# 2005–06 Scottish Third Division

The 2005–06 Scottish Football League Third Division was the 12th season in the format of ten teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football. The season started on 6 August 2005 and ended on 29 April 2006. Cowdenbeath finished top and were directly promoted to the 2006–07 Scottish Second Division.
The 2005–06 season saw the introduction of the play-offs in which the ninth placed team of the Scottish Second Division would enter and knock-out tournament with the teams ranked second, third and fourth in the Scottish Third Division. Berwick Rangers, Stenhousemuir and Arbroath entered the play-offs against Alloa Athletic of the Second Division, who emerged play-off winners and avoided relegation.

## Teams for 2005–06

Gretna as champions of the 2004–05 season were directly promoted to the 2005–06 Scottish Second Division alongside Peterhead who finished second. They were replaced by Berwick Rangers, who finished bottom of the 2004–05 Scottish Second Division, and Arbroath respectively.

### Overview

Relegated from Second Division to Third Division
* Berwick Rangers
* Arbroath
Promoted from Third Division to Second Division
* Gretna
* Peterhead

## Stadia and attendances

| Team | Stadium | Average |
| Arbroath | Gayfield Park | 591 |
| Albion Rovers | Cliftonhill | 367 |
| Berwick Rangers | Shielfield Park | 472 |
| Cowdenbeath | Central Park | 471 |
| East Fife | Bayview Stadium | 475 |
| East Stirlingshire | Firs Park | 255 |
| Elgin City | Borough Briggs | 429 |
| Montrose | Links Park | 422 |
| Queen's Park | Hampden Park | 506 |
| Stenhousemuir | Ochilview Park | 475 |

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| 1 | Cowdenbeath (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 81 | 34 | +47 | 76 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 76 | Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs |
| 3 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 23 | 4 | 9 | 78 | 38 | +40 | 73 | Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs |
| 4 | Arbroath | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 57 | 47 | +10 | 55 | Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs |
| 5 | Elgin City | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 52 | |
| 6 | Queen's Park | 36 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 51 | |
| 7 | East Fife | 36 | 13 | 4 | 19 | 48 | 64 | −16 | 43 | |
| 8 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 60 | −21 | 29 | |
| 9 | Montrose | 36 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 31 | 59 | −28 | 28 | |
| 10 | East Stirlingshire | 36 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 28 | 89 | −61 | 23 | |
* ↑ The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 9th placed team. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2006–07 Second Division, Alloa Athletic won the play-off to stay in the division.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Goals | Team |
| 1 | Martin Johnston | 20 | Elgin City |
| 2 | Liam Buchanan | 17 | Cowdenbeath |
| 3 | Colin Cramb | 16 | Stenhousemuir |
| 4 | Paul McGrillen | 15 | Stenhousemuir |
| 5 | Kevin Haynes | 13 | Berwick Rangers |
| 6 | Greig Henslee | 10 | Montrose |
| 7 | Gareth Hutchison | 9 | Berwick Rangers |
| 7 | Iain Diack | 9 | Stenhousemuir/ East Stirlingshire |
| 7 | Jay Stein | 9 | Arbroath |
| 7 | Mark Booth | 9 | Elgin City |
| 7 | David McKenna | 9 | Cowdenbeath |