2023–24 Scottish League One

Scottish League One
Season2023–24
Dates5 August 2023 – 4 May 2024
ChampionsFalkirk
PromotedFalkirk
Hamilton Academical (via play-offs)
RelegatedStirling Albion (via play-offs)
Edinburgh City
Matches played180
Goals scored572 (3.18 per match)
Top goalscorerCallumn Morrison
23 goals
Biggest home winHamilton Academical 5–0 Annan Athletic (29 September 2023)
Hamilton Academical 5–0 Stirling Albion (11 November 2023)
Hamilton Academical 5–0 Queen of the South (2 December 2023)
Cove Rangers 7–2 Edinburgh City (23 December 2023)
Falkirk 5–0 Stirling Albion (30 December 2023)
Stirling Albion 5–0 Kelty Hearts (27 January 2024)
Biggest away winMontrose 1–7 Falkirk (30 March 2024)
Highest scoringCove Rangers 7–2 Edinburgh City (23 December 2023)
Longest winning runCove Rangers
Falkirk
7 games
Longest unbeaten runFalkirk
36 games
Longest winless runEdinburgh City
17 games
Longest losing runEdinburgh City
7 games
Highest attendance7,272
Falkirk 2–2 Alloa Athletic (4 May 2024)
Lowest attendance226
Edinburgh City 1–4 Kelty Hearts (7 October 2023)
Total attendance214,508
Average attendance1,191
All statistics correct as of 4 May 2024.

The 2023–24 Scottish League One (known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. The season began on 5 August 2023.[1]

Ten teams contested the league: Alloa Athletic, Annan Athletic, Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Kelty Hearts, Montrose, Queen of the South and Stirling Albion.

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2022–23 season.

Stadia and locations

Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Cove Rangers Edinburgh City
Recreation Park Galabank Balmoral Stadium Meadowbank Stadium
Capacity: 3,100[4] Capacity: 2,504[5] Capacity: 3,023[6] Capacity: 1,280[7]
Falkirk
class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2023–24 Scottish League One
 Hamilton Academical
Falkirk Stadium New Douglas Park
Capacity: 7,937[8] Capacity: 6,018[9]
Kelty Hearts Montrose Queen of the South Stirling Albion
New Central Park Links Park Palmerston Park Forthbank Stadium
Capacity: 2,181[10] Capacity: 4,936[11] Capacity: 8,690[12] Capacity: 3,808[13]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Alloa Athletic Scotland Andy Graham Scotland Scott Taggart Pendle Northern Gas and Power
Annan Athletic Republic of Ireland Peter Murphy England Steven Swinglehurst EV2 Sportswear M & S Engineering
Cove Rangers Scotland Paul Hartley Scotland Mitch Megginson Adidas ACE Group
Edinburgh City Scotland Michael McIndoe France Alieu Faye Hummel AMG Construction Group
Falkirk Scotland John McGlynn Scotland Stephen McGinn O'Neills Crunchy Carrots
Hamilton Academical Scotland John Rankin Scotland Scott Martin LF Sports Active Access
Kelty Hearts Scotland Michael Tidser Scotland Reece Lyon Umbro I-Scaff Access Solutions
Montrose Scotland Stewart Petrie Scotland Paul Watson Uhlsport Montrose Port Authority (Home)
InterMoor (Away)
Queen of the South England Marvin Bartley England Josh Todd Macron Blinds by Mark McGowan
Stirling Albion Scotland Darren Young Scotland Ross McGeachie Joma Prudential

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Kelty Hearts Scotland John Potter Appointed Raith Rovers technical director 12 May 2023[14] Pre-season Scotland Michael Tidser 17 May 2023[15]
Edinburgh City Republic of Ireland Alan Maybury Mutual consent 3 October 2023[16] 10th Scotland Michael McIndoe 9 October 2023[17]
Alloa Athletic Scotland Brian Rice Appointed Livingston coach 9 November 2023 6th Scotland Andy Graham 15 November 2023

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Falkirk (C, P) 36 27 9 0 96 28 +68 90 Promotion to the Championship
2 Hamilton Academical (O, P) 36 22 8 6 73 28 +45 74 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
3 Alloa Athletic 36 16 8 12 60 55 +5 56
4 Montrose 36 15 8 13 58 57 +1 53
5 Cove Rangers 36 14 7 15 58 63 −5 49
6 Kelty Hearts 36 12 8 16 48 63 −15 44
7 Queen of the South 36 11 8 17 46 53 −7 41
8 Annan Athletic 36 9 12 15 55 68 −13 39
9 Stirling Albion (R) 36 10 9 17 39 58 −19 39 Qualification for the League One play-offs
10 Edinburgh City (R) 36 3 5 28 38 98 −60 8[a] Relegation to League Two
Source: [19]
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).[20]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ On 25 January 2024, Edinburgh City were deducted 6 points, having failed to pay its players’ wages on time and defaulting its tax obligations to HMRC, as well as not engaging fully in the disciplinary process leading to further breaches of SPFL Rules.[18]

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 180 games, with each team playing 36.

