2020–21 Scottish Championship

The 2020–21 Scottish Championship is the eighth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football.

Scottish Championship
Season2020–21
Dates16 October 2020 – 30 April 2021
Matches played67
Goals scored210 (3.13 per match)
Top goalscorerLiam Boyce (9 goals)[1]
2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 5 February 2021.

Ten teams contest the league: Alloa Athletic, Arbroath, Ayr United, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Heart of Midlothian, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers.

In June 2020, eight of the ten clubs voted in favour of shortening the season from the usual 36 games to 27 (playing each other three times), with the season starting on 16 October 2020.[2] This was done to reduce costs in light of the coronavirus pandemic.[2]

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2019–20 season.[3]

To Championship

Promoted from League One

Relegated from the Premiership

From Championship

Relegated to League One

Promoted to the Premiership

Stadia and locations
Alloa Athletic Arbroath Ayr United Dundee
Recreation Park Gayfield Park Somerset Park Dens Park
Capacity: 3,100[4] Capacity: 6,600[5] Capacity: 10,185[6] Capacity: 11,506[7]
Dunfermline Athletic
Location of teams in 2020–21 Scottish Championship
 Greenock Morton
East End Park Cappielow
Capacity: 11,480[8] Capacity: 11,589[9]
Heart of Midlothian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Queen of the South Raith Rovers
Tynecastle Park Caledonian Stadium Palmerston Park Stark's Park
Capacity: 19,852[10] Capacity: 7,750[11] Capacity: 8,690[12] Capacity: 8,867[13]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Alloa Athletic Peter Grant Andy Graham[14] Pendle Northern Gas and Power
Arbroath Dick Campbell Mark Whatley[15] Pendle[16] Megatech[16]
Ayr United Mark Kerr Jack Baird Hummel[17] Bitcoin BCH[18]
Dundee James McPake Charlie Adam Macron[19] Crown Engineering Services[20]
Dunfermline Athletic Stevie Crawford Euan Murray[21] Joma[22] SRJ Windows[22]
Greenock Morton Anton McElhone (interim) Sean McGinty est 1874 Millions[23]
Heart of Midlothian Robbie Neilson Steven Naismith Umbro Save the Children
Inverness CT John Robertson Sean Welsh Puma[24] ILI Group[24]
Queen of the South Allan Johnston Stephen Dobbie[25] Macron[26] BB Body Repairers
Raith Rovers John McGlynn Kyle Benedictus Joma[27] valmcdermid.com[27](Home)
TAG (Away)

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Heart of Midlothian Daniel Stendel End of contract 21 June 2020[28] Pre-season Robbie Neilson 21 June 2020[29]
Greenock Morton David Hopkin Resigned 10 December 2020[30] 7th Anton McElhone (interim) 10 December 2020[30]

League summary

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Heart of Midlothian 15 12 0 3 41 17 +24 36 Promotion to the Premiership
2 Dunfermline Athletic 14 6 6 2 24 15 +9 24 Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3 Raith Rovers 13 6 3 4 28 22 +6 21 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Dundee 13 5 5 3 24 24 0 20
5 Ayr United 14 4 5 5 20 18 +2 17
6 Greenock Morton 14 4 5 5 13 18 −5 17
7 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 11 3 5 3 18 15 +3 14
8 Queen of the South 13 4 2 7 19 30 −11 14
9 Arbroath 14 2 5 7 10 19 −9 11 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
10 Alloa Athletic 13 2 2 9 13 32 −19 8 Relegation to League One
Updated to match(es) played on 5 February 2021. Source: SPFL
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).[31]

Results

Teams play each other three times, twice in the first two thirds of the season (home and away) and once in the last third of the season, making a total of 135 games, with each team playing 27.

First two thirds of season (Matches 1–18)
Home \ Away ALL ARB AYR DUN DNF GMO HOM INV QOS RAI
Alloa Athletic — 13 Feb 0–2 3–3 1–4 1–1 1–3 2–1 6 Feb 2–5
Arbroath 0–1 — 2–1 1–1 6 Feb 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 20 Feb
Ayr United 4–1 27 Feb — 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 20 Feb 2–1 0–0
Dundee 3–1 1–0 9 Feb — 3–3 1–0 3–1 TBC 20 Feb 1–1
Dunfermline Athletic 20 Feb 1–0 0–0 13 Feb — 1–2 2–1 3–1 3–2 4–1
Greenock Morton 1–0 0–1 3–2 27 Feb 0–0 — 0–2 2–2 2–0 6 Feb
Heart of Midlothian 3–0 3–1 5–3 6–2 1–0 20 Feb — 2–1 6–1 2–3
Inverness CT 10 Feb 3–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 13 Feb 26 Feb — 17 Feb 2–0
Queen of the South 2–0 2–2 3–2 1–3 27 Feb 2–1 12 Feb 0–3 — 2–5
Raith Rovers 27 Feb 3–0 13 Feb 3–1 2–2 5–0 0–4 TBC 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 5 February 2021. Source: SPFL
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.

