2020–21 Highland Football League
{{Infobox football league season
|competition =Breedon Highland League
|season =2020–21
|winners = Brora Rangers
|dates = 28 November 2020 – 30 March 2021
|league topscorer=
|biggest home win= {{nobreak|Fraserburgh 13–1 Turriff United}}
(2 January 2021)
|biggest away win= {{nobreak|Fort William 0–10 Brora Rangers}}
(19 December 2020)
|highest scoring = {{nobreak|Fraserburgh 13–1 Turriff United}}
(2 January 2021)
|matches = 16
|total goals = 76
|longest wins = 3 matches:
Brora Rangers & Fraserburgh
|longest unbeaten= 3 matches:
Brora Rangers & Fraserburgh
|longest winless = 3 matches:
Deveronvale & Huntly
|longest losses = 2 matches:
3 teams
|prevseason = 2019–20
|nextseason = 2021–22
}}
The 2020–21 Highland Football League (known as the Breedon Highland League for sponsorship reasons) was the 118th season of the Highland Football League, and the 7th season as the fifth tier of the Scottish football pyramid system.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced in August 2020 that the season would start in October with a shortened a 16-game schedule (teams playing each other once).{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53959997 |title=Highland League cuts number of fixtures from 32 to 16 |website=BBC Sport |date=29 August 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020}} In late September, the start date was deferred until at least 28 November because the member clubs said they could not play fixtures without fans.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54334336 |title=Highland League start delayed by at least six weeks |website=BBC Sport |date=28 September 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020}} The season started on 28 November, but Forres Mechanics withdrew just beforehand (reducing the schedule to 15 games).{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-55085490 |title=Covid in Scotland: Forres Mechanics take break from league |first=Donald |last=Pollock |website=BBC News |date=28 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020}}
On 11 January 2021 the league was suspended by the Scottish Football Association due to the escalating pandemic situation.{{Cite web|title=Scottish FA Board confirms three-week suspension of professional football beneath SPFL Championship {{!}} Scottish FA|url=https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/scottish-fa-board-confirms-three-week-suspension-of-professional-football-beneath-spfl-championship/?rid=13929|access-date=2021-03-10|website=www.scottishfa.co.uk}}
Despite having only completed three fixtures, Brora Rangers were declared champions for the second successive season using a points per game formula. The decision was announced by the Highland League on 30 March 2021.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56576721|title=Brora & Kelty Hearts declared champions|work=BBC Sport }} Two teams (Clachnacuddin and Fort William) had only played one game and Strathspey Thistle had not played at all.
Brora Rangers faced the winners of the 2020–21 Lowland Football League (Kelty Hearts) in the Pyramid play-off, losing 6–1 on aggregate.
Teams
{{Location map+ |Scotland North|width=500 |float=right |caption=Location of teams in 2020–21 Highland Football League |places=
