2021–22 Scottish Championship

Scottish Championship
Season2021–22
Dates31 July 2021 – 29 April 2022
ChampionsKilmarnock
PromotedKilmarnock
RelegatedDunfermline Athletic
Queen of the South
Matches180
Goals432 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorerMichael McKenna
(15 goals)
Biggest home winGreenock Morton 5–0 Dunfermline Athletic
(8 January 2022)
Biggest away winHamilton Academical 1–6 Partick Thistle
(15 October 2021)
Greenock Morton 1–6 Inverness CT
(11 December 2021)
Highest scoringRaith Rovers 4–4 Hamilton Academical
(31 July 2021)
Longest winning runInverness CT
5 games
Longest unbeaten runRaith Rovers
13 games
Longest winless runDunfermline Athletic
13 games
Longest losing runQueen of the South
6 games
Highest attendance11,500
Kilmarnock 2–1 Arbroath (22 April 2022)
Lowest attendance197
Queen of the South 0–3 Hamilton Academical (2 January 2022)

The 2021–22 Scottish Championship (known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Scottish Championship and the 114th of second tier football in Scotland. The league was contested by 10 teams – Arbroath, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers – and began with the first matches on 31 July 2021. The season concluded with the second leg of the play-off final on 15 May 2022.

Kilmarnock, competing in the Championship for the first time and the second tier for the first time since 1992–93, earned promotion back to the Scottish Premiership at the first time of asking after claiming the league title following a 2–1 comeback win against nearest challengers Arbroath in their penultimate match. It was their first second-tier title since 1898–99. Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Partick Thistle and Arbroath in the Premiership play-offs but lost 6–2 on aggregate to St Johnstone in the play-off final.

Queen of the South were relegated to Scottish League One following a 1–1 draw against Ayr United in their penultimate match. Dunfermline Athletic were also relegated after losing 1–0 on aggregate to Queen's Park in the Championship play-offs. Queen's Park were subsequently promoted to the Championship after defeating Airdrieonians 3–2 on aggregate in the play-off final.

In total, 432 goals were scored across the 180 matches during the league season and Arbroath's Michael McKenna was the top scorer with 15 goals.

Background

The Scottish Championship sits as the second-tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and of the Scottish football pyramid. It was formed in 2013 following the merger of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) and the Scottish Football League (SFL).[1] A second-tier competition had existed in Scotish football since 1893–94, save for a few years when it was suspended during World War I and World War II. This would be the ninth season of the Championship and the 114th season of second-tier competition.[2][3]

Falkirk and St Johnstone were the most successful teams in second-tier competition, having both won seven previous titles. Of the teams who would contest the Championship in 2021–22, Ayr United, Greenock Morton, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle were the most successful, having each won six previous titles.[2][3]

Team changes

After one season in the Championship, Heart of Midlothian won the previous season's title and earned promotion back to the Scottish Premiership.[4] Hamilton Academical were automatically relegated from the Premiership after a 2–0 defeat on the final day of the season.[5] In the Premiership play-offs, Dundee defeated Kilmarnock 4–2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the Premiership. Kilmarnock were relegated to the Championship as a result, ending a run of 28 years in the top flight.[6]

Similar to Hearts, one season after relegation, Partick Thistle won promotion back to the Championship by winning the Scottish League One title.[7] Alloa Athletic were relegated to League One after finishing bottom of the Championship.[8] In the Championship play-offs, Greenock Morton were earned a repreive from relegation after defeating Airdrieonians 4–0 on aggregate.[9]

Sponsorship

At the start of the season, used car dealership cinch entered into a five-year agreement with the SPFL, worth around £1.6 million per season, to become the title sponsor of league's four divisions (the Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two).[10]

