2016–17 Scottish Championship

The 2016–17 Scottish Championship (known as the Ladbrokes Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season in the current format of 10 teams in the second tier of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 17 June 2016.^[5]

Ladbrokes Championship

Season	2016–17
Champions	Hibernian
Promoted	Hibernian
Relegated	Ayr United Raith Rovers
Matches played	180
Goals scored	469 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jason Cummings Stephen Dobbie (19 goals)[1][2]
Biggest home win	St Mirren 5–0 Raith Rovers[3] (29 April 2017)
Biggest away win	Queen of the South 0–5 Greenock Morton[3] (15 October 2016)
Highest scoring	Ayr United 4–4 Dumbarton[3] (24 December 2016) St Mirren 6–2 Ayr United[3] (1 April 2017)
Longest winning run	5 matches:[3] Dundee United Hibernian Queen of the South
Longest unbeaten run	12 matches:[3] Dundee United
Longest winless run	15 matches:[3] Ayr United Raith Rovers
Longest losing run	7 matches:[3] Queen of the South
Highest attendance	19,764[3] Hibernian 1–1 St Mirren (6 May 2017)
Lowest attendance	600[3] Dumbarton 0–0 Raith Rovers (19 November 2016)
Total attendance	808,085[3]
Average attendance	4,489[3] (2,908[4])
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 7 May 2017.

Hibernian won the league title and promotion after a 3–0 win against Queen of the South on 15 April 2017.^[6]

Teams

The following teams have changed division since the 2015–16 season.

To Championship Promoted from Scottish League One Dunfermline Athletic Ayr United Relegated from Scottish Premiership Dundee United

From Championship Relegated to Scottish League One Alloa Athletic Livingston Promoted to Scottish Premiership Rangers

Stadia and locations

Ayr United	Dumbarton	Dundee United	Dunfermline Athletic
Somerset Park	Dumbarton Football Stadium	Tannadice Park	East End Park
Capacity: 10,185[7]	Capacity: 2,020[8]	Capacity: 14,223[9]	Capacity: 11,904[10]
Falkirk	Ayr United Dumbarton Dundee Utd Dunfermline Athletic Falkirk Morton Hibernian Queen of the South Raith Rovers St Mirren		Greenock Morton
Falkirk Stadium			Cappielow Park
Capacity: 7,937[11]			Capacity: 11,589[12]
Hibernian	Queen of the South	Raith Rovers	St. Mirren
Easter Road	Palmerston Park	Stark's Park	Paisley 2021 Stadium
Capacity: 20,421[13]	Capacity: 8,690[14]	Capacity: 9,031[15]	Capacity: 8,023[16]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Ayr United	Ian McCall	Nicky Devlin	Adidas	Bodog
Dumbarton	Stephen Aitken	Darren Barr	Joma	Turnberry Homes
Dundee United	Ray McKinnon	Seán Dillon	Nike	McEwan Fraser Legal
Dunfermline Athletic	Allan Johnston	Andy Geggan	Joma	SRJ Windows
Falkirk	Peter Houston	Mark Kerr	Puma	Central Demolition
Greenock Morton	Jim Duffy	Lee Kilday	Vision Outsourcing	Millions
Hibernian	Neil Lennon	David Gray	Nike	Marathonbet
Queen of the South	Gary Naysmith	John Rankin	Macron	KBT Pharmacy
Raith Rovers	John Hughes	Jason Thomson	Puma	valmcdermid.com (Home shirt) Myeloma UK (Away shirt)
St Mirren	Jack Ross	Stephen McGinn	Carbrini	JD Sports

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Dundee United	Mixu Paatelainen	Sacked	4 May 2016[17]	Pre-season	Ray McKinnon	12 May 2016[18]
Raith Rovers	Ray McKinnon	Resigned	11 May 2016[19]		Gary Locke	20 May 2016[20]
Hibernian	Alan Stubbs	Signed by Rotherham United	1 June 2016[21]		Neil Lennon	8 June 2016[22]
St Mirren	Alex Rae	Sacked	18 September 2016[23]	10th	Allan McManus (interim)	18 September 2016[23]
St Mirren	Allan McManus (interim)	End of interim	4 October 2016	10th	Jack Ross	4 October 2016[24]
Queen of the South	Gavin Skelton	Resigned	7 November 2016[25]	6th	Jim Thomson (caretaker)	7 November 2016[25]
Queen of the South	Jim Thomson (caretaker)	End of interim	5 December 2016[26]	6th	Gary Naysmith	5 December 2016[26]
Raith Rovers	Gary Locke	Sacked	7 February 2017[27]	8th	John Hughes	10 February 2017[28]

League summary

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Hibernian (C, P)	36	19	14	3	59	25	+34	71	Promotion to Premiership
2	Falkirk	36	16	12	8	58	40	+18	60	Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-finals
3	Dundee United	36	15	12	9	50	42	+8	57	Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-finals
4	Greenock Morton	36	13	13	10	44	41	+3	52
5	Dunfermline Athletic	36	12	12	12	46	43	+3	48
6	Queen of the South	36	11	10	15	46	52	−6	43
7	St Mirren	36	9	12	15	52	56	−4	39
8	Dumbarton	36	9	12	15	46	56	−10	39
9	Raith Rovers (R)	36	10	9	17	35	52	−17	39	Qualification for the Championship play-offs
10	Ayr United (R)	36	7	12	17	33	62	−29	33	Relegation to League One

