Championship Review | Season 2013/14

Club

Summary

Hit/ Miss or somewhere
in-between

1

Dundee

Dundee got over the finishing line in the race for the Championship title on the final day of the season when they defeated Dumbarton 2-1.

The Dark Blues and Hamilton, as well as Falkirk, jostled for top position in the closing weeks and bringing in promotion winning expert Paul Hartley as their new manager in February worked well for the Dark Blues.

Previous manager John Brown had taken Dundee top back in December, however after a defeat from Falkirk at the end of January the club looked for a change of direction.

A defeat from Morton with two games to go looked to have put Dundee out of the running however a success over Hartley’s former Alloa side and then the Sons saw Dundee secure Premiership football next season.

Hit

2

Hamilton Academical

Hamilton started the season in fine form with four wins out of four and they were in top spot up until November.

They never dropped any lower than third with a commanding lead in the Championship being denied to them during a nine game run either side of Christmas when only two wins were picked up.

An eleven game unbeaten run put them back in the driving seat only for defeat on the second last Saturday to Dumbarton to hand Dundee the initiative.

The Accies squeezed past Falkirk in their play-off semi-final and meet Hibs in their second leg this weekend with the score at 2-0 to the Edinburgh side.

You cannot rule out a side that recently scored ten times will no doubt be Terry Butcher’s message to his players.

Hit

3

Falkirk

Falkirk had a brief flirtation with top spot however Gary Holt’s young side seemed happier to be flying under the radar as they looked to win the title.

A 3-0 defeat at Alloa in March looked to have killed off their title chances however six wins in seven unbeaten games at the end of their Championship season had the Bairns in with a chance of being crowned on the final day.

They ended up third and met Queen of the South in the play-off Quarter Final. The Doonhamers were seen off however Hamilton proved to be too strong in the semi-final.

Given the age of Holt’s squad this season can be described as hit even though promotion has eluded them.

Hit

4

Queen of the South

The Doonhamers came up as Second Division Champions and with a new manager at the helm after Jim McIntyre came in to replace Allan Johnston.

The first half of the season saw Queen’s take time to adjust however they grew and grew in the second half and fourth place became theirs in the closing months.

A 3-0 win over a Dumbarton side who fancied a play-off place all but secured an extension to their season.

St Mirren were defeated in the Scottish League Cup and defeat to Hearts in the same competition only came via penalties.

St Mirren were given another fright in the Scottish Cup so despite defeat from Falkirk in the play-offs McIntyre’s first season can be described as a hit.

Hit

5

Dumbarton

The Sons won the unofficial title as the ‘Best Part time team in Scotland’ by coming fifth in the Championship.

It was their highest finish in 17 years and it was done with a great attacking purpose that saw Ian Murray’s side the second highest scorers in the Championship.

However their defence was the third most generous to make it a very entertaining season for the followers of the Bet Butler side.

Dundee United and Aberdeen were given frights in Cup competitions with a 4-2 defeat from Stranraer in the Ramsdens Cup probably the biggest disappointment in another fine campaign.

Dumbarton fans breathed a sigh of relief last week when Murray signed a new two year deal at the club.

Hit

6

Livingston

Livingston started the season in disappointing style and they were in bottom spot until John McGlynn came in to replace Richie Burke.

McGlynn’s astuteness ensured the Lions climbed the table however an assault on a top four place never really gained any momentum.

They did however have the satisfaction of defeating Dundee home and away.

The Lions continue to produce good youngsters with Stefan Scougall and Coll Donaldson heading south in January and Marc McNulty joining them in England at the end of the season.

Whilst Livingston recovered their position and almost made it into the top half their season falls between a hit and a miss as they simply never gained any momentum.

Somewhere in-between

7

Raith Rovers

If judged on their league form Raith’s season would be a miss and their form in the second half of the season would be a really bad miss.

The Kirkcaldy side lost their first game of the season to Hamilton however they never tasted defeat in their next ten games and were sitting in second place.

However only 5 more league wins were seen and instead of looking at the promotion play-offs Raith had to have a glance over their shoulder at the relegation play-offs towards the end of the season.

However winning the Ramsdens Cup against Rangers at Easter Road and reaching the latter stages of both the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup make the season a hit for Rovers and their followers.

Hit

8

Alloa

Alloa’s season ended up a hit but only just. The Wasps made the step up from Division Two last season with the sole aim of surviving in the Championship and they did so by finishing eighth and avoiding automatic relegation and the play-offs.

However for a short spell on the final day they were very much in the play-offs in fact they were there until Queen of the South’s Bob McHugh scored an equaliser in the sixth minute of injury time at Cowdenbeath.

The Recreation Park side had started the season in a solid fashion and sat fourth in December however a disappointing second half of the season results wise had started under Paul Hartley and continued under his replacement Barry Smith.

However they did enough to secure their Championship status and that is the job Smith was asked to do.

Hit

9

Cowdenbeath

Cowdenbeath players wore t-shirts with Steve McQueen’s iconic motorbike and the words ‘The Great Escape’ after Sunday’s play-off Final win over Dunfermline.

The Blue Brazil had to overcome the disappointment of not securing their salvation when they lost a late goal to Queen of the South on the final day of the season but they did it.

Jimmy Nicholl returned to Central Park halfway through the season to take over from Colin Cameron and he soon racked up wins over title chasing Dundee and Hamilton Accies.

A dip saw heavy defeats from Falkirk and a Dundee side out for revenge and the play-offs looked well on course before wins over Livingston and Raith Rovers gave Alloa a fright.

Home and away wins over Ayr United set Cowdenbeath up for their Fife Final against the Pars where they triumphed 4-1 on aggregate.

The biggest challenge now facing Nicholl is to replace strikers Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings.

Hit

10

Morton

Morton’s season started with a 2-0 win over Cowdenbeath and little sign of the struggle that lay ahead. Last season’s runners up to Partick Thistle went through a major overhaul in personnel last summer and it would be fair to say that the squad never gelled.

A fantastic Scottish League Cup success over Celtic gave the Greenock side hope that better days lay ahead however manager Allan Moore lost his job after a 5-1 home defeat from Livingston in November.

Kenny Shiels was recruited in December to try and turn things around and he also overhauled the squad and whilst performances picked up for a spell, relegation was sealed with 4 games to go.

The club also suffered a dreadful end to the season with a 10-2 defeat from Hamilton, however the slate has been wiped clean by new manager Jim Duffy and they will start the new season afresh albeit in League 1.

Miss