2020–21 Lowland Football League
Football league season
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 October 2020 – 17 April 2021 |
| Champions | Kelty Hearts |
| Promoted | Kelty Hearts |
| Matches played | 107 |
| Goals scored | 375 (3.5 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jamie Penker (University of Stirling) (11 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Caledonian Braves 9–0 Vale of Leithen (15 December 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Edinburgh University 0–9 East Kilbride (19 December 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Vale of Leithen 4–6 BSC Glasgow (17 October 2020) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches: Kelty Hearts |
| Longest unbeaten run | 9 matches: East Kilbride |
| Longest winless run | 12 matches: Vale of Leithen |
| Longest losing run | 12 matches: Vale of Leithen |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
The 2020–21 Scottish Lowland Football League was the 8th season of the Lowland Football League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football pyramid system. Kelty Hearts were the reigning champions.
The league consisted of 17 teams as no clubs were relegated at the end of the 2019–20 season and East of Scotland champions Bo'ness United were promoted after gaining their SFA membership in June 2020.[2][3]
The start of the league season was delayed until October 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and games were played behind closed doors due to Scottish Government restrictions. On 11 January 2021 the league was suspended by the Scottish Football Association due to the escalating pandemic situation.[4] On 30 March the league announced that a majority of clubs had voted to curtail the season, with a points per game basis used to finalise standings and Kelty Hearts were declared as the champions.[5]
They faced the winners of the 2020–21 Highland Football League (Brora Rangers) in the Pyramid play-off, winning 6–1 on aggregate. Kelty then defeated Brechin City 3–1 on aggregate in the League Two play-off final to gain a place in Scottish League Two.
Teams
BSC Glasgow
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Location of teams in 2020–21 Scottish Lowland Football LeagueThe following teams changed division after the 2019–20 season.
To Lowland League
Promoted from East of Scotland League
Stadia and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick Rangers | Berwick-upon-Tweed | Shielfield Park | 4,099 | 1,366 |
| Bo'ness United | Bo'ness | Newtown Park | 2,500 | 0 |
| Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | Bonnyrigg | New Dundas Park | 2,200 | 0 |
| BSC Glasgow | Alloa | Recreation Park[a] | 3,100 | 919 |
| Caledonian Braves | Motherwell | Alliance Park | 500 | 100 |
| Civil Service Strollers | Edinburgh | Christie Gillies Park | 1,569 | 100 |
| Cumbernauld Colts | Cumbernauld | Broadwood Stadium | 7,936 | 7,936 |
| Dalbeattie Star | Dalbeattie | Islecroft Stadium | 1,320 | 100 |
| East Kilbride | East Kilbride | K Park | 660 | 400 |
| East Stirlingshire | Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium[b] | 7,937 | 7,937 |
| Edinburgh University | Edinburgh | New Peffermill Stadium | 1,100 | 100 |
| Gala Fairydean Rovers | Galashiels | 3G Arena, Netherdale | 2,000 | 500 |
| Gretna 2008 | Gretna | Raydale Park | 1,030 | 138 |
| Kelty Hearts | Kelty | New Central Park | 2,181 | 353 |
| The Spartans | Edinburgh | Ainslie Park | 3,612 | 534 |
| University of Stirling | Stirling | Forthbank Stadium[c] | 3,808 | 2,508 |
| Vale of Leithen | Innerleithen | Victoria Park | 1,500 | 0 |
- Notes
- ^ BSC Glasgow are ground-sharing with Alloa Athletic due to the lack of a suitable venue in Glasgow.
- ^ East Stirlingshire are ground-sharing with Falkirk.
- ^ University of Stirling are ground-sharing with Stirling Albion.
All grounds are equipped with floodlights.