First half of season (Matches 1–18)

Home \ Away ALO ANN COV EDI FAL HAM KEL MON QOS STI
Alloa Athletic — 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–4 0–0 3–1 2–2 1–0 0–1
Annan Athletic 1–1 — 1–3 3–2 0–3 1–2 2–2 1–3 0–1 3–0
Cove Rangers 1–2 3–2 — 7–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 3–1
Edinburgh City 3–0 3–2 2–2 — 0–2 0–3 1–4 1–5 1–2 1–3
Falkirk 3–0 3–0 4–0 2–1 — 0–0 2–1 3–2 1–0 3–0
Hamilton Academical 2–1 5–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 — 1–1 1–0 5–0 5–0
Kelty Hearts 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–2 1–5 0–2 — 0–1 3–1 1–0
Montrose 2–1 1–1 0–3 5–2 0–0 0–3 0–2 — 1–4 1–0
Queen of the South 3–4 3–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–3 2–3 — 0–1
Stirling Albion 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–0 0–2 1–1 —
Source: [21]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Second half of season (Matches 19–36)

Home \ Away ALO ANN COV EDI FAL HAM KEL MON QOS STI
Alloa Athletic — 1–1 4–1 3–1 0–5 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–2 1–0
Annan Athletic 2–3 — 4–2 3–0 3–3 1–3 3–2 2–2 2–1 2–1
Cove Rangers 2–3 2–1 — 3–1 0–1 1–3 2–2 1–4 0–2 4–2
Edinburgh City 2–5 1–2 0–2 — 2–2 2–5 0–3 1–0 1–1 1–3
Falkirk 2–2 1–1 5–1 4–1 — 3–2 2–2 3–0 1–0 5–0
Hamilton Academical 1–2 2–3 2–0 1–0 0–2 — 4–1 1–1 0–0 3–0
Kelty Hearts 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 0–5 — 0–2 0–0 1–0
Montrose 4–3 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–7 1–2 4–2 — 3–2 0–1
Queen of the South 1–1 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–4 0–2 1–2 2–3 — 2–2
Stirling Albion 1–5 1–1 2–2 4–0 1–2 0–0 5–0 1–0 0–0 —
Source: [21]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Callumn Morrison Falkirk 23
2 England Rumarn Burrell Cove Rangers 21
3 Scotland Ross MacIver Falkirk 14
Scotland Kevin O'Hara Hamilton Academical
5 Scotland Bobby Wales Alloa Athletic 12
Scotland Aidan Nesbitt Falkirk

Awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland John Rankin Hamilton Academical Scotland Jamie Smith Hamilton Academical
September Scotland John McGlynn Falkirk Scotland Callumn Morrison Falkirk
October Scotland Kyle MacDonald Hamilton Academical
November Scotland Paul Hartley Cove Rangers England Rumarn Burrell Cove Rangers
December Scotland John McGlynn Falkirk
January Scotland Calvin Miller Falkirk
February Scotland Andy Graham Alloa Athletic Scotland Taylor Steven Alloa Athletic
March Scotland John McGlynn Falkirk Scotland Callumn Morrison Falkirk
April Scotland Aidan Smith Annan Athletic

The SPFL League One manager of the year was John McGlynn of Falkirk.

The SPFL League One player of the year was Callumn Morrison of Falkirk.

League One play-offs

Bracket

Semi-finals Final
          
1 Stirling Albion 1 0 1
4 Dumbarton 2 0 2
Dumbarton 2 2 4
The Spartans 1 2 3
3 The Spartans 2 5 7
2 Peterhead 1 1 2

Semi-finals

First leg

7 May 2024 Dumbarton 2–1 Stirling Albion Dumbarton
19:45 Hilton 12'
T.Wallace 84' (pen.)		 Hilson 27' Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium
Attendance: 900
Referee: Ross Hardie
7 May 2024 The Spartans 2–1 Peterhead Edinburgh
19:45 Watson 17'
Henderson 90' (pen.)		 O'Keefe 8' Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 843
Referee: Dan McFarlane

Second leg

11 May 2024 Peterhead1–5
(2–7 agg.)		 The Spartans Peterhead
15:00 Strachan 66' Russell 3'
Henderson 30', 67' (pen.), 78'
Whyte 62'		 Stadium: Balmoor Stadium
Attendance: 947
Referee: Iain Snedden
11 May 2024 Stirling Albion0–0
(1–2 agg.)		 Dumbarton Stirling
15:00 Stadium: Forthbank Stadium
Attendance: 1,087
Referee: Lloyd Wilson

Final

First leg

14 May 2024 Dumbarton 2–1 The Spartans Dumbarton
19:30 Wallace 21'
Gray 29'		 Sonkur 48' Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium
Attendance: 850
Referee: Steven Kirkland

Second leg

17 May 2024 The Spartans2–2
(3–4 agg.)		 Dumbarton Edinburgh
19:30 Russell 3'
Henderson 90+4' (pen.)		 Ruth 5', 53' Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 2,281
Referee: Grant Irvine

References

  1. ^ "Key dates for Season 2023/24". SPFL. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. ^ Lindsay, Clive (22 April 2023). "Scottish League 2: Stirling Albion aim to avoid Yo-Yo return after title win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. ^ Lindsay, Clive (17 April 2023). "What now for Dunfermline Athletic after promotion?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Alloa Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Annan Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Cove Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Edinburgh City". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Falkirk Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Hamilton Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Kelty Hearts Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Montrose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Queen of the South Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Stirling Albion Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. ^ "John Potter announced as Technical Director". Raith Rovers FC. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Kelty Hearts: Michael Tidser officially unveiled as new manager". Dunfermline Press. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Edinburgh City part ways with manager Alan Maybury after poor start to the season". Edinburgh Evening News. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Michael McIndoe announced as Edinburgh City's new manager". Edinburgh Evening News. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  18. ^ Edinburgh City will not appeal against six-point deduction over late payments, Brian McLauchlin, BBC Sport, 29 January 2024
  19. ^ "cinch League One Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  20. ^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  21. ^ a b "cinch League One Results". SPFL. Retrieved 4 May 2024.