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=58.00813 |long=-3.858143 |label=Brora Rangers|position=right}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.673056 |long=-2.96625 |label=Buckie Thistle|position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.4859 |long=-4.238 |label=Clachnacuddin|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.663326 |long=-2.517742 |label=Deveronvale|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.338056 |long=-2.196111 |label=Formartine United|position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.612631 |long=-3.615136 |label=Forres Mechanics|position=right}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=56.822353 |long=-5.087075 |label=Fort William|position=right}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.690022 |long=-2.003969 |label=Fraserburgh|position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.449072 |long=-2.783061 |label=Huntly|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.290453 |long=-2.381508 |label=Inverurie Loco Works|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.540833 |long=-2.944722 |label=Keith|position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.713672 |long=-3.285489 |label=Lossiemouth|position=left}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.579 |long=-3.8725 |label=Nairn County|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.52 |long=-3.208 |label=Rothes|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.329293 |long=-3.608772 |label=Strathspey Thistle|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=57.536389 |long=-2.467222 |label=Turriff United|position=right}}
{{Location map~ |Scotland North|marksize=6 |lat=58.4325 |long=-3.092778 |label=Wick Academy|position=left}}
}}
=Stadia and locations=
All grounds are equipped with floodlights as required by league regulations.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Team
!Location !Stadium !data-sort-type="number" |Capacity !data-sort-type="number" |Seats |
|---|
| Brora Rangers
|Dudgeon Park |align=right|4,000 |align=right|200 |
| Buckie Thistle
|align=right|5,000 |align=right|400 |
| Clachnacuddin
|align=right|2,074 |align=right|154 |
| Deveronvale
|align=right|2,600 |align=right|360 |
| Formartine United
|align=right|2,500 |align=right|300 |
| Fort William
|align=right|4,000 |align=right|400 |
| Fraserburgh
|align=right|3,000 |align=right|480 |
| Huntly
|align=right|2,200 |align=right|270 |
| Inverurie Loco Works
|align=right|2,500 |align=right|250 |
| Keith
|align=right|4,000 |align=right|370 |
| Lossiemouth
|align=right|2,050 |align=right|250 |
| Nairn County
|Station Park |align=right|2,250 |align=right|250 |
| Rothes
|Mackessack Park |align=right|2,700 |align=right|184 |
| Strathspey Thistle
|Seafield Park |align=right|1,600 |align=right|150 |
| Turriff United
|align=right|2,135 |align=right|135 |
| Wick Academy
|Wick |align=right|2,412 |align=right|102 |
=Withdrawn=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Team
!Location !Stadium !data-sort-type="number" |Capacity !data-sort-type="number" |Seats |
|---|
| Forres Mechanics
|align=right|2,700 |align=right|502 |
League table
|update=complete
|ranking_style=ppgpts
|source=[http://www.highlandfootballleague.com/LeagueTable/ Highland Football League] [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/highland-league/table BBC Sport] [https://int.soccerway.com/national/scotland/scottish-football-league/20192020/highland-league/r52819/ Soccerway]
|team1=BRO |team2=FRA |team3=BUC |team4=FOU |team5=INV |team6=KEI |team7=ROT |team8=HUN |team9=LOS |team10=DEV |team11=STR |team12=CLA |team13=NAI |team14=WIC |team15=FOW |team16=TUR
|result1=PO
|win_BRO=3 |draw_BRO=0 |loss_BRO=0 |gf_BRO=20|ga_BRO=1
|win_BUC=2 |draw_BUC=0 |loss_BUC=0 |gf_BUC=8 |ga_BUC=3
|win_CLA=0 |draw_CLA=0 |loss_CLA=1 |gf_CLA=2 |ga_CLA=4
|win_DEV=0 |draw_DEV=1 |loss_DEV=2 |gf_DEV=2 |ga_DEV=8
|win_FOU=2 |draw_FOU=0 |loss_FOU=0 |gf_FOU=7 |ga_FOU=2
