2016–17 Scottish League One

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

Scottish League One

Season	2016–17
Champions	Livingston
Promoted	Livingston Brechin City
Relegated	Peterhead Stenhousemuir
Matches played	180
Goals scored	509 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorer	Andy Ryan (23 goals)[1][2]
Biggest home win	Alloa Athletic 6–1 Brechin City[3] (15 April 2017)
Biggest away win	Stenhousemuir 0–5 Stranraer[3] (15 October 2016) Airdrieonians 0–5 Stenhousemuir[3] (10 December 2016)
Highest scoring	Stranraer 2–5 Alloa Athletic[3] (13 August 2016) Albion Rovers 3–4 Airdrieonians[3] (11 March 2017)
Longest winning run	9 matches:[3] Livingston
Longest unbeaten run	10 matches:[3] East Fife
Longest winless run	10 matches:[3] Peterhead
Longest losing run	5 matches:[3] Stenhousemuir
Highest attendance	1,633[3] Airdrieonians 1–2 Albion Rovers (2 January 2017)
Lowest attendance	228[3] Albion Rovers 0–2 Brechin City (13 August 2016)
Total attendance	101,700[3]
Average attendance	565[3] (410[4])
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 7 May 2017.

Ten teams contested the league: Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Alloa Athletic, Brechin City, East Fife, Livingston, Peterhead, Queen's Park, Stenhousemuir and Stranraer.

Teams

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

To League One Promoted from Scottish League Two East Fife Queen's Park Relegated from Scottish Championship Alloa Athletic Livingston

From League One Relegated to Scottish League Two Forfar Athletic Cowdenbeath Promoted to Scottish Championship Dunfermline Athletic Ayr United

Stadia and locations

Airdrieonians	Albion Rovers	Alloa Athletic	Brechin City
Excelsior Stadium	Cliftonhill	Recreation Park	Glebe Park
Capacity: 10,101[6]	Capacity: 1,238[7]	Capacity: 3,100[8]	Capacity: 4,083[9]
East Fife	Airdrieonians Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Brechin City East Fife Livingston Peterhead Queen's Park Stenhousemuir Stranraer		Livingston
Bayview Stadium			Almondvale Stadium
Capacity: 1,998[10]			Capacity: 8,716[11]
Peterhead	Queen's Park	Stenhousemuir	Stranraer
Balmoor	Hampden Park	Ochilview Park	Stair Park
Capacity: 3,150[12]	Capacity: 51,866[13]	Capacity: 4,096[14]	Capacity: 4,178[15]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Airdrieonians	Mark Wilson	Marc Fitzpatrick	Under Armour	M&H Logistics
Albion Rovers	Darren Young	Michael Dunlop	Adidas	Reigart Demolition
Alloa Athletic	Jim Goodwin	Graeme Holmes	Pendle	Chrystal & Hill Ltd
Brechin City	Darren Dods	Paul McLean	Pendle	Delson
East Fife	Barry Smith	Kevin Smith	Joma	W Glendinning Haulage Contractors (Home shirt) EF Joinery (Away shirt)
Livingston	David Hopkin	Sean Crighton	Joma	Tony Macaroni
Peterhead	Jim McInally	Simon Ferry	Adidas	LFH Engineering Ltd
Queen's Park	Gus MacPherson	Paul Woods	Under Armour	Irn-Bru
Stenhousemuir	Brown Ferguson	Mark Gilhaney	Prostar	Gulnar Tandoori Restaurant
Stranraer	Stephen Farrell	Steven Bell	Stanno	Stena Line

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Alloa Athletic	Jack Ross	Signed by St Mirren	4 October 2016[16]	3rd	Jim Goodwin	11 October 2016[17]
Airdrieonians	Eddie Wolecki Black Kevin McBride	Stepped down Sacked	30 October 2016[18]	4th	Mark Wilson	31 October 2016[18]
East Fife	Gary Naysmith	Signed by Queen of the South	5 December 2016[19]	9th	Barry Smith	13 December 2016[20]
Stranraer	Brian Reid	Resigned	16 January 2017[21]	10th	Stephen Farrell	20 January 2017[22]