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Positions by round

	Leader - Promotion to 2017–18 Scottish Premiership
	Qualification to Premiership play-off semi-finals
	Qualification to Premiership play-off quarter-finals
	Qualification to Championship play-offs
	Relegation to 2017–18 Scottish League One

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, 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 matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Hibernian	3	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Falkirk	9	7	8	6	5	4	3	3	3	5	5	5	5	5	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Dundee United	4	8	4	4	4	5	5	5	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3
Greenock Morton	5	6	6	8	9	7	8	6	6	7	6	4	3	3	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4
Dunfermline Athletic	2	4	7	7	8	9	7	8	8	8	8	9	9	8	9	7	7	7	6	6	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5
Queen of the South	6	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	2	3	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6
St Mirren	7	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	8	9	8	7
Dumbarton	8	5	5	5	6	8	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	9	8	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	8	7	7	8	8	7	7	9	7	7	8
Raith Rovers	1	1	1	2	3	3	4	4	5	4	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	7	8	8	8	7	8	8	6	7	8	8	7	8	9	9
Ayr United	10	10	10	10	7	6	6	7	7	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10

Updated to match(es) played on 6 May 2017. Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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 Home \ Away AYR DUM DUN DNF FAL GMO HIB QOS RAI STM Ayr United 4–4 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–3 1–0 0–2 1–1 Dumbarton 0–3 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 Dundee United 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 Dunfermline Athletic 1–1 4–3 1–3 1–1 2–1 1–3 0–1 0–0 4–3 Falkirk 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 2–4 3–1 Greenock Morton 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 Hibernian 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 4–0 4–0 1–1 2–0 Queen of the South 4–1 1–2 1–4 2–2 2–0 0–5 0–0 3–1 2–3 Raith Rovers 1–1 3–2 0–0 2–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 St Mirren 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–0 Updated to match(es) played on 7 February 2017. Source: Scottish Championship Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season Home \ Away AYR DUM DUN DNF FAL GMO HIB QOS RAI STM Ayr United 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–4 1–4 0–4 0–2 1–0 0–2 Dumbarton 2–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 4–0 2–2 Dundee United 2–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–3 3–0 3–2 Dunfermline Athletic 0–1 5–1 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 Falkirk 1–1 2–2 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 Greenock Morton 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–4 Hibernian 1–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 3–0 3–2 1–1 Queen of the South 0–0 1–2 4–2 0–1 0–2 3–0 0–1 2–1 0–2 Raith Rovers 2–1 1–3 2–1 0–2 1–4 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 St Mirren 6–2 1–1 3–2 0–0 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–3 5–0 Updated to match(es) played on 6 May 2017. Source: Scottish Championship Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of matches played on 6 May 2017

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Jason Cummings	Hibernian	19
	Stephen Dobbie	Queen of the South
3	Nicky Clark	Dunfermline Athletic	15
4	Tony Andreu	Dundee United	13
5	Robert Thomson	Dumbarton	11
6	Simon Murray	Dundee United	10
	Craig Sibbald	Falkirk
	Derek Lyle	Queen of the South
9	Lee Miller	Falkirk	9
	Ross Forbes	Greenock Morton
	Ryan Hardie	Raith Rovers [note 1]

Source:^[1][2][29]

^{note 1} 3 league goals scored whilst on loan with St Mirren

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Joe Cardle	Dunfermline Athletic	Dumbarton	4–3	6 August 2016	[30]
Alan Forrest	Ayr United	Dumbarton	3–0	15 October 2016	[31]
Nicky Clark4	Dunfermline Athletic	Dumbarton	5–1	4 March 2017	[32]
Stevie Mallan	St Mirren	Raith Rovers	5–0	29 April 2017	[33]

Notes

• ⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Discipline

Player

Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 William Edjenguélé Dundee United 11 Iain Davidson Raith Rovers Declan McManus Raith Rovers 4 Kallum Higginbotham Dunfermline Athletic 10 Jamie McDonagh Greenock Morton 6 Gregor Buchanan Dumbarton 9 Aaron Muirhead Falkirk Andy Dowie Queen of the South Kevin McHattie Raith Rovers Source:[29][34]

Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 Lewis Toshney Dundee United 2 Lewis Martin Dunfermline Athletic Marvin Bartley Hibernian 4 22 players 1 Source:[29][34]

Club

Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Club Cards 1 Raith Rovers 88 2 Dundee United 72 3 Queen of the South 64 Source:[35]

Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Club Cards 1 Dunfermline Athletic 6 2 Hibernian 5 3 Dundee United 4 Source:[35]

Attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Ayr United	33,592	3,100	1,103	1,866	−41.9%†
2	Dumbarton	20,345	1,660	600	1,130	+8.5%†
3	Dundee United	118,516	10,925	4,661	6,584	−17.4%†
4	Dunfermline Athletic	79,885	7,622	2,653	4,438	+26.9%†
5	Falkirk	90,580	6,747	4,160	5,032	+7.8%†
6	Greenock Morton	42,513	4,609	1,451	2,361	−13.5%†
7	Hibernian	277,096	19,764	13,604	15,394	+64.8%†
8	Queen of the South	33,418	3,703	1,147	1,856	−12.2%†
9	Raith Rovers	47,365	5,899	1,161	2,631	+13.6%†
10	St Mirren	64,775	4,997	2,126	3,598	+1.4%†
	League total	808,085	19,764	600	4,489	−39.3%†

Updated to games played on 6 May 2017
Source: ^[3][4]

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Ref.
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Neil Lennon	Hibernian	Jason Cummings	Hibernian	[36]
September	Peter Houston	Falkirk	Cammy Bell	Dundee United
October	Jim Duffy	Greenock Morton	Thomas O'Ware	Greenock Morton
November	Ray McKinnon	Dundee United	John McGinn	Hibernian
December	Stephen Aitken	Dumbarton	Mark Docherty	Dumbarton
January	Neil Lennon	Hibernian	Ross Forbes	Greenock Morton
February	Peter Houston	Falkirk	Jason Cummings	Hibernian
March	Jack Ross	St Mirren	Efe Ambrose	Hibernian
April	Jack Ross	St Mirren	Stevie Mallan	St Mirren

Bell Devlin McGregor O'Ware Stevenson Mallan McGinn Forbes Andreu Dobbie Cummings PFA Scotland Team of the Year[37][38]

Annual awards

Championship Manager of the Season

• The Championship Manager of the Season was awarded to Jim Duffy.^[39][40]

Championship Player of the Season

• The Championship Player of the Season was awarded to John McGinn.^[41][42]

PFA Scotland Scottish Championship Team of the Year

The PFA Scotland Scottish Championship Team of the Year was:^[37][38]

• Goalkeeper: Cammy Bell (Dundee United)
• Defence: Nicky Devlin (Ayr United), Darren McGregor (Hibernian), Thomas O'Ware (Greenock Morton), Lewis Stevenson (Hibernian)
• Midfield: Stevie Mallan (St Mirren), John McGinn (Hibernian), Ross Forbes (Greenock Morton)
• Attack: Tony Andreu (Dundee United), Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South), Jason Cummings (Hibernian)

Championship play-offs

Raith Rovers the second bottom team, entered into a 4-team playoff with the 2nd-4th placed teams in 2016–17 Scottish League One; Alloa Athletic, Airdrieonians and Brechin City.

Semi-finals

First leg

Brechin City v Raith Rovers

10 May 2017[43]	Brechin City	1 – 1	Raith Rovers	Brechin
19:45	Caldwell 45+1' (pen.)	BBC Sport report	McManus 70'	Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 1,022 Referee: Don Robertson

Airdrieonians v Alloa Athletic

10 May 2017[43]	Airdrieonians	1 – 0	Alloa Athletic	Airdrie
19:45	Ryan 52'	BBC Sport report		Stadium: Excelsior Stadium Attendance: 1,199 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Second leg

Raith Rovers v Brechin City

13 May 2017[43]	Raith Rovers	3 – 3 (a.e.t.) (4 – 4 agg.) (3 – 4 p)	Brechin City	Kirkcaldy
15:00	Mvoto 68' McManus 90+1' Hardie 101'	BBC Sport report	Caldwell 51' Trouten 84' Watt 115'	Stadium: Stark's Park Referee: Alan Muir
	Penalties
	Handling Thompson B. Barr McManus Robertson		Dyer Watt McLean Trouten Love Jackson

Alloa Athletic v Airdrieonians

13 May 2017[43]	Alloa Athletic	1 – 0 (a.e.t.) (1 – 1 agg.) (4 – 3 p)	Airdrieonians	Alloa
15:00	Robertson 50'	BBC Sport report		Stadium: Recreation Park Referee: Barry Cook
	Penalties
	Taggart Hetherington Kirkpatrick Graham Waters		Ryan Leitch Russell MacDonald McIntosh

Final

The winners of the semi-finals will compete against one another over two legs, with the winner competing in the 2017–18 Scottish Championship.

First leg

Brechin City v Alloa Athletic

17 May 2017[43]	Brechin City	1 – 0	Alloa Athletic	Brechin
19:35	Ford 56'	BBC Sport report		Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 702 Referee: Euan Anderson

Second leg

Alloa Athletic v Brechin City

20 May 2017[43]	Alloa Athletic	4 – 3 (a.e.t.) (4 – 4 agg.) (4 – 5 p)	Brechin City	Alloa
17:15	Spence 36', 40', 73' Mackin 79'	BBC Sport report	Dale 34' McLean 54' Watt 78'	Stadium: Recreation Park Attendance: 1,204 Referee: Nick Walsh
	Penalties
	Taggart Spence Kirkpatrick Graham Waters Flannigan		Dyer Hill Jackson Trouten Love Dale