2022–23 Scottish League Two

The 2022–23 Scottish League Two (known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of Scottish football.

Scottish League Two

Season	2022–23
Dates	30 July 2022 – 6 May 2023
Champions	Stirling Albion
Promoted	Stirling Albion Annan Athletic (via play-offs)
Relegated	Albion Rovers
Matches played	180
Goals scored	489 (2.72 per match)
Top goalscorer	Tommy Goss 23 goals
Biggest home win	East Fife 8–0 Stranraer (15 April 2023)
Biggest away win	Elgin City 0–4 Dumbarton (12 November 2022) Bonnyrigg Rose 0–4 Albion Rovers (7 January 2023) Stranraer 0–4 Albion Rovers (14 January 2023) Dumbarton 1–5 Albion Rovers (18 March 2023)
Highest scoring	East Fife 8–0 Stranraer (15 April 2023)
Longest winning run	Dumbarton 7 games
Longest unbeaten run	Stirling Albion 19 games
Longest winless run	Stenhousemuir 9 games
Longest losing run	Elgin City 6 games
Highest attendance	2,057 Bonnyrigg Rose 3–0 Elgin City (6 May 2023)
Lowest attendance	219 Albion Rovers 0–2 Forfar Athletic (17 September 2022)
Total attendance	101,794
Average attendance	565
← 2021–22 2023–24 → All statistics correct as of 6 May 2023.

Ten teams contested the league: Albion Rovers, Annan Athletic, Bonnyrigg Rose, Dumbarton, East Fife, Elgin City, Forfar Athletic, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Stranraer.

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2021–22 season.

To League Two Promoted from Lowland Football League Bonnyrigg Rose Relegated from League One East Fife Dumbarton

From League Two Relegated to Lowland Football League Cowdenbeath Promoted to League One Kelty Hearts Edinburgh City

Stadia and locations

Albion Rovers	Annan Athletic	Bonnyrigg Rose	Dumbarton
Cliftonhill	Galabank	New Dundas Park	Dumbarton Football Stadium
Capacity: 1,238[1]	Capacity: 2,504[2]	Capacity: 3,000[3]	Capacity: 2,020[4]
East Fife	Albion Rovers Annan Athletic Bonnyrigg Rose Dumbarton East Fife Elgin City Forfar Athletic Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer Location of teams in 2022–23 Scottish League Two		Elgin City
Bayview Stadium			Borough Briggs
Capacity: 1,980[5]			Capacity: 4,520[6]
Forfar Athletic	Stenhousemuir	Stirling Albion	Stranraer
Station Park	Ochilview Park	Forthbank Stadium	Stair Park
Capacity: 6,777[7]	Capacity: 3,746[8]	Capacity: 3,808[9]	Capacity: 4,178[10]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Albion Rovers	Sandy Clark	Sean Fagan	Joma	CompliancePath
Annan Athletic	Peter Murphy	Steven Swinglehurst	EV2 Sportswear	M & S Engineering
Bonnyrigg Rose	Robbie Horn	Jonathan Stewart	Puma	G. Fitzsimmons and Son (Home) Shepherd Chartered Surveyors (Away)
Dumbarton	Stephen Farrell	Gregor Buchanan	Macron	No Sponsor
East Fife	Greig McDonald	Stewart Murdoch	Joma	TBC (Home) The Taxi Centre Fife (Away)
Elgin City	Charlie Charlesworth, Ross Draper and Stevie Dunn (interim)	Matthew Cooper	Joma	McDonald & Munro
Forfar Athletic	Ray McKinnon	Craig Slater	Pendle	Orchard Timber Products
Stenhousemuir	Gary Naysmith	Sean Crighton	Puma	LOC Hire
Stirling Albion	Darren Young	Ross McGeachie	Joma	Prudential
Stranraer	Scott Agnew	Grant Gallagher	Joma	Stena Line

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
East Fife	Stevie Crawford	Signed by Dundee United	25 September 2022	4th	Greig McDonald	25 October 2022
Forfar Athletic	Gary Irvine	Sacked	9 November 2022	10th	Ray McKinnon	10 November 2022
Stenhousemuir	Stephen Swift	Sacked	7 December 2022	6th	Gary Naysmith	3 January 2023
Albion Rovers	Brian Reid	Sacked	25 March 2023	10th	Sandy Clark	28 March 2023
Elgin City	Gavin Price	Sacked	8 April 2023	10th	Charlie Charlesworth, Ross Draper and Stevie Dunn (interim)	10 April 2023
Stranraer	Jamie Hamill	Sacked	16 April 2023	7th	Scott Agnew	17 April 2023

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Stirling Albion (C, P)	36	21	10	5	67	37	+30	73	Promotion to League One
2	Dumbarton	36	18	8	10	49	39	+10	62	Qualification for the League One play-offs
3	Annan Athletic (O, P)	36	14	9	13	61	51	+10	51
4	East Fife	36	14	8	14	54	50	+4	50
5	Forfar Athletic	36	13	9	14	37	43	−6	48
6	Stenhousemuir	36	12	11	13	51	55	−4	47
7	Stranraer	36	12	9	15	43	57	−14	45
8	Bonnyrigg Rose	36	11	9	16	36	47	−11	42
9	Elgin City	36	11	7	18	44	62	−18	40
10	Albion Rovers (R)	36	11	6	19	47	48	−1	39	Qualification for the League Two play-off final

