2022–23 Scottish Championship

The 2022–23 Scottish Championship (known as cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football.

Scottish Championship
Season2022–23
Dates30 July 2022 – 5 May 2023
ChampionsDundee
PromotedDundee
RelegatedHamilton Academical (via play-offs)
Cove Rangers
Matches played180
Goals scored504 (2.8 per match)
Top goalscorerDipo Akinyemi
20 goals
Biggest home winDundee 7–0 Hamilton Academical (1 April 2023)
Biggest away winCove Rangers 0–6 Queen's Park (7 January 2023)
Highest scoringHamilton Academical 4–4 Cove Rangers (29 October 2022)
Queen's Park 3–5 Dundee (5 May 2023)
Longest winning runInverness Caledonian Thistle
Queen's Park
6 games
Longest unbeaten runDundee
Greenock Morton
10 games
Longest winless runCove Rangers
10 games
Longest losing runHamilton Academical
7 games
Highest attendance6,862
Dundee 0–0 Cove Rangers (28 April 2023)
Lowest attendance471
Queen's Park 2–1 Cove Rangers (27 August 2022)
Queen's Park 1–2 Greenock Morton (4 October 2022)
Total attendance397,031
Average attendance2,205
All statistics correct as of 5 May 2023.

Ten teams contested the league: Arbroath, Ayr United, Cove Rangers, Dundee, Greenock Morton, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park and Raith Rovers.

Teams

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The following teams changed division after the 2021–22 season.

Stadia and locations

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Arbroath Ayr United Cove Rangers Dundee
Gayfield Park Somerset Park Balmoral Stadium Dens Park
Capacity: 6,600[1] Capacity: 10,185[2] Capacity: 3,023[3] Capacity: 11,775[4]
       
Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical
Cappielow New Douglas Park
Capacity: 11,589[5] Capacity: 6,018[6]
   
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Partick Thistle Queen's Park Raith Rovers
Caledonian Stadium Firhill Stadium Ochilview Park[7] Stark's Park
Capacity: 7,512[8] Capacity: 10,102[9] Capacity: 3,746[10] Capacity: 8,867[11]
 
     

Personnel and kits

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Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arbroath   Dick Campbell   Thomas O'Brien Macron Megatech
Ayr United   Lee Bullen   Sean McGinty Hummel Jewson (Home)
Lindsay Mortgage Services (Away)
Cove Rangers   Paul Hartley   Mitch Megginson Adidas ACE Group
Dundee   Gary Bowyer   Ryan Sweeney Macron Crown Engineering Services
Greenock Morton   Dougie Imrie   Grant Gillespie Joma McGill's
Hamilton Academical   John Rankin   Brian Easton Adidas Active Access
Inverness Caledonian Thistle   Billy Dodds   Sean Welsh Puma ILI Group
Partick Thistle   Kris Doolan   Ross Docherty O'Neills Just Employment Law
Queen's Park   Owen Coyle   Lee Kilday Macron Scotts
Raith Rovers   Ian Murray   Scott Brown Joma Dean Park Hotel (Home)
Fife Letting Service (Away)

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Raith Rovers   John McGlynn End of contract 3 May 2022[12] Pre-season   Ian Murray 24 May 2022[13]
Dundee   Mark McGhee 15 May 2022[14]   Gary Bowyer 8 June 2022[15]
Queen's Park   John Potter End of interim spell 15 May 2022[16]   Owen Coyle 1 June 2022[17]
Cove Rangers   Paul Hartley Signed by Hartlepool United 3 June 2022[18]   Jim McIntyre 15 June 2022[19]
Hamilton Academical   Stuart Taylor Mutual consent 23 June 2022[20]   John Rankin 28 June 2022[21]
Cove Rangers   Jim McIntyre Sacked 3 January 2023[22] 8th   Paul Hartley 5 January 2023[23]
Partick Thistle   Ian McCall 12 February 2023[24] 5th   Kris Doolan 12 February 2023[24]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Dundee (C, P) 36 17 12 7 66 40 +26 63 Promotion to the Premiership
2 Ayr United 36 16 10 10 61 43 +18 58 Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3 Queen's Park 36 17 7 12 63 52 +11 58 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Partick Thistle 36 16 9 11 65 45 +20 57
5 Greenock Morton 36 15 12 9 53 43 +10 57
6 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 36 15 10 11 52 47 +5 55
7 Raith Rovers 36 11 10 15 46 49 −3 43
8 Arbroath 36 6 16 14 29 47 −18 34
9 Hamilton Academical (R) 36 7 10 19 31 63 −32 31 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
10 Cove Rangers (R) 36 7 10 19 38 75 −37 31 Relegation to League One
Source: [25]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-to head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[26]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

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Teams play each other four times, twice in the first half of the season (home and away) and twice in the second half of the season (home and away), making a total of 180 games, with each team playing 36.

