The 2021–22 Scottish Championship (known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Scottish Championship and the 114th of second tier football in Scotland. The league was contested by 10 teams – Arbroath, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers – and began with the first matches on 31 July 2021. The season concluded with the second leg of the play-off final on 15 May 2022.
Kilmarnock, competing in the Championship for the first time and the second tier for the first time since 1992–93, earned promotion back to the Scottish Premiership at the first time of asking after claiming the league title following a 2–1 comeback win against nearest challengers Arbroath in their penultimate match. It was their first second-tier title since 1898–99. Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Partick Thistle and Arbroath in the Premiership play-offs but lost 6–2 on aggregate to St Johnstone in the play-off final.
Queen of the South were relegated to Scottish League One following a 1–1 draw against Ayr United in their penultimate match. Dunfermline Athletic were also relegated after losing 1–0 on aggregate to Queen's Park in the Championship play-offs. Queen's Park were subsequently promoted to the Championship after defeating Airdrieonians 3–2 on aggregate in the play-off final.
In total, 432 goals were scored across the 180 matches during the league season and Arbroath's Michael McKenna was the top scorer with 15 goals.
Background The Scottish Championship sits as the second-tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and of the Scottish football pyramid. It was formed in 2013 following the merger of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) and the Scottish Football League (SFL). A second-tier competition had existed in Scotish football since 1893–94, save for a few years when it was suspended during World War I and World War II. This would be the ninth season of the Championship and the 114th season of second-tier competition.
Falkirk and St Johnstone were the most successful teams in second-tier competition, having both won seven previous titles. Of the teams who would contest the Championship in 2021–22, Ayr United, Greenock Morton, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle were the most successful, having each won six previous titles.
Team changes After one season in the Championship, Heart of Midlothian won the previous season's title and earned promotion back to the Scottish Premiership. Hamilton Academical were automatically relegated from the Premiership after a 2–0 defeat on the final day of the season. In the Premiership play-offs, Dundee defeated Kilmarnock 4–2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the Premiership. Kilmarnock were relegated to the Championship as a result, ending a run of 28 years in the top flight.
Similar to Hearts, one season after relegation, Partick Thistle won promotion back to the Championship by winning the Scottish League One title. Alloa Athletic were relegated to League One after finishing bottom of the Championship. In the Championship play-offs, Greenock Morton were earned a repreive from relegation after defeating Airdrieonians 4–0 on aggregate.
Sponsorship At the start of the season, used car dealership cinch entered into a five-year agreement with the SPFL, worth around £1.6 million per season, to become the title sponsor of league's four divisions (the Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two).
Teams Stadia and locations ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermline AthleticGreenock MortonGayfield ParkSomerset ParkEast End ParkCappielowCapacity: 6,600Capacity: 10,185Capacity: 11,480Capacity: 11,589Hamilton AcademicalInverness Caledonian ThistleNew Douglas ParkCaledonian StadiumCapacity: 6,018Capacity: 7,750KilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith RoversRugby ParkFirhill StadiumPalmerston ParkStark's ParkCapacity: 17,889Capacity: 10,102Capacity: 8,690Capacity: 8,867
Personnel and kits +TeamManagerCaptainKit ManufacturerShirt SponsorArbroath MacronMegatechAyr United HummelBitcoin BCHDunfermline Athletic JomaSRJ WindowsGreenock Morton est 1874McGill'sHamilton Academical AdidasCullenInverness Caledonian Thistle PumaILI GroupKilmarnock HummelBrownings The BakersPartick Thistle O'NeillsJust Employment LawQueen of the South MacronRosefield Salvage Raith Rovers Jomavalmcdermid.com(Home)TAG (Away)
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Inverness Caledonian Thistle Neil McCann End of interim spell 1 May 2021Pre-season Billy Dodds 1 June 2021 Dunfermline Athletic Stevie CrawfordResigned 18 May 2021 Peter Grant 28 May 2021 Hamilton Academical Brian Rice 11 August 2021 5th Stuart Taylor 20 August 2021 Ayr United David Hopkin 9 September 2021 9th Jim Duffy 9 September 2021 Dunfermline Athletic Peter GrantSacked 31 October 2021 10th John Hughes 12 November 2021 Greenock Morton Gus MacPherson 4 December 2021 8th Dougie Imrie 21 December 2021 Kilmarnock Tommy Wright 18 December 2021 5th Derek McInnes 4 January 2022 Ayr United Jim Duffy 20 December 2021 8th Lee Bullen 7 January 2022 Queen of the South Allan Johnston 13 February 2022 10th Willie Gibson 13 February 2022
League summary
League table
Positions by round The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, 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 round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it is added to the standings for round 16.
Results
Season statistics Scoring
Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Michael McKenna Arbroath152 Oli Shaw Kilmarnock143 Brian Graham Partick Thistle134 Tomi Adeloye Ayr United115 Shane Sutherland Inverness CT10
Awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubAugust Billy Dodds Inverness CT Michael McKenna ArbroathSeptember Dick CampbellArbroath Joel NoubleArbroathOctober John McGlynn Raith Rovers Oli Shaw KilmarnockNovember Ian McCall Partick Thistle Ethan Ross Raith RoversDecember Dick Campbell Arbroath Anton Dowds ArbroathJanuary Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Gavin Reilly Greenock MortonFebruary Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton Kyle Lafferty KilmarnockMarch Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Kyle Lafferty KilmarnockApril Derek McInnes Kilmarnock Logan Chalmers Inverness CT
Championship play-offs The semi-finals will be contested by the teams placed second to fourth in Scottish League One, as well as the team placed ninth in the Scottish Championship. The winners will advance to the final, with the highest-ranked team hosting the second leg.
Bracket
Semi-finals First leg
Second leg
Final First leg
Second leg
References
External links Official website