2014–15 East of Scotland Football League explained

The 2014–15 East of Scotland Football League (known for sponsorship reasons as the Central Taxis East of Scotland League) was the 86th season of the East of Scotland Football League, and the 1st season as the sixth tier of the Scottish football pyramid system. The season began on 9 August 2014 and ended on 16 May 2015. Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale were the defending champions.

The league was split into two separate divisions, the Premier Division and the First Division. This season saw the departure of Edinburgh University who left to join the Lowland Football League.

This was the first season in which the divisions were added to the Scottish league pyramid at levels six and seven. It was proposed that the winner of the Premier Division would compete in a play-off with the winner of the 2014–15 South of Scotland Football League (Wigtown & Bladnoch) for a place in the 2015–16 Lowland Football League, subject to relevant licensing and ground criteria. As both champions failed to match the valid licensing criteria, no play-off took place and Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale remained in the division for the following season.

This was the last season of the two-division setup until it returned for the 2019–20 season.

Premier Division

Competition:East of Scotland Football League Premier Division
Season:2014–15
Winners:Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
Relegated:None
Matches:108
Total Goals:434
Prevseason:2013–14
Nextseason:2015–16

The 2014–15 Premier Division saw a reduction in the number of clubs from ten to nine with fixtures being played over 24 rounds. The amendment to the number of member clubs was due to the departure of Edinburgh University to the Lowland Football League. As a result, Civil Service Strollers retained their place in the division despite finishing in the previous season's relegation places.

Following Easthouses Lily's move to junior football at the end of the season, no team was relegated and all Premier Division clubs joined their First Division counterparts to form one division for the 2015–16 season.

Teams

The following teams changed division prior to the 2013–14 season.

To Premier Division

Promoted from First Division

From Premier Division

Transferred to Lowland Football League

Relegated to First Division

TeamLocationHome groundCapacityRef.
Telford College Sports Ground 1,000 [1]
Home Park 1,000 [2]
St Mark’s Park 2,000 [3]
Newbattle Complex 1,500 [4]
Meadowbank 3G 500 [5]
Saughton Sports Complex 1,000 [6]
3,000 [7]
Gannochy Sports Centre 1,000 [8]
Fernieside Recreation Ground 1,500 [9]

League table

First Division

Competition:East of Scotland Football League First Division
Season:2014–15
Winners:Peebles Rovers
Promoted:All First Division clubs
Matches:112
Total Goals:473
Prevseason:2013–14
Nextseason:2015–16

The First Division also saw a reduction in member clubs from ten down to eight, with each team playing 28 fixtures. The reduction in numbers was caused by the reserve teams of Berwick Rangers and last season's winners Hibernian resigning from the league. After the season all First Division clubs joined their Premier Division counterparts to form one division for 2014–15.

Teams

The following teams changed division prior to the 2013–14 season.

To First Division

Relegated from Premier Division

From First Division

Promoted to Premier Division

TeamLocationHome groundCapacityRef.
Recreation Park 1,000 [10]
New Hawthorn Park 1,000 [11]
Warner Park 2,000 [12]
Albert Park 1,000 [13]
Riccarton Campus 1,800 [14]
Woodside Park 1,200 [15]
Recreation Park 2,000 [16]
Whitestone Park 2,250 [17]

League table

Notes and References

  1. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/civil.html Civil Service Strollers
  2. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/coldstream.html Coldstream
  3. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/craigroyston.html Craigroyston
  4. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/easthouses.html Easthouses Lily
  5. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/leith.html Leith Athletic
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20130517120914/http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/lothian.htm Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
  7. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/spartans.html Spartans EoS
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20131112102444/http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/stirling2.htm Stirling University Reserves
  9. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/tynecastle.html Tynecastle
  10. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/burntisland.html Burntisland Shipyard
  11. http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/duns.htm Duns
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20130517121322/http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/eyemouth.htm Eyemouth United
  13. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/hawick.html Hawick Royal Albert
  14. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/heriotwatt.html Heriot-Watt Uni
  15. http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/kelso.htm Kelso United
  16. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/ormiston.html Ormiston
  17. https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/peebles.html Peebles Rovers