|win_FOW=0 |draw_FOW=0 |loss_FOW=1 |gf_FOW=0 |ga_FOW=10
|win_FRA=3 |draw_FRA=0 |loss_FRA=0 |gf_FRA=16|ga_FRA=1
|win_HUN=0 |draw_HUN=2 |loss_HUN=1 |gf_HUN=3 |ga_HUN=4
|win_INV=2 |draw_INV=0 |loss_INV=0 |gf_INV=6 |ga_INV=2
|win_KEI=1 |draw_KEI=0 |loss_KEI=1 |gf_KEI=2 |ga_KEI=3
|win_LOS=0 |draw_LOS=1 |loss_LOS=1 |gf_LOS=2 |ga_LOS=4
|win_NAI=0 |draw_NAI=0 |loss_NAI=2 |gf_NAI=1 |ga_NAI=3
|win_ROT=1 |draw_ROT=0 |loss_ROT=1 |gf_ROT=2 |ga_ROT=5
|win_STR=0 |draw_STR=0 |loss_STR=0 |gf_STR=0 |ga_STR=0
|win_TUR=0 |draw_TUR=0 |loss_TUR=2 |gf_TUR=2 |ga_TUR=18
|win_WIC=0 |draw_WIC=0 |loss_WIC=2 |gf_WIC=3 |ga_WIC=8
|name_BRO=Brora Rangers
|name_BUC=Buckie Thistle
|name_CLA=Clachnacuddin
|name_DEV=Deveronvale
|name_FOU=Formartine United
|name_FOW=Fort William
|name_FRA=Fraserburgh
|name_HUN=Huntly
|name_INV=Inverurie Loco Works
|name_KEI=Keith
|name_LOS=Lossiemouth
|name_NAI=Nairn County
|name_ROT=Rothes
|name_STR=Strathspey Thistle
|name_TUR=Turriff United
|name_WIC=Wick Academy
|status_BRO=C
|class_rules=1) Points per game; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
|res_col_header=PQ
|col_PO=yellow1 |text_PO=Qualification for the Pyramid play-off
}}
Results
{{#invoke:sports results|main
| source = [http://www.highlandfootballleague.com/Fixtures/ Highland Football League]
| update = 2 January 2021
| matches_style = FBR
| team1= BRO | team2= BUC | team3= CLA | team4= DEV | team5= FOU | team6= FOW | team7= FRA | team8= HUN | team9= INV | team10= KEI | team11= LOS | team12= NAI | team13= ROT | team14= STR | team15= TUR | team16= WIC
| name_BRO = Brora Rangers
| name_BUC = Buckie Thistle
| name_CLA = Clachnacuddin
| name_DEV = Deveronvale
| name_FOU = Formartine United
| name_FOW = Fort William
| name_FRA = Fraserburgh
| name_HUN = Huntly
| name_INV = Inverurie Loco Works
| name_KEI = Keith
| name_LOS = Lossiemouth
| name_NAI = Nairn County
| name_ROT = Rothes
| name_STR = Strathspey Thistle
| name_TUR = Turriff United
| name_WIC = Wick Academy
| match_BRO_BUC =
| match_BRO_CLA =
| match_BRO_DEV = null
| match_BRO_FOU =
| match_BRO_FOW = null
| match_BRO_FRA =
| match_BRO_HUN =
| match_BRO_INV =
| match_BRO_KEI =
| match_BRO_LOS =
| match_BRO_NAI =
| match_BRO_ROT =
| match_BRO_STR =
| match_BRO_TUR =
| match_BRO_WIC = 5–1
| match_BUC_BRO =
| match_BUC_CLA =
| match_BUC_DEV =
| match_BUC_FOU =
| match_BUC_FOW =
| match_BUC_FRA =
| match_BUC_HUN =
| match_BUC_INV =
| match_BUC_KEI =
| match_BUC_LOS =
| match_BUC_NAI =
| match_BUC_ROT = null
| match_BUC_STR =
| match_BUC_TUR =
| match_BUC_WIC = null
| match_CLA_BRO =
| match_CLA_BUC =
| match_CLA_DEV =
| match_CLA_FOU =
| match_CLA_FOW =
| match_CLA_FRA =
| match_CLA_HUN =
| match_CLA_INV = 2–4
| match_CLA_KEI =
| match_CLA_LOS =
| match_CLA_NAI =
| match_CLA_ROT =
| match_CLA_STR =
| match_CLA_TUR =
| match_CLA_WIC =
| match_DEV_BRO = 0–5
| match_DEV_BUC =
| match_DEV_CLA =
| match_DEV_FOU =
| match_DEV_FOW =
| match_DEV_FRA =
| match_DEV_HUN = null
| match_DEV_INV =
| match_DEV_KEI = 1–2
| match_DEV_LOS =
| match_DEV_NAI =
| match_DEV_ROT =
| match_DEV_STR =
| match_DEV_TUR =
| match_DEV_WIC =
| match_FOU_BRO =
| match_FOU_BUC =
| match_FOU_CLA =
| match_FOU_DEV =
| match_FOU_FOW =
| match_FOU_FRA =
| match_FOU_HUN =
| match_FOU_INV =
| match_FOU_KEI =
| match_FOU_LOS =
| match_FOU_NAI = 2–1
| match_FOU_ROT =
| match_FOU_STR =
| match_FOU_TUR = null
| match_FOU_WIC =