League summary

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Livingston (C, P)	36	26	3	7	80	32	+48	81	Promotion to Scottish Championship
2	Alloa Athletic	36	17	11	8	69	44	+25	62	Qualification to Championship play-offs
3	Airdrieonians	36	16	4	16	61	66	−5	52
4	Brechin City (O, P)	36	15	5	16	43	49	−6	50
5	East Fife	36	12	10	14	41	44	−3	46
6	Queen's Park	36	12	10	14	37	51	−14	46
7	Stranraer	36	12	8	16	46	50	−4	44
8	Albion Rovers	36	11	9	16	41	48	−7	42
9	Peterhead (R)	36	10	10	16	44	59	−15	40	Qualification to League One play-offs
10	Stenhousemuir (R)	36	11	6	19	45	64	−19	39	Relegation to Scottish League Two

Updated to match(es) played on 6 May 2017. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Positions by round

	Leader - Promotion to 2017–18 Scottish Championship
	Qualification to Championship play-offs
	Qualification to League One play-offs
	Relegation to 2017–18 Scottish League Two

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
Livingston	1	2	1	3	3	2	3	2	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Alloa Athletic	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	3	1	3	3	3	3	4	4	3	4	4	4	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Airdrieonians	3	5	4	4	5	5	7	6	7	5	4	4	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	5	3	3
Brechin City	4	3	3	2	1	3	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	6	6	7	5	6	5	5	4	5	4	4	4
East Fife	6	4	5	6	4	4	4	4	6	7	8	9	9	9	9	8	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	6	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	5	6	3	5	5
Queen's Park	8	6	6	5	6	6	8	8	8	9	9	8	7	7	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	4	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	6	3	6	6	6
Stranraer	9	9	10	7	9	7	5	7	5	6	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	10	9	9	10	10	10	9	9	9	6	7	7	8	7	8	8	8	8	7
Albion Rovers	5	7	7	8	7	8	6	5	4	4	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	9	9	9	7	8	7	7	7	7	8
Peterhead	10	10	8	10	8	9	9	10	9	8	6	6	6	6	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	10	9
Stenhousemuir	7	8	9	9	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10

Updated to match(es) played on 7 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 36 games.

First half of season Home \ Away AIR ALB ALO BRE EFI LIV PET QPA STE STR Airdrieonians 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–4 1–3 4–1 0–5 1–0 Albion Rovers 1–2 0–4 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 4–0 3–2 Alloa Athletic 1–2 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–3 4–0 1–1 4–1 2–2 Brechin City 3–2 1–2 0–1 0–1 0–3 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 East Fife 0–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 3–1 2–0 1–2 0–1 2–0 Livingston 2–0 1–2 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–2 4–1 5–1 Peterhead 2–4 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–2 2–0 0–2 2–0 Queen's Park 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–3 0–2 Stenhousemuir 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–3 0–1 0–4 2–2 1–2 0–5 Stranraer 1–2 3–2 2–5 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–2 3–1 Updated to match(es) played on 28 March 2017. Source: Scottish League 1 Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season Home \ Away AIR ALB ALO BRE EFI LIV PET QPA STE STR Airdrieonians 1–2 0–1 3–1 2–2 0–4 4–1 3–2 1–0 1–2 Albion Rovers 3–4 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 Alloa Athletic 2–1 1–1 6–1 3–0 2–2 0–1 2–2 2–1 1–0 Brechin City 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–2 0–1 3–1 2–2 0–0 East Fife 0–4 2–0 0–0 3–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 Livingston 4–2 3–0 2–1 3–0 0–1 4–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 Peterhead 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 1–1 2–3 4–0 0–1 2–2 Queen's Park 2–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 Stenhousemuir 4–2 0–3 2–4 1–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 0–2 1–0 Stranraer 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–3 1–1 3–0 Updated to match(es) played on 6 May 2017. Source: Scottish League 1 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	Andy Ryan	Airdrieonians	23
2	Liam Buchanan	Livingston	22
3	Iain Russell	Airdrieonians	18
4	Greig Spence	Alloa Athletic	16
	Rory McAllister	Peterhead
6	Jordan Kirkpatrick	Alloa Athletic	14
	Danny Mullen	Livingston
8	Andy Jackson	Brechin City	13
	Craig Malcolm	Stranraer

Source:^[1][2][23]

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Iain Russell	Airdrieonians	Queen's Park	4–1	22 October 2016	[24]
Ross Caldwell	Brechin City	Peterhead	3–1	5 November 2016	[25]
Andy Ryan	Airdrieonians	East Fife	4–0	29 April 2017	[26]

