scottish Second Division

Football league season
Irn Bru Scottish Second Division
Season2011–12
ChampionsCowdenbeath
PromotedCowdenbeath
Dumbarton
Airdrieonians F.C.
RelegatedStirling Albion
Matches played180
Goals scored577 (3.21 per match)
Top goalscorerSteven Doris (21)
Biggest home winAlbion Rovers 7–2 Airdrie United
(5 November 2011)
Arbroath 6–1 Albion Rovers
(21 January 2012)
Biggest away winEast Fife 0–6 Dumbarton
(27 August 2011)
Highest scoring(9 goals)
Albion Rovers 7–2 Airdrie United
(5 November 2011)
Longest winning run5 games
Arbroath
Longest unbeaten run10 games
Arbroath
Dumbarton
Longest winless run10 games
Albion Rovers
Forfar Athletic
Longest losing run6 games
Stirling Albion
Highest attendance1,490[1]
Airdrie United v Albion Rovers
(2 January 2012)
Lowest attendance207[2]
Albion Rovers v Cowdenbeath
(3 December 2011)

The 2011–12 Scottish Football League Second Division (also known as the 2011–12 Irn Bru Scottish Football League Second Division for sponsorship reasons) is the 18th season in the current format of 10 teams in the third-tier of Scottish football. Livingston F.C. are the current champions.[3]

Teams

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in Scottish Second Division 2011–12

As champions of the 2010–11 season, Livingston were directly promoted to the 2011–12 Scottish First Division.[3] They were replaced by Stirling Albion who finished bottom of the 2010–11 Scottish First Division.[3]

A second promotion place was available via a play-off tournament between the ninth-placed team of the 2010–11 Scottish First Division, Cowdenbeath, and the sides ranked second, third and fourth in the 2010–11 Scottish Second Division, Ayr United, Forfar Athletic and Brechin City respectively. The play off was won by Ayr United who defeated Brechin City in the final. Cowdenbeath were therefore relegated and replaced Ayr United.[3]

Peterhead finished bottom at the end of the 2010–11 Scottish Second Division season so were relegated to the 2011–12 Scottish Third Division. They were replaced by Arbroath, the champions of the 2010–11 Scottish Third Division.

The ninth placed team of the 2010–11 Scottish Second Division, Alloa Athletic, entered a play-off tournament with the sides ranked second, third and fourth in the 2010–11 Scottish Third Division, Albion Rovers, Queen's Park and Annan Athletic respectively. The play off was won by Albion Rovers who defeated Annan Athletic in the final. Alloa Athletic were therefore relegated and replaced by Albion Rovers.

Stadia and locations

Team Location Home ground Capacity
Airdrie United Airdrie New Broomfield 10,171
Albion Rovers Coatbridge Cliftonhill 2,496
Arbroath Arbroath Gayfield Park 4,153
Brechin City Brechin Glebe Park 1,519
Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath Central Park 4,370
Dumbarton Dumbarton Dumbarton Football Stadium 2,025
East Fife Methil Bayview Stadium 2,000
Forfar Athletic Forfar Station Park 4,602
Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir Ochilview Park 3,776
Stirling Albion Stirling Doubletree Dunblane Stadium 3,808

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Airdrie United Scotland Jimmy Boyle Surridge St Andrew's Hospice
Albion Rovers Scotland Paul Martin Macron Reigart
Arbroath Scotland Paul Sheerin Pendle Ogstons
Brechin City Scotland Jim Weir Pendle Cancer Research UK
Cowdenbeath Scotland Colin Cameron Umbro Subsea
Dumbarton Scotland Alan Adamson Surridge Bet Butler
East Fife Scotland John Robertson 1903 (clubs own brand) Cogen Energy
Forfar Athletic Scotland Dick Campbell Pendle Orchard Timber Products
Stenhousemuir Scotland Davie Irons Hummel Figure 11 Communications
Stirling Albion Scotland Jocky Scott Puma Prudential plc

