cinch league2 – 2022/23 Season

Now that only the Premiership Play-Off Final remains to be played to complete the current league campaign, we now know the make-up of the cinch league2 for next season.

We will face six of the teams who competed alongside us in the season just completed with three ‘fresh faces’ completing the ten club line-up.

Albion Rovers, Annan Athletic, Elgin City, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Stranraer remain like ourselves in the same division of the SPFL structure following Edinburgh City’s 3-2 aggregate win over Annan Athletic in the League One Play-Off final.

We congratulate all connected with the Capital City outfit on their promotion to third tier football.

It has certainly been a strange end to the campaign at the lower levels of the SPFL with the fourth placed team in both League 1 & 2 eventually claiming the second promotion berth.

Not quite sure if that has happened on a previous occasion?

Back to next season and East Fife and Dumbarton both suffered relegation to league2 and we look forward to renewing rivalries and friendships with both sides in the year ahead.

Although we will again be without an Angus derby next term, Elgin City our likely New Year fixture for a second season, we will at least with the Fifers demotion have a couple of away games within a 40 mile travelling distance of the ‘toonie.’

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic will complete the ten team line-up following their emphatic Pyramid Play-Off success over Cowdenbeath.

Though we welcome Bonnyrigg and look forward to our first ever meeting with them, we know what a blow it must be to all connected to the Central Park club to have lost their SPFL status.

It is a fear we all live with rest assured.

It will be no easy task for the ‘Blue Brazil’ to re-group over the summer months and be in the right frame of mind come late July for the challenges of the Lowland League.

To date none of the three clubs relegated have made the return trip to the fourth tier of the professional game, though Berwick Rangers would appear from early signing moves to be making a major push down south for the season ahead, while Brechin City will almost certainly be strong favourites for Highland League success at the second attempt.

Back to Bonnyrigg and of course congratulations to them, especially their manager Robbie Horn a Station Park stalwart of the past and a really good guy into the bargain.

We look forward to welcoming him back to familiar surroundings at some point later in the year.

It is rumoured that Bonnyrigg perhaps do not have the financial clout that Kelty seemed to possess, but with their excellent fan base and first season ‘bounce’ they will be an undoubted force to be reckoned with.

The fixtures for next season are as previously intimated due to be released on June 17^th with the opening games in all four divisions scheduled for the last weekend in July.