The Premiership title pendulum swung in the favour of Heart of Midlothian last night, as we move into the final three match weeks in the top tier. For the next three divisions, although the regular season has now finished, some of the most exciting stories of the season are still to be written.
The first leg of the playoffs to secure status in the Premiership, Championship and League One start tonight, while the League Two playoff between Edinburgh City and the Highland League winners, Brora Rangers, plays its first leg on Saturday.
This brief article will discuss each of the fixtures in turn, before looking at how teams have fared in the playoffs since their introduction in 20xx, and how the gate money is shared - as this differs between divisions.
The minimum prize money for each team in the SPFL outside the Premiership can be viewed in yesterday’s prize money article:
PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS
1st leg: Dunfermline Vs Arbroath (East End Park, Tuesday 19:45)
2nd leg: Arbroath Vs Dunfermline (Gayfield Park, Friday 19:30)
Both legs are live on BBC Scotland.
Arbroath finished 3rd in the Championship, one point above 4th-placed Dunfermline. Their league head-to-head was certainly exciting; Arbroath lost 5-0 at home in September, only to win the next two - 2-1 at East End Park in December and 4-2 at Gayfield in February. On Friday night the teams played out a much less eventful 0-0 draw at East End Park in the final match of the season.
Regular season: Arbroath 2 wins, Dunfermline 1 win and 1 draw
Partick Thistle who finished 2nd in the Championship, await the winners in the two legged Semi-Finals (Tues 12th at the winners place & Fri 15th May at Firhill).
The two legged final will then be played against the Premiership’s 11th-placed side, which is currently St. Mirren - however they are only 1 point behind Kilmarnock. Both legs of the final are live on Sky Sports.
Two dates for the final have been published
1.) If it involves Dunfermline: Tuesday May 26th and Friday May 29th, as Dunfermline have the Scottish Cup Final Vs Celtic on Saturday 23rd.2.) If Dunfermline don’t reach the final: Thursday 21st and Monday 25th May
I’ve teamed up with ‘Boot & Ball’ to promote their Scotland national team playing cards.
It is genuinely a fantastic product, with cards featuring King Kenny Dalglish, Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and more.
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFFS
1st leg: Alloa Athletic Vs Airdrieonians (Recreation Park, Tuesday 19:45)
2nd leg: Airdrieonians Vs Alloa Athletic (Excelsior Stadium, Saturday 15:00)
Both legs are live on Premier Sports PPV at £9.99 per match.
The format for the lower league playoffs differ from the Premiership playoffs in that there is no Quarter-Finals, and the team second bottom in the Championship enters at the Semi-Final stage rather than the Final. Airdrieonians finished 9th in the Championship after failing to beat Morton on Friday; while Alloa were 4th in League One. There were therefore no regular-season league meetings because they were in different divisions.
However they met in the KDM Evolution Trophy (Challenge Cup) in December, with the score Alloa Athletic 2-3 Airdrieonians. This was a reverse of the score when the teams met in the Premier Sports Cup in July, when Airdrieonians lost 2-3 to Alloa Athletic.
1st leg: Queen of the South Vs Stenhousemuir (Palmerston, Tues 19:45)
2nd leg: Stenhousemuir Vs Queen of the South (Ochilview, Sat 15:00)
Both legs are live on Premier Sports PPV at £9.99 per match.
Stenhousemuir finished 2nd in League One, Queen of the South 3rd. Stenhousemuir were unbeaten in the four league meetings: two 1-1 draws at Palmerston, a 0-0 at Ochilview and a 2-0 home win in January.
The winners of these two ties meet in the two-legged final, with the lowest-ranked team at home in 1st leg on Wednesday 13th May at 19:45, before the return leg at the highest-ranked team on Saturday 16th May at 17:30.
Both legs of the final are live on BBC Alba.
Regular season: Stenhousemuir 1 wins & 3 draws
LEAGUE ONE PLAY-OFFS
1st leg: Forfar Vs Hamilton (Station Park, Tuesday 19:45)
2nd leg: Hamilton Vs Forfar (Broadwood Stadium, Saturday 15:00)
Both legs are live on Premier Sports PPV at £9.99 per match.
The League One Play-Offs have the same format as the Championship play-offs and so the team second bottom in League One enters here. That was Hamilton, however they suffered a 21 point deduction. Without the points deduction they were the 3rd best team in the division, which is slightly harsh for the League One sides looking to gain promotion - playing one of the strongest sides in the division. Forfar finished 4th in League Two, and so again there was no league meetings this season.
The most recent meeting between the two was in the League Cup group stage in July 2022, when the score was Forfar Athletic 0-3 Hamilton Academical. Their last league meeting was Forfar Athletic 0-4 Hamilton Academical in the third tier in May 2004.
1st leg: Clyde Vs The Spartans (New Douglas Park, Tuesday 19:45)
2nd leg: The Spartans Vs Clyde (Ainslie Park, Saturday 15:00)
Both legs are live on Premier Sports PPV at £9.99 per match.
The Spartans finished 2nd in League Two; Clyde finished 3rd. Spartans had the better regular season record, after winning 3-1 away and 2-1 at home. Clyde won once at home, 2-1, and there was a 1-1 draw at Spartans.
Regular season: The Spartans 2 wins, Clyde 1 win and 1 draw
The winners will meet in the two legged final on Tuesday 12th and Friday 15th May, with both legs legs live on BBC ALBA, with kick offs at 19:45.
LEAGUE TWO PYRAMID PLAY-OFF
1st leg: Brora Rangers Vs Edinburgh City (Dudgeon Park, Sat 9th 15:00)
2nd leg: Edinburgh City Vs Brora Rangers (Meadowbank Sat 16th 15:00)
Both legs are live on Premier Sports PPV at £9.99 per match
Edinburgh City finished 10th in League Two, after a 15 point deduction. Without the points deduction they’d have finished eighth on 39 points, well clear of the playoff spot. Brora Rangers won the Highland League and received a bye to the final after Lowland League champions Linlithgow Rose were ruled ineligible on licensing grounds. There were again therefore no regular-season meetings.
The most recent meetings between the two were in the 2015 pyramid play-off semi-final. First leg: Edinburgh City 1-1 Brora Rangers, and
second leg: Brora Rangers 1-1 Edinburgh City. With the tie level 2-2 on aggregate, Brora advanced 4-2 on penalties, with current Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell scoring the winning kick for Brora.
GATE RECEIPTS
The SPFL rules split the money differently depending on the competition.
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