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Cowdenbeath (C, P) 36 20 11 5 68 29 +39 71 Promotion to the First Division
2 Arbroath 36 17 12 7 76 51 +25 63 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
3 Dumbarton (O, P) 36 17 7 12 61 61 0 58[a]
4 Airdrie United (P) 36 14 10 12 68 60 +8 52[b]
5 Stenhousemuir 36 15 6 15 54 49 +5 51
6 East Fife 36 14 6 16 55 57 −2 48
7 Forfar Athletic 36 11 9 16 59 72 −13 42
8 Brechin City 36 10 11 15 47 62 −15 41
9 Albion Rovers (O) 36 10 7 19 43 66 −23 37 Qualification for Second Division play-offs
10 Stirling Albion (R) 36 9 7 20 46 70 −24 34 Relegation to the Third Division
Source: SPFL Archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Dumbarton won the First Division play-off final, and were promoted to the First Division.
  2. ^ Airdrie United lost the final of the First Division playoffs to Dumbarton. However following the demotion of Rangers to the third division prior to the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Dundee were promoted from the First Division to the SPL, and Airdrie United were promoted to the First Division to take their place. Stranraer were promoted from the Third to the Second Division to take the place of Airdrie United

Results

First half of season

Home \ Away AIR ALB ARB BRE COW DUM EFI FOR STE STI
Airdrie United 4–0 3–3 2–3 1–5 3–0 1–3 4–4 5–2 1–1
Albion Rovers 7–2 1–0 1–2 3–3 3–1 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–1
Arbroath 3–1 6–2 1–1 1–1 4–3 3–0 4–1 1–0 4–2
Brechin City 1–1 1–4 2–3 1–0 3–3 0–2 0–1 2–0 1–3
Cowdenbeath 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 2–0
Dumbarton 1–1 2–1 3–4 1–0 0–4 3–0 1–1 3–0 1–5
East Fife 2–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–6 4–3 1–3 1–0
Forfar Athletic 3–2 0–2 1–1 0–0 2–2 0–2 3–2 2–3 2–2
Stenhousemuir 1–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 2–3 4–0
Stirling Albion 1–4 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–4 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2012. Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season

Home \ Away AIR ALB ARB BRE COW DUM EFI FOR STE STI
Airdrie United 1–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–3 2–0 3–0 0–3 4–1
Albion Rovers 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–2
Arbroath 2–2 6–1 2–3 1–1 2–0 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–0
Brechin City 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–1 1–0 1–2
Cowdenbeath 0–0 3–0 2–3 1–0 4–1 4–0 2–0 0–0 4–1
Dumbarton 2–1 1–0 3–2 4–2 0–2 0–4 1–0 0–2 4–1
East Fife 2–0 1–2 1–3 2–2 0–1 1–2 4–0 1–1 1–0
Forfar Athletic 2–3 4–0 2–4 4–1 1–0 1–1 1–4 1–2 4–3
Stenhousemuir 0–3 1–2 1–3 2–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 4–0
Stirling Albion 0–2 3–0 1–1 2–3 0–2 1–2 0–1 2–2 3–1
Updated to match(es) played on 5 May 2012. Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division play-offs

Times are BST (UTC+1)

Semi-finals

The fourth placed team in the Third Division (Elgin City ) will play the ninth placed team in the Second Division ( Albion Rovers ) and third placed team in the Third Division (Stranraer ) will play the second placed team in the Third Division (Queen's Park ). The play-offs will be played over two legs, the winning team in each semi-final will advance to the final.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Elgin City 1–2 Albion Rovers 1–0 0–2
Stranraer 5–1 Queen's Park 3–1 2–0

First legs

Elgin City1 – 0Albion Rovers
Millar 53' BBC Sport O'Byrne Red card 29'
Attendance: 1,248
Referee: Frank McDermott
Stranraer3 – 1Queen's Park
Winter 17', 68'
Malcolm 22'		 BBC Sport Quinn 48'
Attendance: 481
Referee: Bobby Madden

Second legs

Albion Rovers2 – 0Elgin City
Gemmell 62'
Chaplain 90'		 BBC Sport
Attendance: 827
Queen's Park0 – 2Stranraer
BBC Sport Malcolm 12'
Grehan 20'
Attendance: 1,188
Referee: David Somers

