# 2021–22 Arbroath F.C. season

The 2021–22 season was Arbroath's third consecutive season in the Scottish Championship, following their promotion from Scottish League One in the 2018–19 season. They also competed in the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Cup.

## Season summary

In May 2021, the SPFL confirmed the return of the Scottish Challenge Cup after being scrapped for the 2020–21 season however, teams from Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would not be included to reduce unnecessary travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Competitions
### Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| 26 June 2021 | Montrose | Away | 1–1 |
| 30 June 2021 | Crossgates Primrose | Away | 3–1 |
| 2 July 2021 | Bo'ness Athletic | Away | 2–2 |

### Scottish Championship

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 31 July 2021 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Home | 0–1 | | 1,008 |
| 7 August 2021 | Ayr United | Away | 2–2 | Nouble 10', McKenna 28' | 1,244 |
| 21 August 2021 | Partick Thistle | Home | 3–1 | McKenna 45', 54' Low 58' | 1,585 |
| 28 August 2021 | Dunfermline Athletic | Away | 3–0 | McKenna 12', 67' Gold 44' | 2,928 |
| 11 September 2021 | Hamilton Academical | Home | 4–0 | Stewart 45+2', McKenna 57', Nouble 80', Low 85' | 1,234 |
| 18 September 2021 | Queen of the South | Away | 2–0 | O'Brien 16', Nouble 79' | 1,174 |
| 24 September 2021 | Kilmarnock | Home | 0–0 | | 2,410 |
| 2 October 2021 | Greenock Morton | Away | 2–2 | Chr. Hamilton 43', McKenna 87' pen. | 1,126 |
| 16 October 2021 | Raith Rovers | Away | 1–2 | Dowds 90+4' | 1,748 |
| 23 October 2021 | Ayr United | Home | 1–1 | McKenna 56' | 1,415 |
| 26 October 2021 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Away | 1–0 | McKenna 54' | 1,909 |
| 30 October 2021 | Dunfermline Athletic | Home | 4–2 | O'Brien 15', Nouble 37', Linn 77', McKenna 85' pen. | 1,359 |
| 6 November 2021 | Hamilton Academical | Away | 1–1 | O'Brien 90+1' | 1,107 |
| 13 November 2021 | Queen of the South | Home | 1–1 | McKenna 67' | 1,408 |
| 20 November 2021 | Kilmarnock | Away | 1–0 | Dowds 85' | 4,242 |
| 4 December 2021 | Raith Rovers | Home | 0–0 | | 1,539 |
| 11 December 2021 | Partick Thistle | Away | 2–0 | Dowds 45' Henderson 78' | |
| 18 December 2021 | Greenock Morton | Home | 2–1 | Chr. Hamilton 48', Dowds 80' | 1,220 |
| 26 December 2021 | Dunfermline Athletic | Away | 3–0 | Breen 6' o.g., McKenna 45', Dowds 81' | 500 |
| 2 January 2022 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Home | 0–0 | | 500 |
| 8 January 2022 | Ayr United | Away | 0–1 | | 500 |
| 15 January 2022 | Raith Rovers | Away | 2–1 | J.Hamilton 47', Low 82' pen. | 500 |
| 4 February 2022 | Kilmarnock | Home | 1–0 | J.Hamilton 56' | 2,803 |
| 9 February 2022 | Hamilton Academical | Home | 2–2 | Low 38' pen., McKenna 90+1' pen. | 1,213 |
| 19 February 2022 | Queen of the South | Away | 0–0 | | 1,067 |
| 26 February 2022 | Greenock Morton | Away | 0–0 | | 1,696 |
| 1 March 2022 | Partick Thistle | Home | 1–1 | Co. Hamilton 6' | 1,648 |
| 5 March 2022 | Dunfermline Athletic | Home | 1–0 | Gold 9' | 2,141 |
| 12 March 2022 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Away | 0–3 | | 2,149 |
| 19 March 2022 | Ayr United | Home | 1–0 | Co. Hamilton 50' | 1,727 |
| 26 March 2022 | Raith Rovers | Home | 3–3 | J. Hamilton 1', Hilson 67', McKenna 70' | 2,118 |
| 2 April 2022 | Partick Thistle | Away | 0–0 | | 2,810 |
| 9 April 2022 | Hamilton Academical | Away | 1–0 | J.Hamilton 59' | 911 |
| 16 April 2022 | Queen of the South | Home | 5–1 | Col. Hamilton 25', J.Hamilton 37', 59', Cameron 54' o.g., Craigen 90' | 2,413 |
| 22 April 2022 | Kilmarnock | Away | 1–2 | Craigen 9' | 11,500 |
| 29 April 2022 | Greenock Morton | Home | 3–0 | Thomson 16', Craigen 78', McKenna 85' | 3,121 |

### Premiership play-off

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| Semi-final 1st Leg | 10 May 2022 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Away | 0–0 | | 2,201 | |
| Semi-final 2nd Leg | 13 May 2022 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Home | 0–0 (a.e.t) (3–5p) | | 5,154 | |