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick Rangers |  Ian Little | Euan Smith | Kappa | Thrive Learning |
| Bo'ness United | Max Christie | Chris Donnelly | Puma | Express Taxis |
| Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | Robbie Horn | Jonathan Stewart | Puma | G. Fitzsimmons and Son |
| BSC Glasgow | Stephen Swift | Ross McMillan | Joma | Nicholson Accountancy |
| Caledonian Braves | Ricky Waddell | Alan Reid | Macron | Alba Cola |
| Civil Service Strollers | Gary Jardine | Mark McConnell | Legea | Futurity Financial Services |
| Cumbernauld Colts | Craig McKinlay | Stephen O'Neill | Uhlsport | Broden's Bar and Kitchen |
| Dalbeattie Star | Ritchie Maxwell | Lee Wells | Adidas | Solway Plant Hire |
| East Kilbride | Stephen Aitken |  Paul Paton | Joma | Document Solutions |
| East Stirlingshire | Derek Ure | Nicky Low | EV2 Sportswear | EV2SPORTSWEAR.COM |
| Edinburgh University | Dorian Ogunro | Calum McDonald | PlayerLayer | TWEDEX |
| Gala Fairydean Rovers | Neil Hastings | Danny Galbraith | Adidas | Five Star Taxis |
| Gretna 2008 | Rowan Alexander | Bryan Gilfillan | Joma | CASS |
| Kelty Hearts | Barry Ferguson | Michael Tidser | Joma | The Conservatory Converters |
| The Spartans | Douglas Samuel | Adam Corbett | Macron | Arthur McKay |
| Stirling University | Chris Geddes | Craig Brown | VSN | Mackay Clinic |
| Vale of Leithen | Chris Anderson | Ger Rossi | Adidas | BARC Travel |
League summary
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kelty Hearts (C, O, P) | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 4 | +36 | 36 | 2.77 | Qualification for the Pyramid play-off |
| 2 | East Kilbride | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 6 | +26 | 29 | 2.42 | |
| 3 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 6 | +23 | 29 | 2.42 | |
| 4 | BSC Glasgow | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 16 | +22 | 30 | 2.31 | |
| 5 | East Stirlingshire | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 12 | +18 | 26 | 2.17 | |
| 6 | Gala Fairydean Rovers | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 22 | 1.83 | |
| 7 | Bo'ness United | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 18 | 1.80 | |
| 8 | The Spartans | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 18 | 1.50 | |
| 9 | University of Stirling | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 22 | 1.47 | |
| 10 | Berwick Rangers | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 16 | 1.23 | |
| 11 | Civil Service Strollers | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 17 | 1.21 | |
| 12 | Caledonian Braves | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 13 | 0.93 | |
| 13 | Gretna 2008 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 25 | −10 | 10 | 0.91 | |
| 14 | Cumbernauld Colts | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 30 | −13 | 11 | 0.79 | |
| 15 | Dalbeattie Star | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 24 | −12 | 5 | 0.50 | |
| 16 | Edinburgh University | 15 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 54 | −47 | 5 | 0.33 | |
| 17 | Vale of Leithen | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 58 | −53 | 0 | 0.00 |
Source: SLFL BBC Sport Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Positions by round
Updated to match(es) played on 5 January 2021. Source:[citation needed]
Results
| Home \ Away | BER | BNS | BON | BSC | CAL | CSS | CUM | DAL | EKB | EAS | EDU | GFR | GRE | KEL | SPA | STI | VOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick Rangers | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 1–0 | |||||||||||
| Bo'ness United | 2–1 | 4–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | ||||||||||
| Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | ||||||||||
| BSC Glasgow | 0–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | ||||||||||
| Caledonian Braves | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 9–0 | ||||||||||
| Civil Service Strollers | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | |||||||||||
| Cumbernauld Colts | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–6 | 1–2 | |||||||||
| Dalbeattie Star | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | ||||||||||||
| East Kilbride | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 2–0 | |||||||||||
| East Stirlingshire | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | |||||||||||
| Edinburgh University | 0–4 | 0–6 | 1–2 | 0–9 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–6 | ||||||||||
| Gala Fairydean Rovers | 0–4 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | |||||||||||
| Gretna 2008 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 5–0 | |||||||||||||
| Kelty Hearts | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | ||||||||||
| The Spartans | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 6–0 | |||||||||||
| University of Stirling | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 7–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | |||||||||
| Vale of Leithen | 4–6 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–7 |
Updated to match(es) played on 5 January 2021. Source: SLFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top scorers
- As of 5 January 2021[1]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Penker | University of Stirling | 11 |
| 2 |  Nathan Austin | Kelty Hearts | 10 |
| 3 | Scott-Taylor Mackenzie | Gala Fairydean Rovers | 8 |
| Craig Malcolm | East Kilbride | ||
| Andy Rodgers | East Stirlingshire | ||
| 6 | Lee Currie | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 7 |
| Jamie Glasgow | BSC Glasgow | ||
| Kallum Higginbotham | Kelty Hearts | ||
| Zander Miller | Bo'ness United | ||
| 10 | Dylan Easton | Kelty Hearts | 6 |
| Ross Lyon | BSC Glasgow | ||
| Ross McNeil | Caledonian Braves |
Lowland League play-off
A three match round robin play-off was due to take place between the winners of the 2020–21 East of Scotland Football League, the 2020–21 South of Scotland Football League, and the 2020–21 West of Scotland Football League, subject to all three clubs meeting the required licensing criteria for promotion. However all three leagues were declared null and void so there was no play-off or promotion to the Lowland League.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Top Goalscorers". SLFL. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Linlithgow Rose boss Brown Ferguson applauds Lowland League for authorising Bo'ness United promotion". www.linlithgowgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "Day of destiny as Bo'ness Utd set for Lowland League place". www.falkirkherald.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "Scottish FA Board confirms three-week suspension of professional football beneath SPFL Championship | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Finalising season 2020/21". www.slfl.co.uk. Lowland Football League. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "LOWER PYRAMID PLAY – OFF COMPETITION RULES" (PDF). Lowland Football League. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
External links
- Official website