First half of season (Matches 1–18)

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Home \ Away ARB AYR COV DND GMO HAM ICT PAR QPA RAI
Arbroath 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–2 0–1
Ayr United 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 4–2 5–0 2–0
Cove Rangers 2–0 1–2 3–1 1–2 2–2 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–0
Dundee 4–2 2–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–3 2–3 3–0 2–0
Greenock Morton 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 5–0 4–0 2–1 3–2 1–0
Hamilton Academical 1–0 2–3 4–4 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 0–2 0–2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–1 2–2 4–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1
Partick Thistle 3–0 3–2 2–2 2–3 5–1 1–1 4–1 0–4 2–1
Queen's Park 1–1 2–3 2–1 2–2 1–2 4–0 2–1 3–2 1–0
Raith Rovers 1–1 3–2 3–0 0–1 2–1 3–1 0–2 3–0 2–5
Source: [27]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season (Matches 19–36)

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Home \ Away ARB AYR COV DND GMO HAM ICT PAR QPA RAI
Arbroath 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–4 0–0 1–4 1–2
Ayr United 2–2 3–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 0–0 1–0
Cove Rangers 1–1 0–5 0–2 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–5 0–6 2–2
Dundee 2–4 3–1 0–0 3–3 7–0 1–1 1–3 3–0 3–1
Greenock Morton 1–2 1–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 2–1 1–0
Hamilton Academical 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–4 0–1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2–0 1–2 6–1 1–1 2–2 0–3 1–0 0–0 2–0
Partick Thistle 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 5–1 4–0 3–0
Queen's Park 0–1 2–0 1–0 3–5 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1
Raith Rovers 1–1 0–0 6–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 2–2 2–2 2–0
Source: [27]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

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Scoring

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Dipo Akinyemi Ayr United 20
2   Simon Murray Queen's Park 15
3   Billy Mckay Inverness CT 13
  Brian Graham Partick Thistle
5   Zach Robinson Dundee 12

Awards

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Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August   Lee Bullen Ayr United   Dipo Akinyemi Ayr United
September/October   Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton   Robbie Muirhead Greenock Morton
November   Gary Bowyer Dundee   Paul McMullan Dundee
December   Owen Coyle Queen's Park   Grant Savoury Queen's Park
January   Billy Dodds Inverness CT   Billy Mckay Inverness CT
February   Dougie Imrie Greenock Morton   Connor Shields Queen's Park
March   Gary Bowyer Dundee   Dipo Akinyemi Ayr United
April   Billy Dodds Inverness CT   Kyle Turner Partick Thistle

The SPFL Championship manager of the year was Gary Bowyer of Dundee.

The SPFL Championship player of the year was Dipo Akinyemi of Ayr United.

Championship play-offs

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The semi-finals were contested by the teams placed second to fourth in League One, as well as the team placed ninth in the Championship. The winners advanced to the final, with the highest-ranked team hosting the second leg.[28]

Qualified teams

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Team Rank
Hamilton Academical 1
Falkirk 2
Airdrieonians 3
Alloa Athletic 4

Semi-finals

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First leg

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9 May 2023 Airdrieonians 6–2 Falkirk Airdrie
19:45 Devenny   8'
McCabe   14', 90' (pen.)
Smith   16'
Taylor-Sinclair   31'
Fordyce   41'
[29] Donaldson   61'
Kennedy   68'
Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 3,272
Referee: Scott Lambie
9 May 2023 Alloa Athletic 1–0 Hamilton Academical Alloa
19:45 Donnelly   45' [30] Stadium: Recreation Park
Attendance: 1,011
Referee: Greg Aitken

Second leg

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13 May 2023 Falkirk 0–1
(2–7 agg.)
Airdrieonians Falkirk
15:00 [31]
Stadium: Falkirk Stadium
Attendance: 4,080
Referee: Euan Anderson
13 May 2023 Hamilton Academical 5–2
(5–3 agg.)
Alloa Athletic Hamilton
15:00
[32]
Stadium: New Douglas Park
Attendance: 1,353
Referee: Chris Graham

Final

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First leg

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17 May 2023 Airdrieonians 1–0 Hamilton Academical Airdrie
19:35
[33] Stadium: Excelsior Stadium
Attendance: 3,118
Referee: Steven Kirkland

Second leg

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20 May 2023 Hamilton Academical 2–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–2 agg.)
(5–6 p)
Airdrieonians Hamilton
17:15
Report
Stadium: New Douglas Park
Attendance: 3,429
Referee: Craig Napier
Penalties

References

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  1. ^ "Arbroath Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Ayr United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Cove Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Dundee Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Greenock Morton Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Hamilton Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Lesser Hampden Update". Queen's Park FC. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Partick Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Queen's Park Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Raith Rovers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Club Statement: Management Team to Depart". Raith Rovers FC. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Raith Rovers: Ian Murray leaves Airdrie to become manager at Stark's Park". BBC Sport. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Mark McGhee: Dundee opt not to renew manager's contract after relegation". BBC Sport. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Gary Bowyer appointed manager". Dundee FC. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Airdrieonians 1–2 Queen's Park (agg 2–3)". BBC Sport. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Queen's Park: Owen Coyle is appointed Scottish League 1 club's new head coach". BBC Sport. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Paul Hartley: Hartlepool United appoint Cove Rangers boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Cove Rangers appoint Jim McIntyre as new manager". BBC Sport. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Club Statement: Stuart Taylor". Hamilton Academical FC. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  21. ^ "John Rankin Appointed New Head Coach". Hamilton Academical FC. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Jim McIntyre: Cove Rangers sack manager after 6-1 loss to Inverness". BBC Sport. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Cove Rangers: Paul Hartley returns as manager at the Balmoral Stadium". BBC Sport. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Management Team Update". 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  25. ^ "cinch Championship Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  26. ^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  27. ^ a b "cinch Championship League Results". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  28. ^ "SPFL play-offs 2022/23". SPFL. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  29. ^ "Airdrieonians 6–2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Alloa Athletic 1–0 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Falkirk 0–1 Airdrieonians". BBC Sport. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  32. ^ "Hamilton Academical 5–2 Alloa Athletic". BBC Sport. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Airdrieonians 1–0 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
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