Teams

Stadia and locations

Arbroath Ayr United Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton
Gayfield Park Somerset Park East End Park Cappielow
Capacity: 6,600[11] Capacity: 10,185[12] Capacity: 11,480[13] Capacity: 11,589[14]
Hamilton Academical
Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship
 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
New Douglas Park Caledonian Stadium
Capacity: 6,018[15] Capacity: 7,750[16]
Kilmarnock Partick Thistle Queen of the South Raith Rovers
Rugby Park Firhill Stadium Palmerston Park Stark's Park
Capacity: 17,889[17] Capacity: 10,102[18] Capacity: 8,690[19] Capacity: 8,867[20]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
Arbroath Dick Campbell Thomas O'Brien Macron Megatech[21]
Ayr United Lee Bullen Sean McGinty Hummel[22] Bitcoin BCH[23]
Dunfermline Athletic John Hughes Graham Dorrans Joma[24] SRJ Windows[24]
Greenock Morton Dougie Imrie Kyle Jacobs est 1874 McGill's
Hamilton Academical Stuart Taylor Brian Easton Adidas Cullen[25]
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Billy Dodds Sean Welsh Puma[26] ILI Group[26]
Kilmarnock Derek McInnes Chris Stokes Hummel[27] Brownings The Bakers[28]
Partick Thistle Ian McCall Ross Docherty O'Neills Just Employment Law[29]
Queen of the South Willie Gibson Josh Todd Macron[30] Rosefield Salvage[31]
Raith Rovers John McGlynn Kyle Benedictus Joma[32] valmcdermid.com[32](Home)
TAG (Away)

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Neil McCann End of interim spell 1 May 2021 Pre-season Billy Dodds 1 June 2021
Dunfermline Athletic Stevie Crawford Resigned 18 May 2021 Peter Grant 28 May 2021
Hamilton Academical Brian Rice 11 August 2021 5th Stuart Taylor 20 August 2021
Ayr United David Hopkin 9 September 2021 9th Jim Duffy 9 September 2021
Dunfermline Athletic Peter Grant Sacked 31 October 2021 10th John Hughes 12 November 2021
Greenock Morton Gus MacPherson 4 December 2021 8th Dougie Imrie 21 December 2021
Kilmarnock Tommy Wright 18 December 2021 5th Derek McInnes 4 January 2022
Ayr United Jim Duffy 20 December 2021 8th Lee Bullen 7 January 2022
Queen of the South Allan Johnston 13 February 2022 10th Willie Gibson 13 February 2022

League summary

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Kilmarnock (C, P) 36 20 7 9 50 27 +23 67 Promotion to the Premiership
2 Arbroath 36 17 14 5 54 28 +26 65 Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 36 16 11 9 53 34 +19 59 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Partick Thistle 36 14 10 12 46 40 +6 52
5 Raith Rovers 36 12 14 10 44 44 0 50
6 Hamilton Academical 36 10 12 14 38 53 −15 42
7 Greenock Morton 36 9 13 14 36 47 −11 40
8 Ayr United 36 9 12 15 39 52 −13 39
9 Dunfermline Athletic (R) 36 7 14 15 36 53 −17 35 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
10 Queen of the South (R) 36 8 9 19 36 54 −18 33 Relegation to League One
Source: [33][34]
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).[35]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated


Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, 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 round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it is added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Kilmarnock121322223211111345434332222211111111
Arbroath974433335533355531111111111122222222
Inverness Caledonian Thistle332111111122233112222223333443333333
Partick Thistle213244554455544454555555554334444444
Raith Rovers567565442344422223343444445555555555
Hamilton Academical458699988877778666666666777887667666
Greenock Morton74578889999988981010101010889666766776777
Ayr United1089976676666667778777778888678888988
Dunfermline Athletic691010101010101010101010106989999109799910109999899
Queen of the South810685776778899101097888910101010109910101010101010
Leader and promotion to the Premiership
Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
Qualification for the Championship play-offs
Relegation to League One
Source: [33]