Discipline

Player

Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 Dougie Hill Brechin City 13 Ryan McGeever Queen's Park 3 Rory McAllister Peterhead 12 Jamie McCormack Stenhousemuir 5 Ryan Wallace Albion Rovers 10 6 Iain Russell Airdrieonians 9 Steven Hetherington Alloa Athletic Scott Ross Peterhead David Marsh Stenhousemuir Steven Bell Stranraer Source:[27][23]

Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Player Club Cards 1 Jim Goodwin Alloa Athletic 2 David Marsh Stenhousemuir 3 36 players 1 Source:[27][23]

Club

Yellow cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017 Rank Club Cards 1 Queen's Park 76 2 Airdrieonians 71 3 Peterhead 70 Source:[28]

Red cards As of matches played on 6 May 2017[28] Rank Club Cards 1 Airdrieonians 7 East Fife 3 Stenhousemuir 6 Source:[28]

Attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Airdrieonians	14,945	1,633	482	830	−3.6%†
2	Albion Rovers	8,092	1,199	228	449	−19.0%†
3	Alloa Athletic	9,561	712	307	531	−52.6%†
4	Brechin City	7,715	553	283	428	−20.7%†
5	East Fife	11,273	918	412	626	+0.2%†
6	Livingston	14,344	1,099	531	796	−53.9%†
7	Peterhead	9,081	681	365	504	−20.8%†
8	Queen's Park	11,605	957	481	644	+24.3%†
9	Stenhousemuir	7,715	604	331	428	−24.4%†
10	Stranraer	7,369	523	317	409	−19.2%†
	League total	101,700	1,633	228	565	−42.1%†

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	Jack Ross	Alloa Athletic	Jordan Kirkpatrick	Alloa Athletic	[29]
September	Gary Naysmith	East Fife	Jamie Insall	East Fife
October	David Hopkin	Livingston	Liam Buchanan	Livingston
November	Mark Wilson	Airdrieonians	Rohan Ferguson	Airdrieonians
December	Bary Smith	East Fife	Jonathan Page	East Fife
January	Jim McInally	Peterhead	Michael Dunlop	Albion Rovers
February	Jim Goodwin	Alloa Athletic	Willie Gibson	Stranraer
March	David Hopkin	Livingston	Andy Jackson	Brechin City
April	David Hopkin	Livingston	Liam Buchanan	Livingston

League One play-offs

Peterhead the second bottom team, entered into a 4-team playoff with the 2nd-4th placed teams in 2016–17 Scottish League Two; Annan Athletic, Forfar Athletic and Montrose.

Semi-finals

First leg

Montrose v Peterhead

10 May 2017[30]	Montrose	1 – 1	Peterhead	Montrose
19:45	Templeman 14'	BBC Sport report	Strachan 10'	Stadium: Links Park Attendance: 1,251 Referee: Mat Northcroft

Annan Athletic v Forfar Athletic

10 May 2017[30]	Annan Athletic	2 – 2	Forfar Athletic	Annan
19:45	Weatherson 4' Smith 16'	BBC Sport report	Travis 81' Fotheringham 82'	Stadium: Galabank Attendance: 629 Referee: Crawford Allan

Second leg

Peterhead v Montrose

13 May 2017[30]	Peterhead	3 – 0 (4 – 1 agg.)	Montrose	Peterhead
15:00	McAllister 34', 51' (pen.) Brown 90+2'	BBC Sport report	Smith  69'	Stadium: Balmoor Stadium Attendance: 1,096 Referee: Steven Kirkland

Forfar Athletic v Annan Athletic

13 May 2017[30]	Forfar Athletic	4 – 2 (6 – 4 agg.)	Annan Athletic	Forfar
15:00	Swankie 12', 37' Denholnm 32' Bain 73'	BBC Sport report	Smith 50' (pen.) Ramsay 67'	Stadium: Station Park Referee: John McKendrick

Final

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

First leg

Forfar Athletic v Peterhead

17 May 2017[30]	Forfar Athletic	2 – 1	Peterhead	Forfar
19:45	Fotheringham 54' Travis 74'	BBC Sport report	McAllister 3' McMullin  51'	Stadium: Station Park Attendance: 958 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Second leg

Peterhead v Forfar Athletic

20 May 2017[30]	Peterhead	1 – 5 (2 – 7 agg.)	Forfar Athletic	Peterhead
15:00	Brown 78'	BBC Sport report	Milne 5' Cox 17' Denholm 51' Malone 68' Peters 83'	Stadium: Balmoor Stadium Attendance: 1,084 Referee: Gavin Duncan