| match_FOW_BRO = 0–10{{efn|Match played at Dudgeon Park, Brora.{{cite news|first=Jamie|last=Durent|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/highland-league/2741962/fort-william-ashley-hollyer-brora-rangers/|title=Highland League: Ashley Hollyer aware of Fort William's Brora challenge|work=The Press and Journal|publisher=Aberdeen Journals|date=19 December 2020|access-date=19 December 2020|quote=The game was also originally due to be played at Claggan Park, however due to ongoing maintenance work it has been switched to Brora.}}}}
| match_FOW_BUC =
| match_FOW_CLA =
| match_FOW_DEV =
| match_FOW_FOU =
| match_FOW_FRA =
| match_FOW_HUN =
| match_FOW_INV =
| match_FOW_KEI =
| match_FOW_LOS =
| match_FOW_NAI =
| match_FOW_ROT =
| match_FOW_STR =
| match_FOW_TUR =
| match_FOW_WIC =
| match_FRA_BRO =
| match_FRA_BUC =
| match_FRA_CLA =
| match_FRA_DEV =
| match_FRA_FOU =
| match_FRA_FOW =
| match_FRA_HUN =
| match_FRA_INV =
| match_FRA_KEI =
| match_FRA_LOS = null
| match_FRA_NAI = null
| match_FRA_ROT =
| match_FRA_STR =
| match_FRA_TUR = 13–1
| match_FRA_WIC =
| match_HUN_BRO =
| match_HUN_BUC =
| match_HUN_CLA =
| match_HUN_DEV = 1–1
| match_HUN_FOU =
| match_HUN_FOW =
| match_HUN_FRA =
| match_HUN_INV =
| match_HUN_KEI =
| match_HUN_LOS = null
| match_HUN_NAI =
| match_HUN_ROT = null
| match_HUN_STR =
| match_HUN_TUR =
| match_HUN_WIC =
| match_INV_BRO =
| match_INV_BUC =
| match_INV_CLA = null
| match_INV_DEV =
| match_INV_FOU =
| match_INV_FOW =
| match_INV_FRA =
| match_INV_HUN =
| match_INV_KEI = 2–0
| match_INV_LOS =
| match_INV_NAI =
| match_INV_ROT =
| match_INV_STR =
| match_INV_TUR =
| match_INV_WIC =
| match_KEI_BRO =
| match_KEI_BUC =
| match_KEI_CLA =
| match_KEI_DEV = null
| match_KEI_FOU =
| match_KEI_FOW =
| match_KEI_FRA =
| match_KEI_HUN =
| match_KEI_INV = null
| match_KEI_LOS =
| match_KEI_NAI =
| match_KEI_ROT =
| match_KEI_STR =
| match_KEI_TUR =
| match_KEI_WIC =
| match_LOS_BRO =
| match_LOS_BUC =
| match_LOS_CLA =
| match_LOS_DEV =
| match_LOS_FOU =
| match_LOS_FOW =
| match_LOS_FRA = 0–2
| match_LOS_HUN = 2–2
| match_LOS_INV =
| match_LOS_KEI =
| match_LOS_NAI =
| match_LOS_ROT =
| match_LOS_STR =
| match_LOS_TUR =
| match_LOS_WIC =
| match_NAI_BRO =
| match_NAI_BUC =
| match_NAI_CLA =
| match_NAI_DEV =
| match_NAI_FOU = null
| match_NAI_FOW =
| match_NAI_FRA = 0–1
| match_NAI_HUN =
| match_NAI_INV =
| match_NAI_KEI =
| match_NAI_LOS =
| match_NAI_ROT =
| match_NAI_STR =
| match_NAI_TUR =
| match_NAI_WIC =
| match_ROT_BRO =
| match_ROT_BUC = 1–5
| match_ROT_CLA =
| match_ROT_DEV =
| match_ROT_FOU =
| match_ROT_FOW =
| match_ROT_FRA =
| match_ROT_HUN = 1–0
| match_ROT_INV =
| match_ROT_KEI =
| match_ROT_LOS =
| match_ROT_NAI =
| match_ROT_STR =
| match_ROT_TUR =
| match_ROT_WIC =
| match_STR_BRO =
| match_STR_BUC =
| match_STR_CLA =
| match_STR_DEV =
| match_STR_FOU =
| match_STR_FOW =
| match_STR_FRA =
| match_STR_HUN =
| match_STR_INV =
| match_STR_KEI =
| match_STR_LOS =
| match_STR_NAI =
| match_STR_ROT =
| match_STR_TUR =
| match_STR_WIC =
| match_TUR_BRO =
| match_TUR_BUC =
| match_TUR_CLA =
| match_TUR_DEV =
| match_TUR_FOU = 1–5
| match_TUR_FOW =
| match_TUR_FRA = null
| match_TUR_HUN =
| match_TUR_INV =
| match_TUR_KEI =
| match_TUR_LOS =
| match_TUR_NAI =
| match_TUR_ROT =
| match_TUR_STR =
| match_TUR_WIC =
| match_WIC_BRO = null
| match_WIC_BUC = 2–3
| match_WIC_CLA =
| match_WIC_DEV =
| match_WIC_FOU =
| match_WIC_FOW =
| match_WIC_FRA =
| match_WIC_HUN =
| match_WIC_INV =
| match_WIC_KEI =
| match_WIC_LOS =
| match_WIC_NAI =
| match_WIC_ROT =
| match_WIC_STR =
| match_WIC_TUR =
| solid_cell = grey
}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.highlandfootballleague.com/}}
{{Highland Football League}}
{{2020–21 in Scottish football}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Highland Football League}}