Final

The two semi-final winners will play each other over two legs. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2012–13 Second Division. However, in July 2012, following discussions as a result of the sale of Rangers FC in administration to Charles Green, the result was moot; both teams were awarded a place in the Second Division.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Stranraer 3–3 (3–5 pens.) Albion Rovers 2–0 1–3

First leg

Stranraer2 – 0Albion Rovers
McKeown 39'
Moore 90'		 BBC Sport
Attendance: 506

Second leg

Albion Rovers3 – 1
(5–3 pens.) (a.e.t.)		Stranraer
Chaplain 6', 33' (pen.)
Love 25'		 BBC Sport 27' Grehan
Attendance: 1,008
Referee: Brian Winter

Statistics

Top goalscorers

As of 21 April 2012 (GMT)[4]
Pos Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Steven Doris Arbroath 21
2 Scotland Ryan Donnelly Airdrie United 20
Scotland Ryan Wallace East Fife
3 Scotland Marc McKenzie Cowdenbeath 17
4 Scotland Chris Templeman Forfar Athletic 16
5 Scotland Paul McManus Brechin City 15
6 Scotland Bryan Prunty Dumbarton 14
7 Scotland Scott Agnew Dumbarton 13
Scotland Lewis Coult Cowdenbeath
Scotland Andy Rodgers Stenhousemuir
8 Scotland Gavin Swankie Arbroath 11
9 Scotland Stewart Kean Stenhousemuir 10

Hat-tricks

As of 7 March 2012 14:21 (GMT)
Player For Against Result Date
Scotland Bryan Prunty4 Dumbarton East Fife 6–0 27 August 2011
Scotland Scott Chaplain Albion Rovers Airdrie United 7–2 5 November 2011
Scotland Ryan Donnelly Airdrie United Forfar Athletic 4–4 2 November 2011
Scotland Lewis Coult Cowdenbeath Stirling Albion 4–1 11 February 2012
Scotland Steven Doris Arbroath Forfar Athletic 4–1 22 February 2012
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards

Month Second Division Manager of the Month SFL Player of the Month SFL Young player of the Month Ginger Boot
Manager Club Player Club Player Club Player Club
August[5] Scotland Paul Sheerin Arbroath First division player First division player Third division player
September[6] Scotland Colin Cameron Cowdenbeath First division player Scotland Mark Ridgers East Fife First division player
October[7] Scotland John Robertson East Fife First division player First division player Scotland Ryan Donnelly Airdrie United
November[8] Scotland Colin Cameron Cowdenbeath First division player Scotland Ryan Donnelly Airdrie United Third division player
December[9] Scotland Jim Weir Brechin City First division player Third division player Third division player
January[10] Scotland Alan Adamson Dumbarton Third division player Third division player Third division player
February[11] Scotland Alan Adamson Dumbarton Scotland Steven Doris Arbroath First division player Scotland Lewis Coult Cowdenbeath
March
April

References

  1. ^ Airdrie United 1 - 0 Albion Rovers : Monday, 2 January 2012 Archived 6 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Football League. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  2. ^ Albion Rovers 3 - 3 Cowdenbeath : Saturday, 3 December 2011 Archived 6 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Football League. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  3. ^ a b c d BBC Sport - Football - Ups and downs, news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  4. ^ "Scottish Football League Championship Second Division Top Scorers". BBC Sport.
  5. ^ "IRN-BRU Phenomenal Awards for August 2011". Scottish Football League. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  6. ^ "IRN-BRU Phenomenal Awards - September 2011". Scottish Football League. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  7. ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - October 2011". Scottish Football League. 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  8. ^ "IRN-BRU SFL November Manager and Player of the Month Awards". Scottish Football League. 18 December 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  9. ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - December 2011". Scottish Football League. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  10. ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - January 2012". Scottish Football League. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  11. ^ "IRN-BRU SFL Phenomenal Awards - February 2012". Scottish Football League. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
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