### Scottish League Cup
#### Group stage

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 10 July 2021 | Elgin City | Away | 1–0 | Donnelly 80' | 220 |
| 14 July 2021 | East Fife | Home | 2–0 | Hilson 71', Donnelly 89' | 460 |
| 17 July 2021 | Dundee United | Away | 0–1 | | 286 |
| 24 July 2021 | Kelty Hearts | Home | 3–2 | Donnelly 31', C.Hamilton 52', Low 58' pen. | 626 |

#### Knockout phase

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| Second round | 15 August 2021 | St Johnstone | Home | 2–2 (2–3 P) | Nouble 31', O'Brien 90+3' | 1,842 | |

### Scottish Challenge Cup

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| Second round | 4 September 2021 | Aberdeen B | Away | 1–1 (1–4 P) | C.Hamilton 90+4' | 650 | |

### Scottish Cup

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 27 November 2021 | Forfar Athletic | Home | 3–0 | Thomson 8', Little 20', Donnelly 53' | 1,280 |
| Fourth round | 22 January 2022 | Darvel | Home | 3–0 | J.Hamilton 28', 68', 90' | 1,106 |
| Fifth round | 13 February 2022 | Hibernian | Home | 1–3 | Wighton 6' | 4,049 |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 13 May 2022
| No. | Pos | Player | Championship | Championship | League Cup | League Cup | Challenge Cup | Challenge Cup | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Derek Gaston | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Jason Thomson | 18+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Colin Hamilton | 36 | 4 | 5 | 2+1 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 7 |
| 4 | DF | Ricky Little | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Thomas O'Brien | 36 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 4 |
| 6 | MF | Nicky Low | 18+3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 28 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | David Gold | 10+16 | 2 | 2+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Michael McKenna | 35+1 | 15 | 3+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 15 |
| 9 | FW | Dale Hilson | 5+18 | 1 | 3+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | Gavin Swankie | 1+5 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Bobby Linn | 5+19 | 1 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | Scott Stewart | 35+2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | Luke Donnelly | 12+14 | 0 | 3+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 35 | 4 |
| 16 | FW | Sam Ford | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Michael Bakare | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | DF | Chris Hamilton | 29+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Craig Wighton | 9+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | Jack Hamilton | 16+2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 10 |
| 21 | GK | Calum Antell | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Liam Henderson | 20+7 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| 28 | MF | James Craigen | 18+17 | 3 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 42 | 3 |
| Players who left the club during the 2021–22 season |||||
| 14 | MF | Dylan Paterson | 0+2 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Harrison Clark | 7+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Joel Nouble | 20 | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 |
| 19 | FW | Anton Dowds | 9+8 | 5 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 |

## Team statistics
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kilmarnock (C, P) | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 50 | 27 | +23 | 67 | Promotion to the Premiership |
| 2 | Arbroath | 36 | 17 | 14 | 5 | 54 | 28 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 59 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final |
| 4 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 52 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final |
| 5 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 50 | |

### League cup table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DUN | ARB | KEL | ELG | EFI |
| 1 | Dundee United | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 12 | Qualification for the second round | — | 1–0 | — | 6–1 | — |
| 2 | Arbroath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | 3–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 3 | Kelty Hearts | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | | 0–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Elgin City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 3 | | — | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | — |
| 5 | East Fife | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | | 0–1 | — | — | 2–3 | — |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 6 May 2021 | MF | Nicky Low | East Stirlingshire | Free transfer |
| 30 May 2021 | DF | Liam Henderson | Edinburgh City | Free transfer |
| 11 June 2021 | GK | Calum Antell | Edinburgh City | Free transfer |
| 24 June 2021 | MF | Dylan Paterson | Bo'ness Athletic | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2022 | FW | Sam Ford | Felixstowe & Walton United | Free transfer |
| 11 February 2022 | FW | Michael Bakare | Leatherhead | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 7 May 2021 | FW | Kris Doolan | Free Agent | Free transfer |
| 7 May 2021 | GK | Scott Gallacher | East Fife | Free transfer |
| 13 May 2021 | MF | Mark Whatley | Montrose | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 10 July 2021 | MF | Harrison Clark | Livingston | 1 January 2022 |
| 13 July 2021 | FW | Joel Nouble | Livingston | 1 January 2022 |
| 22 July 2021 | DF | Chris Hamilton | Heart of Midlothian | 31 May 2022 |
| 17 August 2021 | FW | Anton Dowds | Falkirk | 1 January 2022 |
| 1 January 2022 | FW | Jack Hamilton | Livingston | 31 May 2022 |
| 14 January 2022 | FW | Craig Wighton | Dunfermline Athletic | 31 May 2022 |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| 4 November 2021 | MF | Dylan Paterson | Bo'ness Athletic | 1 January 2022 | |
| 28 January 2022 | MF | Dylan Paterson | Stirling Albion | 31 May 2022 | |