The Championship title race was easily the most exciting, yet again, in Scottish football – with Dundee, Falkirk and Hamilton all battling it out to the last day for the chance to get automatic promotion to the big time. Dundee had a two point advantage, and were 8 goals better off in terms of goal difference, so most assumed that they would only need a draw to clinch the title. In another shocking turn of events, though, Hamilton thumped Morton 10-2 on the day with most of their goals coming as Dundee held on shakily to a 2-1 lead. Thankfully for the Dark Blues they held on to clinch their return to the Premiership at the first time of asking, but the drama of the day will not be forgotten in a hurry by fans of either Dundee or Hamilton or those who followed the action on radio.
The end-of-season play-offs provided the excitement and drama that all in Scottish football hoped they would, and ended up bringing fitting conclusions to both Hamilton and Hibs’ seasons. Hamilton defeated Hibs on penalties to earn promotion to the Premiership and condemn Hibs to relegation for the first time in 16 years in a great two-legged contest. With a 2-0 win away to Hamilton in the first leg, with Jason Cummings scoring twice, the odds seemed stacked in Hibs’ favour to save themselves the humiliation of the drop. However, a spirited Hamilton performance was rewarded with a 2-0 win of their own at Easter Road, with a dramatic goal in the dying minutes of injury time to force the tie to extra time. After further Hamilton pressure in the added time went unrewarded, the game went to penalties where the nerves and pressure of the situation was too much for the home side. Cummings saw his penalty saved after veteran Kevin Thomson had also put the ball into the keepers grasp and this was enough to see Hamilton win. Hibs now join Hearts and Rangers in what will be an amazing Championship next season while Hamilton return to the top flight and will be looking to avoid play-off drama or worse next year.
The honour of best cup side this season has to go to St Johnstone with their triumph in the Scottish Cup in their first ever appearance as well as making the semi-finals of the League Cup. If Aberdeen’s first cup win in 16 years was cause for neutral celebration, it was dwarfed by the delight at seeing the Saints win. The Scottish Cup final was a rather meek game itself, but St. Johnstone were the better of the two sides as Dundee United rarely showed the attacking flair that they have been capable of this year. A powerful Steven Anderson header just before half time set the stage for what could have been a great second half, but neither team could break the other down until Steven MacLean’s strike six minutes from time all but secured the trophy for the Perth side. They may have finished in 6th place, three spots below their position last year, but without doubt this will feel like St. Johnstone’s best ever season – with a major trophy in their cabinet and another European adventure secured for this summer.
The Challenge Cup was this year won by Raith, who defeated the overwhelming favourites Rangers in what was a turgid and hard-to-watch encounter. Their first ever Challenge Cup, and their first final appearance since their famous League Cup triumph over Celtic in 1994; it was a great achievement for the Kirkcaldy men who have had little to cheer on this season, or indeed since they were runners-up to rivals Dunfermline in the league three seasons ago.
Perhaps the best Scottish Cup run this season, though, was Albion Rovers’, with the League Two side making it to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1934. The Wee Rovers recorded wins over non-league Spartans and Deveronvale before beating Motherwell 1-0 in what will surely be one of the Cup’s biggest giant-killings in recent memory. They also held Rangers to a 1-1 draw at home at Cliftonhill, with Rangers’ goal being very questionable with the scorer Bilel Mohsni being offside when he put the ball in the net. It’s always great to see small teams go far in the big competitions, when things often seem to favour the bigger sides, and it’s especially good to see Albion Rovers have some success with some of the initiatives they’ve put in place this season to give their fans something back – such as their “Pay What You Can” entry day. Although the team’s league campaign wasn’t too successful, finishing in 8th, they have a good management system at the club which might let them kick on to the play-offs and perhaps promotion in the seasons to come.
The next season in Scottish football may very well be dominated by the Championship rather than the Premiership. Celtic will win the latter without breaking a sweat again, and I’d wager an Aberdeen buoyed by their successes this year and a hefty summer transfer budget would wrap up second place as well. But the Championship is going to be a free-for-all of epic proportions, with Rangers, Hearts, Falkirk and Hibs all with a reasonable chance of winning the league. There is also the possibility of relegation from League Two for the first time next year, as the winners of the Highland and Lowland leagues play-off for a tie against “Team 42” of the SPFL and a place in senior football.
Another season of Scottish football has passed then, with no Armageddon to speak of, and a lot of memories to be cherished for some and a lot of painful ones that some will want to banish. Although the football wilderness of summer isn’t quite as bleak with a World Cup on telly, it’s comforting to know that the season begins anew in just 61 days with the Challenge Cup. Suffice to say, if next season is anything like this one, bring it on!