# 2021–22 Scottish League Two

The 2021–22 Scottish League Two (known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of Scottish football. The season began on 31 July.
Ten teams contested the league: Albion Rovers, Annan Athletic, Cowdenbeath, Edinburgh City, Elgin City, Forfar Athletic, Kelty Hearts, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Stranraer.

## Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2020–21 season.

### Stadia and locations

| Albion Rovers | Annan Athletic | Cowdenbeath | Edinburgh City |
| Cliftonhill | Galabank | Central Park | Ainslie Park |
| Capacity: 1,238 | Capacity: 2,504 | Capacity: 4,309 | Capacity: 3,534 |
| Elgin City | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Forfar Athletic |
| Borough Briggs | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Station Park |
| Capacity: 4,520 | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Albion RoversAnnan AthleticCowdenbeathEdinburgh CityElgin CityForfar AthleticKelty HeartsStenhousemuirStirlingStranraerclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish League Two | Capacity: 6,777 |
| Kelty Hearts | Stenhousemuir | Stirling Albion | Stranraer |
| New Central Park | Ochilview Park | Forthbank Stadium | Stair Park |
| Capacity: 2,181 | Capacity: 3,746 | Capacity: 3,808 | Capacity: 4,178 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Albion Rovers | Brian Reid | Aron Lynas | Joma | CompliancePath |
| Annan Athletic | Peter Murphy | Steven Swinglehurst | EV2 Sportswear | M & S Engineering |
| Cowdenbeath | Maurice Ross | Craig Barr | Erreà | Collier Haulage, Quarrying and Recycling |
| Edinburgh City | Alan Maybury (interim) | Robbie McIntyre | Macron | Forth Capital |
| Elgin City | Gavin Price | Euan Spark | Joma | McDonald & Munro |
| Forfar Athletic | Gary Irvine | Ross Meechan | Pendle | Orchard Timber Products |
| Kelty Hearts | Kevin Thomson | Michael Tidser | Joma | The Conservatory Converters |
| Stenhousemuir | Stephen Swift | Sean Crighton | Puma | LOC Hire |
| Stirling Albion | Darren Young | Ross McGeachie | Macron | Prudential |
| Stranraer | Jamie Hamill | Grant Gallagher | Joma | Stena Line |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Kelty Hearts | Barry Ferguson | Resigned | 24 May 2021 | Pre-season | Kevin Thomson | 28 May 2021 |
| Stranraer | Stephen Farrell | Signed by Dumbarton | 29 May 2021 | Pre-season | Jamie Hamill | 4 June 2021 |
| Cowdenbeath | Gary Bollan | Mutual consent | 23 October 2021 | 10th | Maurice Ross | 2 November 2021 |
| Stirling Albion | Kevin Rutkiewicz | Resigned | 9 December 2021 | 4th | Darren Young | 20 December 2021 |
| Edinburgh City | Gary Naysmith | Sacked | 17 March 2022 | 4th | Alan Maybury (interim) | 24 March 2022 |

## League summary
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kelty Hearts (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 68 | 28 | +40 | 81 | Promotion to League One |
| 2 | Forfar Athletic | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 60 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 3 | Annan Athletic | 36 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 59 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 4 | Edinburgh City (O, P) | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 49 | −6 | 52 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 5 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 49 | |
| 6 | Stranraer | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 47 | |
| 7 | Stirling Albion | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 42 | |
| 8 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 39 | |
| 9 | Elgin City | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 37 | |
| 10 | Cowdenbeath (R) | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 28 | 49 | −21 | 29 | Qualification for the League Two play-off final |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

    As of 30 April 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Nathan Austin | Kelty Hearts | 17 |
| 2 | Tony Wallace | Annan Athletic | 13 |
| 2 | Kane Hester | Elgin City | 13 |
| 2 | Thomas Orr | Stenhousemuir | 13 |
| 5 | Tommy Goss | Annan Athletic | 12 |
| 5 | Joe Cardle | Kelty Hearts | 12 |

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Kevin Thomson | Kelty Hearts | Joe Cardle | Kelty Hearts |
| September | Kevin Rutkiewicz | Stirling Albion | Nathan Austin | Kelty Hearts |
| October | Gary Irvine | Forfar Athletic | Craig Thomson | Forfar Athletic |
| November | Kevin Thomson | Kelty Hearts | John Robertson | Edinburgh City |
| December | Peter Murphy | Annan Athletic | Dominic Docherty | Annan Athletic |
| January | Gavin Price | Elgin City | Tam Orr | Stenhousemuir |
| February | Stephen Swift | Stenhousemuir | Nicky Jamieson | Stenhousemuir |
| March | Kevin Thomson | Kelty Hearts | Tommy Goss | Annan Athletic |
| April | Gary Irvine | Forfar Athletic | Kallum Higginbotham | Kelty Hearts |

## League Two play-offs

The Pyramid play-off was contested between the champions of the 2021–22 Highland Football League (Fraserburgh) and the 2021–22 Lowland Football League (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic). The winners (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic) then faced the bottom club in League Two (Cowdenbeath) in the play-off final. As Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic won the final, they were promoted to League Two for the 2022–23 season and Cowdenbeath were relegated to the Lowland League.