Last third of season (Matches 19–27)
Home \ Away ALL ARB AYR DUN DNF GMO HOM INV QOS RAI
Alloa Athletic — — 27 Mar 20 Mar 30 Apr — — 6 Mar — 17 Apr
Arbroath 3 Apr — 17 Apr — — 30 Apr 20 Mar — 6 Mar —
Ayr United — — — 3 Apr 10 Apr — — — 24 Apr 20 Mar
Dundee — 13 Mar — — 27 Mar 10 Apr — — — 24 Apr
Dunfermline Athletic — 24 Apr — — — 13 Mar 3 Apr 20 Mar 17 Apr —
Greenock Morton 24 Apr — 6 Mar — — — 17 Apr 3 Apr 20 Mar —
Heart of Midlothian 10 Apr — 13 Mar 6 Mar — — — 24 Apr 27 Mar —
Inverness CT — 27 Mar 30 Apr 17 Apr — — — — — 13 Mar
Queen of the South 13 Mar — — 30 Apr — — — 10 Apr — 3 Apr
Raith Rovers — 10 Apr — — 5 Mar 27 Mar 30 Apr — — —
First match(es) will be played on 5 March 2021. Source: SPFL
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

Top scorers
As of 5 February 2021
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Liam Boyce Hearts 9
2 Osman Sow Dundee 7
Declan McManus Dunfermline Athletic
4 Connor Shields Queen of the South 6
5 Luke McCowan Ayr United 5
Charlie Adam Dundee
Steven Naismith Hearts
Manny Duku Raith Rovers

Source:[1]

Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Scottish Professional Football League hat-tricks § Scottish Championship
Player For Against Score Date
Kevin O'Hara Dunfermline Athletic Alloa Athletic 4–1 (A) 24 October 2020
Osman Sow Dundee Queen of the South 3–1 (A) 26 December 2020
Steven Naismith Hearts Arbroath 3–1 (H) 29 December 2020

Attendances

Games are mostly being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited attendance is allowed at some grounds with strict conditions under the Scottish Government Tier system, dependent on the club's geographical location.

Awards
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
October Stevie Crawford Dunfermline Athletic Euan Murray Dunfermline Athletic
November Stevie Crawford Dunfermline Athletic Kyle Turner Dunfermline Athletic
December Robbie Neilson Heart of Midlothian Charlie Adam Dundee
January
February
March
April

References
  1. "Scottish Championship Top Scorers". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. Idessane, Kheredine (14 June 2020). "Scottish Championship clubs vote for 27-game season starting in October". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. "Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles and reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote". BBC Sport. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. "Alloa Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. "Arbroath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. "Ayr United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. "Dundee Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. "Dunfermline Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. "Greenock Morton Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. "Heart of Midlothian Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  11. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. "Queen of the South Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. "Raith Rovers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. Hall, Jamie (27 June 2017). "Goodwin's delight in landing midfielder Thomas Grant". Alloa Advertiser. Newsquest. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  15. Johnstone, Darren (30 January 2016). "Arbroath captain Mark Whatley insists play-offs firmly in Red Litchties' sights". Deadline News. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  16. "New strips – sneak peak!". Arbroath FC. 24 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  17. "Hummel partner club in record deal". Ayr United FC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  18. "New sponsor announced". Ayr United F.C. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  19. "Dee sign with Macron". dundeefc.co.uk. 14 January 2019.
  20. "Crown Engineering Services become main club sponsor". dundeefc.co.uk. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  21. "Captain and vice-captain appointed". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  22. "Away kit launched". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  23. Mitchell, Jonathan (7 April 2017). "Order the new tartan away kit today". Greenock Morton F.C. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  24. "New partners and new kit for season 2020-21". Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  25. "Report - Stranrer 14.7.18". Queen of the South F.C. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  26. "Introducing ... 2017/18 kit". Queen of the South F.C. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  27. "introducing our 2020-21 home kit". Raith Rovers FC. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  28. "Robbie Neilson: Hearts name Dundee Utd boss to replace Daniel Stendel". BBC. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  29. "Robbie Neilson: Hearts name Dundee Utd boss to replace Daniel Stendel". BBC. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  30. "Greenock Morton: David Hopkin quits in 'selfless act' to save money". BBC. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  31. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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