# 1978–79 in Scottish football

The 1978–79 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 82nd season of Scottish league football.

## Scottish Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Rangers | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 45 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Dundee United | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 36 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 59 | 36 | +23 | 40 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Hibernian | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 37 | |
| 6 | St Mirren | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 36 | |
| 7 | Morton | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 36 | |
| 8 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 34 | |
| 9 | Heart of Midlothian (R) | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 39 | 71 | −32 | 23 | Relegation to the 1979–80 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | Motherwell (R) | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 33 | 86 | −53 | 17 | Relegation to the 1979–80 Scottish First Division |
Champions: Celtic
Relegated: Hearts, Motherwell

## Scottish League First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Dundee (C, P) | 39 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 69 | 36 | +33 | 55 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Kilmarnock (P) | 39 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 72 | 36 | +36 | 54 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Clydebank | 39 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 78 | 50 | +28 | 54 | |
| 4 | Ayr United | 39 | 21 | 5 | 13 | 73 | 54 | +19 | 47 | |
| 5 | Hamilton Academical | 39 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 63 | 61 | +2 | 43 | |
| 6 | Airdrieonians | 39 | 16 | 8 | 15 | 72 | 61 | +11 | 40 | |
| 7 | Dumbarton | 39 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 39 | |
| 8 | Stirling Albion | 39 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 35 | |
| 9 | Clyde | 39 | 13 | 8 | 18 | 54 | 65 | −11 | 34 | |
| 10 | Arbroath | 39 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 61 | −11 | 33 | |
| 11 | Raith Rovers | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 48 | 55 | −7 | 32 | |
| 12 | St Johnstone | 39 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 31 | |
| 13 | Montrose (R) | 39 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 55 | 92 | −37 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 14 | Queen of the South (R) | 39 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 43 | 93 | −50 | 24 | Relegation to the Second Division |
Promoted: Dundee, Kilmarnock Relegated: Montrose, Queen of the South

## Scottish League Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Berwick Rangers (C, P) | 39 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 82 | 44 | +38 | 54 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Dunfermline Athletic (P) | 39 | 19 | 14 | 6 | 66 | 40 | +26 | 52 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Falkirk | 39 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 66 | 37 | +29 | 50 | |
| 4 | East Fife | 39 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 64 | 53 | +11 | 43 | |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 39 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 63 | 58 | +5 | 42 | |
| 6 | Alloa Athletic | 39 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 57 | 62 | −5 | 41 | |
| 7 | Albion Rovers | 39 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 40 | |
| 8 | Forfar Athletic | 39 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 55 | 52 | +3 | 38 | |
| 9 | Stranraer | 39 | 18 | 2 | 19 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 38 | |
| 10 | Stenhousemuir | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 54 | 58 | −4 | 32 | |
| 11 | Brechin City | 39 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 49 | 65 | −16 | 32 | |
| 12 | East Stirlingshire | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 61 | 87 | −26 | 32 | |
| 13 | Queen's Park | 39 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 28 | |
| 14 | Meadowbank Thistle | 39 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 24 | |
Promoted: Berwick Rangers, Dunfermline Athletic

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1978–79 | Rangers | 3 – 2 (2nd rep.) | Hibernian |
| League Cup 1978–79 | Rangers | 2 – 1 | Aberdeen |
| Junior Cup | Cumnock Juniors | 1 – 0 | Bo'ness United |

## Other honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – North | Brora Rangers | 5 – 0 † | Peterhead |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – South | Spartans | 2 – 0 * | Coldstream |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Peterhead | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Kilmarnock | 4 – 0 | Girvan |
| Fife Cup | East Fife | 2 – 2 * ‡ | Raith Rovers |
| Forfarshire Cup | Forfar Athletic | 3 – 1 | Dundee |
| Glasgow Cup | Rangers | 3 – 1 | Celtic |
| Renfrewshire Cup | St Mirren | 10 – 1 * | Morton |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Clydebank | 1 – 0 | Dumbarton |
$^*$ – aggregate over two legs † – replay ‡ – won on penalties

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Keith | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 67 | 25 | +42 | 48 |
| 2 | Inverness Caledonian | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 67 | 25 | +42 | 45 |
| 3 | Peterhead | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 32 | +30 | 43 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Andy Ritchie | Morton |
| Players' Player of the Year | Paul Hegarty | Dundee United |
| Young Player of the Year | Ray Stewart | Dundee United |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 20 September 1978 | Praterstadion, Vienna (A) | Austria | 2–3 | ECQG2 | Gordon McQueen, Andy Gray |
| 25 October 1978 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Norway | 3–2 | ECQG2 | Kenny Dalglish (2), Archie Gemmill |
| 29 November 1978 | Estadio da Luz, Lisbon (A) | Portugal | 0–1 | ECQG2 | |
| 19 May 1979 | Ninian Park, Cardiff (A) | Wales | 0–3 | BHC | |
| 22 May 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 1–0 | BHC | Arthur Graham |
| 26 May 1979 | Wembley Stadium, London (A) | England | 1–3 | BHC | John Wark |
| 2 June 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Argentina | 1–3 | Friendly | Arthur Graham |
| 7 June 1979 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo (A) | Norway | 4–0 | ECQG2 | Kenny Dalglish, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, John Robertson |
1979 British Home Championship – Third Place
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* ECQG2 = European Championship qualifying – Group 2
* BHC = British Home Championship