2017–18 Lowland Football League

The 2017–18 Scottish Lowland Football League (known as the Ferrari Packaging Lowland League for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Lowland Football League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football pyramid system. The season began on 28 July 2017 and ended on 8 May 2018. East Kilbride were the defending champions.

Lowland League
Season2017–18
Dates28 July 2017 – 8 May 2018
ChampionsSpartans
RelegatedHawick Royal Albert
Matches played240
Goals scored813 (3.39 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Rodgers & Paul Sludden (18 goals)
East Stirlingshire
Biggest home winSpartans 7–0 Hawick Royal Albert
(29 July 2017)
Cumbernauld Colts 7–0 Hawick Royal Albert
(9 December 2017)
Biggest away winHawick Royal Albert 0–10 Selkirk
(2 August 2017)
Highest scoringHawick Royal Albert 0–10 Selkirk
(2 August 2017)
Longest winning run10 matches:
East Kilbride
Longest unbeaten run19 matches:
East Stirlingshire
Longest winless run18 matches:
Hawick Royal Albert
Longest losing run15 matches:
Hawick Royal Albert
All statistics correct as of 9 May 2018.

Edusport Academy became the first club to gain promotion from the South of Scotland League, replacing Preston Athletic who were relegated to the East of Scotland League.

Spartans won the league on 14 April 2018, after a goalless draw with East Stirlingshire at Ainslie Park in their final match. They faced the winners of the 2017–18 Highland Football League (Cove Rangers) in the semi-finals of the League Two Play-offs, losing 5-2 on aggregate.

Teams
Location of teams in 2017–18 Scottish Lowland Football League

The following teams have changed division since the 2016–17 season.

To Lowland League

Promoted from South of Scotland League

From Lowland League

Relegated to East of Scotland League

Stadia and Locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Seats Floodlit
BSC Glasgow Alloa Recreation Park[1] 3,100 919 Yes
Civil Service Strollers Edinburgh Christie Gillies Park 1,569 100 No
Cumbernauld Colts Cumbernauld Broadwood Stadium 7,936 7,936 Yes
Dalbeattie Star Dalbeattie Islecroft Stadium 4,000 250 Yes
East Kilbride East Kilbride K Park 660 400 Yes
East Stirlingshire Stenhousemuir Ochilview Park[2] 3,746 626 Yes
Edinburgh University Edinburgh New Peffermill Stadium 1,100 100 Yes
Edusport Academy Annan Galabank 2,504 500 Yes
Gala Fairydean Rovers Galashiels 3G Arena, Netherdale 5,500 495 Yes
Gretna 2008 Gretna Raydale Park 3,000 1,318 Yes
Hawick Royal Albert Hawick Albert Park 1,000 500 Yes
Selkirk Selkirk Yarrow Park 1,000 100 No
Spartans Edinburgh Ainslie Park 3,000 504 Yes
Stirling University Falkirk Falkirk Stadium 7,937 7,937 Yes
Vale of Leithen Innerleithen Victoria Park 1,500 0 No
Whitehill Welfare Rosewell Ferguson Park 4,000 150 No

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Spartans (C) 30 23 4 3 64 17 +47 73 Qualification for the League Two play-off semi-finals
2 East Kilbride 30 22 5 3 76 23 +53 71
3 BSC Glasgow 30 20 5 5 71 27 +44 65
4 East Stirlingshire 30 19 7 4 67 31 +36 64
5 Selkirk 30 15 3 12 63 50 +13 48
6 Cumbernauld Colts 30 11 8 11 53 54 −1 41
7 Civil Service Strollers 30 11 7 12 47 44 +3 40
8 Gretna 2008 30 12 4 14 50 56 −6 40
9 Stirling University 30 11 5 14 45 49 −4 38
10 Edusport Academy 30 9 7 14 46 49 −3 34
11 Edinburgh University 30 9 7 14 40 45 −5 34
12 Whitehill Welfare 30 11 1 18 50 66 −16 34
13 Gala Fairydean Rovers 30 8 7 15 43 63 −20 31
14 Dalbeattie Star 30 7 8 15 46 65 −19 29
15 Vale of Leithen 30 8 5 17 44 76 −32 29
16 Hawick Royal Albert (R) 30 1 3 26 18 108 −90 6 Relegation to the East of Scotland League
Source: SLFL Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.

Results
Home \ Away BSC CSS CUM DBS EKB EST EDU EDA GFR G08 HRA SEL SPA SLU VOL WHW
BSC Glasgow 2–1 1–4 4–0 0–1 0–1 4–1 1–0 4–1 1–3 5–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–0 4–0
Civil Service Strollers 4–2 1–1 4–1 0–3 1–3 3–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–3 1–2 2–4 4–0 0–2
Cumbernauld Colts 2–2 1–1 2–0 0–4 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–2 5–2 7–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 6–1 2–1
Dalbeattie Star 2–4 2–3 1–1 0–2 3–3 2–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 4–1 0–4 1–2 2–4 1–0
East Kilbride 1–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–5 0–1 2–1 3–0 4–0 6–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 6–0 4–1
East Stirlingshire 0–3 2–2 3–0 4–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 4–2 2–2 4–2 2–1 3–1
Edinburgh University 0–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 5–3 1–0 5–1 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 1–1 2–1
Edusport Academy 0–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 3–3 1–3 2–2 4–4 1–5 4–0 0–2 1–2 0–0 3–1 2–0
Gala Fairydean Rovers 0–4 0–0 4–3 2–2 1–2 0–1 2–3 2–1 5–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–5
Gretna 2008 2–2 0–2 1–1 3–2 1–4 1–4 1–0 0–3 1–2 1–0 1–3 0–3 0–1 3–0 4–1
Hawick Royal Albert 0–9 0–5 0–1 3–3 2–3 1–4 2–2 2–3 0–2 1–2 0–10 0–2 1–4 1–4 1–4
Selkirk 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–4 0–3 4–3 0–3 4–0 0–2 5–0 0–2 4–3 1–1 5–1
Spartans 2–1 1–0 5–0 3–2 0–2 0–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 7–0 2–1 1–0 5–0 2–0
Stirling University 1–2 3–1 2–0 2–4 2–0 3–1 2–0 0–0 1–3 0–4 1–2 0–2 1–3 2–1 1–1
Vale of Leithen 0–4 2–0 4–4 2–3 0–4 0–2 1–0 1–1 5–1 2–2 2–0 1–3 0–5 3–2 3–4
Whitehill Welfare 1–2 1–2 4–0 3–0 0–3 0–4 1–2 3–1 4–2 1–6 3–1 1–2 1–2 3–2 2–1
Source: SLFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Lowland League play-off

A play-off took place between the winners of the 2017–18 East of Scotland Football League (Kelty Hearts) and the 2017–18 South of Scotland Football League (Threave Rovers) as both clubs met the required criteria for promotion. Kelty Hearts won 10–0 on aggregate to secure a place in the 2018–19 Lowland Football League.

First leg
5 May 2018 Threave Rovers 0–4 Kelty Hearts Castle Douglas
14:30 Stadium: Meadow Park
Referee: Lloyd Wilson

Second leg
12 May 2018 Kelty Hearts 6–0
(10–0 agg.)		 Threave Rovers Kelty
14:30 Stadium: New Central Park
Referee: Chris Fordyce

References
  1. BSC Glasgow spent the season ground-sharing at Alloa Athletic's Recreation Park due to the lack of a suitable venue in Glasgow.
  2. East Stirlingshire have played their homes matches at Stenhousemuir's Ochilview Park since the closure of their former Firs Park ground in 2008.
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