Results

Home \ Away ARB AYR DNF GMO HAM ICT KIL PAR QOS RAI ARB AYR DNF GMO HAM ICT KIL PAR QOS RAI
Arbroath — 1–1 4–2 2–1 4–0 0–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–0 — 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 5–1 3–3
Ayr United 2–2 — 3–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–4 2–1 0–2 1–0 — 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 0–1 2–0
Dunfermline Athletic 0–3 3–0 — 1–3 0–0 0–0 2–2 0–3 3–3 1–1 0–3 2–1 — 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 4–1 1–2 2–0
Greenock Morton 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 1–1 1–6 0–2 0–0 2–3 0–1 0–0 1–1 5–0 — 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2
Hamilton Academical 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 — 2–1 0–2 1–6 1–0 0–3 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 — 1–1 2–3 2–2 1–0 0–2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–2 — 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 0–1 4–0 — 2–1 3–3 2–2 1–1
Kilmarnock 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 — 0–1 4–0 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 — 2–1 2–1 3–0
Partick Thistle 0–2 4–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 — 3–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–4 1–0 1–1 — 1–0 0–1
Queen of the South 0–2 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 — 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 3–0 0–3 2–1 0–2 0–1 — 0–1
Raith Rovers 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 4–4 1–1 1–0 3–2 0–1 — 1–2 0–4 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–3 1–1 0–0 3–3 —
Source: [36]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Michael McKenna Arbroath 15
2 Oli Shaw Kilmarnock 14
3 Brian Graham Partick Thistle 13
4 Tomi Adeloye Ayr United 11
5 Shane Sutherland Inverness CT 10

Awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Billy Dodds Inverness CT Michael McKenna Arbroath
September Dick Campbell Arbroath Joel Nouble Arbroath
October John McGlynn Raith Rovers Oli Shaw Kilmarnock
November Ian McCall Partick Thistle Ethan Ross Raith Rovers
December Dick Campbell Arbroath Anton Dowds Arbroath
January Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Gavin Reilly Greenock Morton
February Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock
March Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock
April Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Logan Chalmers Inverness CT

Championship play-offs

The semi-finals will be contested by the teams placed second to fourth in Scottish League One, as well as the team placed ninth in the Scottish Championship. The winners will advance to the final, with the highest-ranked team hosting the second leg.[37]

Bracket

Semifinals Final
          
1 Dunfermline Athletic 0 0 0
4 Queen's Park 0 1 1
Airdrieonians 1 1 2
Queen's Park (a.e.t.) 1 2 3
3 Airdrieonians (a.e.t.) 0 6 6
2 Montrose 1 4 5

Semi-finals

First leg

4 May 2022 Queen's Park 0–0 Dunfermline Athletic Glasgow
19:45 Stadium: Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 1,403
Referee: Colin Steven
3 May 2022 Montrose 1–0 Airdrieonians Montrose
19:45 Johnston 8' Stadium: Links Park
Attendance: 1,362
Referee: Graham Grainger

Second leg

7 May 2022 Dunfermline Athletic0–1
(0–1 agg.)		 Queen's Park Dunfermline
15:00 Murray 89' Stadium: East End Park
Attendance: 3,179
Referee: Craig Napier
7 May 2022 Airdrieonians 6–4 (a.e.t.)
(6–5 agg.)		MontroseAirdrie
15:00 Smith 53', 70', 75'
Gallagher 86'
Afolabi 105'
G.McGill 119'		 Ballantyne 12', 26'
Milne 69'
Rennie 120'		 Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 2,080
Referee: Alan Newlands

Final

First leg

12 May 2022 Queen's Park 1–1 Airdrieonians Glasgow
19:30 Murray 64' McCabe 87' (pen.) Stadium: Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 1,899
Referee: Gavin Duncan

Second leg

15 May 2022 Airdrieonians 1–2 (a.e.t.)
(2–3 agg.)		 Queen's Park Airdrie
13:10 McCabe 13' Smith 17'
Murray 112' (pen.)		 Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 3,026
Referee: Steven McLean

References

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  2. ^ a b Abbink, Dinant (6 March 2024). "Scotland - Final Tables Second Level 1894-2005". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Championship - results archive". Flashscore. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Hearts promoted to Premiership after securing title win". STV. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  5. ^ Duncan, Thomas (16 May 2021). "Hamilton Academical 0-2 Kilmarnock: Ayrshire side consigned to relegation play-off despite win". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  6. ^ Campbell, Andy (24 May 2021). "Kilmarnock 1-2 Dundee (agg 2-4): Dundee relegate Kilmarnock, earn promotion". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Scottish League 1: Partick Thistle thrash Falkirk to secure title". BBC Scotland. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
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  10. ^ McCafferty, Gavin; Walker, Peter A. (5 October 2023). "Financial blow for Scottish football as cinch ends sponsorship deal early". insider.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
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  31. ^ "QosFC: Shirt Draw". Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
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