Source: ^[11]
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).^[12]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Matches 1–18 Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Home \ Away ALB ANN BON DUM EFI ELG FOR STE STI STR Albion Rovers — 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 3–0 0–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 Annan Athletic 5–1 — 4–0 0–1 2–2 1–3 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 Bonnyrigg Rose 0–2 2–0 — 1–1 1–4 2–3 2–0 2–4 1–0 3–2 Dumbarton 1–1 4–0 1–0 — 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–0 East Fife 2–3 1–3 0–3 0–1 — 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–2 1–3 Elgin City 1–0 5–1 2–0 0–4 1–3 — 0–1 2–1 1–2 2–2 Forfar Athletic 1–0 1–4 1–1 0–0 1–3 2–2 — 1–2 1–4 2–0 Stenhousemuir 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–3 2–2 3–3 1–2 — 1–3 3–1 Stirling Albion 1–1 0–2 2–1 6–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 3–0 — 4–1 Stranraer 2–1 1–0 2–2 3–2 2–2 2–3 1–0 3–2 3–1 — Source: [13] 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. Matches 19–36 Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Home \ Away ALB ANN BON DUM EFI ELG FOR STE STI STR Albion Rovers — 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 3–1 2–0 0–1 Annan Athletic 4–0 — 0–0 3–1 3–0 4–1 0–2 2–3 2–2 0–0 Bonnyrigg Rose 0–4 1–2 — 0–2 1–1 3–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 Dumbarton 1–5 2–1 1–0 — 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 East Fife 2–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 — 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 8–0 Elgin City 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 — 2–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 Forfar Athletic 2–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 — 1–1 0–0 2–1 Stenhousemuir 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 — 0–1 2–1 Stirling Albion 3–2 3–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–0 2–1 3–1 — 1–0 Stranraer 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–2 2–0 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 — Source: [13] 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	Tommy Goss	Annan Athletic	23
2	Charlie Reilly	Albion Rovers	22
3	Dale Carrick	Stirling Albion	19
4	Kane Hester	Elgin City	18
5	Matty Yates	Stenhousemuir	14

Awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Stephen Farrell	Dumbarton	Declan Byrne	Dumbarton
September/October	Darren Young	Stirling Albion	Kane Hester	Elgin City
November	Stephen Farrell	Dumbarton	Charlie Reilly	Albion Rovers
December	Stephen Farrell	Dumbarton	Chris Johnston	Annan Athletic
January	Ray McKinnon	Forfar Athletic	Charlie Reilly	Albion Rovers
February	Gary Naysmith	Stenhousemuir	Matty Yates	Stenhousemuir
March	Greig McDonald	East Fife	Tommy Goss	Annan Athletic
April	Darren Young	Stirling Albion	Dale Carrick	Stirling Albion

The SPFL League Two manager of the year was Darren Young of Stirling Albion.

The SPFL League Two player of the year was Dale Carrick of Stirling Albion.

League Two play-offs

The Pyramid play-off was contested between the champions of the 2022–23 Highland Football League and the 2022–23 Lowland Football League. The Spartans secured their place in the play-offs as the Lowland Football League representative on 8 April 2023. Brechin City secured their place in the play-offs as the Highland Football League representative on 22 April 2023. The winners, The Spartans, then faced the bottom club Albion Rovers in the League Two play-off final. The Spartans won 2–1 over two legs, being promoted to League Two for the 2023–24 season as a result, with Albion Rovers relegated to the Lowland League.

Pyramid play-off

First leg

The Spartans v Brechin City

29 April 2023	The Spartans	1–0	Brechin City	Edinburgh
15:00	Henderson 90'	[14]		Stadium: Ainslie Park Attendance: 2,020[15] Referee: Graham Grainger

Second leg

Brechin City v The Spartans

6 May 2023	Brechin City	3–2 (3–3 agg.) (3–4 p)	The Spartans	Brechin
15:00	MacLeod 45' Inglis 61' Biabi 65'	[16]	Whyte 15' Henderson 55'	Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 1,900 Referee: Grant Irvine
	Penalties
	Inglis McGrath Bain Loudon McHattie		Henderson Russell Brown Dishington

Final

First leg

The Spartans v Albion Rovers

13 May 2023	The Spartans	1–1	Albion Rovers	Edinburgh
15:00	Leslie 66' (o.g.)	[17]	Graham 39'	Stadium: Ainslie Park Attendance: 2,120 Referee: Peter Stuart

Second leg

Albion Rovers v The Spartans

20 May 2023	Albion Rovers	0–1 (1–2 agg.)	The Spartans	Coatbridge
15:00		[18]	Henderson 16' (pen.)	Stadium: Cliftonhill Attendance: 1,250 Referee: Matthew McDermid