 Football out with the Scottish Premiership continues with the Championship and League One play-off semi-finals kicking off tonight, with the return games to be played on Saturday 13 May. The winners of the ties will go into the finals which are due to be played on 17 and 20 May 17, with the team who occupied the highest league position at the end of the regular season at home in the second leg.Airdrieonians v Alloa – Championship semi-final, first leg Alloa, draw specialists of League One, finished 10 points in front of the Diamonds despite losing their final game of the season 3-2 at Peterhead. Airdrieonians secured their play-off place by beating Queen's Park 3-2 to finish third. The Diamonds have the division's top scorer in Andy Ryan but also have the worst defensive record. The four games between the teams this season give no indication of a favourite as they produced two wins each. Brechin v Raith Rovers – Championship semi-final, first leg Darren Dods' side drew 1-1 at Stenhousemuir on Saturday to finish fourth in League One, four points clear of both East Fife and Queen's Park. John Hughes’ men beat Ayr United 2-1 at Stark's Park but an inferior goal difference to Dumbarton and St Mirren means they ended up in the relegation play-off place. The sides haven't met since April 2009 when Rovers won 2-0 at Stark's Park. Annan v Forfar - League 1 semi-final, first leg Annan denied Forfar the League Two title with a 4-2 win at Station Park at the weekend, as Arbroath lifted the trophy, and have a strong home record this season. Forfar have done well overall on their travels and won 2-1 at Galabank in January but return south having won just two of their last 13 games. Annan must be due a draw soon - they haven't secured one since October. Montrose v Peterhead – League 1 semi-final, first leg Montrose were bottom of League Two in December but an excellent second half of the season saw Stewart Petrie's men sneak past Elgin City into fourth spot on the final day thanks to a 1-1 draw with Clyde. Peterhead were only 10 minutes away from being relegated from League One until Jordon Brown scored to secure a 3-2 win over Alloa that sent Stenhousemuir down. The last meeting of the teams was a Challenge Cup tie at Links Park in July 2014, which the Blue Toon won 3-0. |
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