1997–98 Scottish Third Division

The 1997–98 Scottish Football League Third Division was the 4th season in the format of ten teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football since it was re-established in 1994–95. The season started on 5 August 1997 and ended on 9 May 1998. Alloa Athletic finished top and were promoted alongside runners-up Arbroath. Dumbarton finished bottom.

Scottish Third Division

Season	1997–98
Champions	Alloa Athletic
Promoted	Alloa Athletic Arbroath
Relegated	n/a
Matches	180
Goals	543 (3.02 per match)
Biggest home win	Ross County 8–1 Montrose (22 November 1997)
Biggest away win	Cowdenbeath 0–4 Arbroath (18 October 1997) Queen's Park 0–4 Cowdenbeath (31 January 1998) Queen's Park 0–4 Ross County (2 May 1998)
Highest scoring	(9 goals) Ross County 8–1 Montrose (22 November 1997)
Longest winning run	6 games[1] Cowdenbeath
Longest unbeaten run	9 games[1] Alloa Athletic
Longest winless run	13 games[1] Berwick Rangers
Longest losing run	6 games[1] Albion Rovers Cowdenbeath
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Teams for 1997–98

Alloa Athletic

Arbroath

Berwick Rangers

Cowdenbeath

Dumbarton

Montrose

Queen's Park

Ross County

Albion Rovers

East Stirlingshire

Location of teams in 1997–98 Scottish Third Division

Inverness Caledonian Thistle as champions of the previous season were directly promoted to the 1997–98 Scottish Second Division alongside runners-up Forfar Athletic. They were replaced by Dumbarton and Berwick Rangers who finished second bottom and bottom of the 1996–97 Scottish Second Division respectively.

Overview

Relegated from Second Division to the Third Division

• Dumbarton
• Berwick Rangers

Promoted from Third Division to the Second Division

• Inverness Caledonian Thistle
• Forfar Athletic

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium
Albion Rovers	Coatbridge	Cliftonhill
Alloa Athletic	Alloa	Recreation Park
Arbroath	Arbroath	Gayfield Park
Berwick Rangers	Berwick-upon-Tweed	Shielfield Park
Cowdenbeath	Cowdenbeath	Central Park
Dumbarton	Dumbarton	Boghead Park
East Stirlingshire	Falkirk	Firs Park
Montrose	Montrose	Links Park
Queen's Park	Glasgow	Hampden Park
Ross County	Dingwall	Victoria Park

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Alloa Athletic (C, P)	36	24	4	8	78	39	+39	76	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Arbroath (P)	36	20	8	8	67	39	+28	68
3	Ross County	36	19	10	7	71	36	+35	67
4	East Stirlingshire	36	17	6	13	50	48	+2	57
5	Albion Rovers	36	13	5	18	60	73	−13	44
6	Berwick Rangers	36	10	12	14	47	55	−8	42
7	Queen's Park	36	10	11	15	42	55	−13	41
8	Cowdenbeath	36	12	2	22	33	57	−24	38
9	Montrose	36	10	8	18	53	80	−27	38
10	Dumbarton	36	7	10	19	42	61	−19	31

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Statistics

Top scorers

Pos	Player	Club	Goals
1	Colin McGlashan	Montrose	20
2	Willie Irvine	Alloa Athletic	18
3	Billy Spence	Arbroath	16
4	Derek Adams	Ross County	15
5	Willie Watters	Albion Rovers	13
	Davie Watt	East Stirlingshire
7	Paul Forrester	Berwick Rangers	10
	Lee Gardner	Albion Rovers
	Brian Grant	Arbroath
	Colin McKinnon	Dumbarton