2021–22 Scottish Championship
# 2021–22 Scottish Championship

The 2021–22 Scottish Championship (known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football. The season began on 31 July.

Ten teams contested the league: Arbroath, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers.

## Teams

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

### To Championship

Promoted from League One

* Partick Thistle

Relegated from the Premiership

* Hamilton Academical
* Kilmarnock

### From Championship

Relegated to League One

* Alloa Athletic

Promoted to the Premiership

* Heart of Midlothian
* Dundee

### Stadia and locations

| Arbroath | Ayr United | Dunfermline Athletic | Greenock Morton |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gayfield Park | Somerset Park | East End Park | Cappielow |
| Capacity: 6,600 | Capacity: 10,185 | Capacity: 11,480 | Capacity: 11,589 |
| Hamilton Academical | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| New Douglas Park | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | Caledonian Stadium |
| Capacity: 6,018 | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | ArbroathAyr UnitedDunfermlineMortonHamiltonInverness Caledonian ThistleKilmarnockPartick ThistleQueen of the SouthRaith Roversclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2021–22 Scottish Championship | Capacity: 7,750 |
| Kilmarnock | Partick Thistle | Queen of the South | Raith Rovers |
| Rugby Park | Firhill Stadium | Palmerston Park | Stark's Park |
| Capacity: 17,889 | Capacity: 10,102 | Capacity: 8,690 | Capacity: 8,867 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Arbroath | Dick Campbell | Thomas O'Brien | Macron | Megatech |
| Ayr United | Lee Bullen | Sean McGinty | Hummel | Bitcoin BCH |
| Dunfermline Athletic | John Hughes | Graham Dorrans | Joma | SRJ Windows |
| Greenock Morton | Dougie Imrie | Kyle Jacobs | est 1874 | McGill's |
| Hamilton Academical | Stuart Taylor | Brian Easton | Adidas | Cullen |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Billy Dodds | Sean Welsh | Puma | ILI Group |
| Kilmarnock | Derek McInnes | Chris Stokes | Hummel | Brownings The Bakers |
| Partick Thistle | Ian McCall | Ross Docherty | O'Neills | Just Employment Law |
| Queen of the South | Willie Gibson | Josh Todd | Macron | Rosefield Salvage |
| Raith Rovers | John McGlynn | Kyle Benedictus | Joma | valmcdermid.com(Home) TAG (Away) |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Neil McCann | End of interim spell | 1 May 2021 | Pre-season | Billy Dodds | 1 June 2021 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Stevie Crawford | Resigned | 18 May 2021 | Pre-season | Peter Grant | 28 May 2021 |
| Hamilton Academical | Brian Rice | Resigned | 11 August 2021 | 5th | Stuart Taylor | 20 August 2021 |
| Ayr United | David Hopkin | Resigned | 9 September 2021 | 9th | Jim Duffy | 9 September 2021 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Peter Grant | Sacked | 31 October 2021 | 10th | John Hughes | 12 November 2021 |
| Greenock Morton | Gus MacPherson | Sacked | 4 December 2021 | 8th | Dougie Imrie | 21 December 2021 |
| Kilmarnock | Tommy Wright | Sacked | 18 December 2021 | 5th | Derek McInnes | 4 January 2022 |
| Ayr United | Jim Duffy | Sacked | 20 December 2021 | 8th | Lee Bullen | 7 January 2022 |
| Queen of the South | Allan Johnston | Sacked | 13 February 2022 | 10th | Willie Gibson | 13 February 2022 |

## League summary

### League table

| Pos | Team | 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 | |
| 6 | Hamilton Academical | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 42 | |
| 7 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 40 | |
| 8 | Ayr United | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 39 | |
| 9 | Dunfermline Athletic (R) | 36 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 35 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs |
| 10 | Queen of the South (R) | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 33 | Relegation to League One |

### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it is added to the standings for round 16.

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kilmarnock | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Arbroath | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Partick Thistle | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Raith Rovers | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Hamilton Academical | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Greenock Morton | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Ayr United | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Queen of the South | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

* Leader and promotion to the Premiership
* Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
* Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
* Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
* Qualification for the Championship play-offs
* Relegation to League One

## Results

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)

| Home \ Away | ARB | AYR | DNF | GMO | HAM | ICT | KIL | PAR | QOS | RAI |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Arbroath | — | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Ayr United | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 0–3 | 3–0 | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Greenock Morton | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–6 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Hamilton Academical | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–6 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Kilmarnock | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 |
| Partick Thistle | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Queen of the South | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Raith Rovers | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | — |

### Second half of season (Matches 19–36)

| Home \ Away | ARB | AYR | DNF | GMO | HAM | ICT | KIL | PAR | QOS | RAI |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Arbroath | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 3–3 |
| Ayr United | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Greenock Morton | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Hamilton Academical | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Kilmarnock | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Partick Thistle | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Queen of the South | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 |
| Raith Rovers | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | — |

## Season statistics

### Scoring

**Top scorers**


    As of 29 April 2022

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Michael McKenna | Arbroath | 15 |
| 2 | Oli Shaw | Kilmarnock | 14 |
| 3 | Brian Graham | Partick Thistle | 13 |
| 4 | Tomi Adeloye | Ayr United | 11 |
| 5 | Shane Sutherland | Inverness CT | 10 |

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Billy Dodds | Inverness CT | Michael McKenna | Arbroath |
| September | Dick Campbell | Arbroath | Joel Nouble | Arbroath |
| October | John McGlynn | Raith Rovers | Oli Shaw | Kilmarnock |
| November | Ian McCall | Partick Thistle | Ethan Ross | Raith Rovers |
| December | Dick Campbell | Arbroath | Anton Dowds | Arbroath |
| January | Dougie Imrie | Greenock Morton | Gavin Reilly | Greenock Morton |
| February | Dougie Imrie | Greenock Morton | Kyle Lafferty | Kilmarnock |
| March | Derek McInnes | Kilmarnock | Kyle Lafferty | Kilmarnock |
| April | Derek McInnes | Kilmarnock | Logan Chalmers | Inverness CT |

## Championship play-offs

The semi-finals will be contested by the teams placed second to fourth in Scottish League One, as well as the team placed ninth in the Scottish Championship. The winners will advance to the final, with the highest-ranked team hosting the second leg.

### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dunfermline Athletic | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 0 | 1 | 1 | Airdrieonians | Airdrieonians | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | | | | | Queen's Park (a.e.t.) | Queen's Park (a.e.t.) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Airdrieonians (a.e.t.) | 0 | 6 | 6 | Queen's Park (a.e.t.) | Queen's Park (a.e.t.) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Montrose | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | |
