2020–21 Lowland Football League

Lowland League
Season2020–21
Dates10 October 2020 – 17 April 2021
ChampionsKelty Hearts
PromotedKelty Hearts
Matches played107
Goals scored375 (3.5 per match)
Top goalscorerJamie Penker (University of Stirling) (11 goals)[1]
Biggest home winCaledonian Braves 9–0 Vale of Leithen
(15 December 2020)
Biggest away winEdinburgh University 0–9 East Kilbride
(19 December 2020)
Highest scoringVale of Leithen 4–6 BSC Glasgow
(17 October 2020)
Longest winning run7 matches:
Kelty Hearts
Longest unbeaten run9 matches:
East Kilbride
Longest winless run12 matches:
Vale of Leithen
Longest losing run12 matches:
Vale of Leithen

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

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Location of teams in 2020–21 Scottish Lowland Football League

The 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
  1. ^ BSC Glasgow are ground-sharing with Alloa Athletic due to the lack of a suitable venue in Glasgow.
  2. ^ East Stirlingshire are ground-sharing with Falkirk.
  3. ^ 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 Scotland Ian Little Scotland Euan Smith Kappa Thrive Learning
Bo'ness United Scotland Max Christie Scotland Chris Donnelly Puma Express Taxis
Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic Scotland Robbie Horn Scotland Jonathan Stewart Puma G. Fitzsimmons and Son
BSC Glasgow Scotland Stephen Swift Scotland Ross McMillan Joma Nicholson Accountancy
Caledonian Braves Scotland Ricky Waddell Scotland Alan Reid Macron Alba Cola
Civil Service Strollers Scotland Gary Jardine Scotland Mark McConnell Legea Futurity Financial Services
Cumbernauld Colts Scotland Craig McKinlay Scotland Stephen O'Neill Uhlsport Broden's Bar and Kitchen
Dalbeattie Star Scotland Ritchie Maxwell Scotland Lee Wells Adidas Solway Plant Hire
East Kilbride Scotland Stephen Aitken Northern Ireland Paul Paton Joma Document Solutions
East Stirlingshire Scotland Derek Ure Scotland Nicky Low EV2 Sportswear EV2SPORTSWEAR.COM
Edinburgh University Scotland Dorian Ogunro Scotland Calum McDonald PlayerLayer TWEDEX
Gala Fairydean Rovers Scotland Neil Hastings Scotland Danny Galbraith Adidas Five Star Taxis
Gretna 2008 Scotland Rowan Alexander Northern Ireland Bryan Gilfillan Joma CASS
Kelty Hearts Scotland Barry Ferguson Scotland Michael Tidser Joma The Conservatory Converters
The Spartans Scotland Douglas Samuel Scotland Adam Corbett Macron Arthur McKay
Stirling University Scotland Chris Geddes Scotland Craig Brown VSN Mackay Clinic
Vale of Leithen Scotland Chris Anderson Scotland 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

Positions by round

Qualification for the Pyramid play-off
Possible relegation to Tier 6
Relegation to Tier 6
Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
Kelty Hearts276542553221111111
BSC Glasgow465323225315344222
East Kilbride511231111143522333
Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic123456777432233444
East Stirlingshire844664342554455555
University of Stirling1387777898886676666
Gala Fairydean Rovers1710101099666779767777
Bo'ness United332115434667888888
The Spartans659810101110111098999999
Civil Service Strollers141111121311121412111010101010101010
Berwick Rangers79898898991111111111111111
Caledonian Braves91413131213101314141414121212121212
Cumbernauld Colts101312111112131110121212131313131313
Gretna 2008121616161516151213131313141414141414
Dalbeattie Star111214141415141515151515151515151515
Edinburgh University161717171714161616161616161616161616
Vale of Leithen151515151617171717171717171717171717
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.

Top scorers

As of 5 January 2021[1]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Jamie Penker University of Stirling 11
2 England Nathan Austin Kelty Hearts 10
3 Scotland Scott-Taylor Mackenzie Gala Fairydean Rovers 8
Scotland Craig Malcolm East Kilbride
Scotland Andy Rodgers East Stirlingshire
6 Scotland Lee Currie Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 7
Scotland Jamie Glasgow BSC Glasgow
England Kallum Higginbotham Kelty Hearts
Scotland Zander Miller Bo'ness United
10 Scotland Dylan Easton Kelty Hearts 6
Scotland Ross Lyon BSC Glasgow
Scotland 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

  1. ^ a b "Top Goalscorers". SLFL. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Linlithgow Rose boss Brown Ferguson applauds Lowland League for authorising Bo'ness United promotion". www.linlithgowgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Day of destiny as Bo'ness Utd set for Lowland League place". www.falkirkherald.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Scottish FA Board confirms three-week suspension of professional football beneath SPFL Championship | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Finalising season 2020/21". www.slfl.co.uk. Lowland Football League. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  6. ^ "LOWER PYRAMID PLAY – OFF COMPETITION RULES" (PDF). Lowland Football League. Retrieved 8 July 2020.