North Eastern Football League (Scotland)

The North Eastern League was a regional Scottish football competition held during the Second World War, due to the suspension of the Scottish Football League. Held between 1941 and 1945, the competition was played in two stages each season (autumn and spring), with bonus points awarded in the second stage: initially, for teams with higher aggregate scores over the two series; latterly, for away draws/wins. Some reserve teams from the bigger clubs competing in the other region, the Southern League, entered the North Eastern League, with the Rangers 'A' team winning both stages in the first season.

North Eastern League

Sport	Football
Founded	1941
Ceased	1945
No. of teams	10
Country	Scotland
Last champion(s)	Aberdeen
Most titles	Aberdeen (4)
Related competitions	North Eastern League Cup

In the 1945–46 season, with the war itself at an end, the North Eastern League merged with the Southern League; however, only Aberdeen participated in the A Division (finishing in third position); the rest of the clubs were placed in the B Division along with some from the Southern region including those who had finished at the foot of the table in its previous edition.

There was also a North Eastern League Cup. Regular football returned in 1946, with the regional competitions disbanded.

Tables

1941–42

First Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Rangers 'A' 14 10 2 2 52 22 22 2 East Fife 14 8 5 1 34 16 21 3 Aberdeen 14 8 3 3 49 23 19 4 Dunfermline Athletic 14 6 3 5 38 44 15 5 St Bernard's 14 5 3 6 36 48 13 6 Dundee United 14 3 4 7 32 45 10 7 Raith Rovers 14 3 1 10 40 57 7 8 Leith Athletic 14 2 1 11 31 57 5

Second Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts 1 Rangers 'A' 14 10 1 3 49 33 5 21 2 Aberdeen 14 9 2 3 37 15 6 20 3 East Fife 14 8 2 4 32 27 4 18 4 Dundee United 14 7 3 4 37 25 4 17 5 Raith Rovers 14 6 2 6 38 38 3 14 6 Dunfermline Athletic 14 4 2 8 30 42 2 10 7 Leith Athletic 14 3 2 9 29 46 1 8 8 St Bernard's 14 1 2 11 19 45 0 4 BP - an extra point was awarded by having a better aggregate score over each opponent

1942–43

First Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Aberdeen 14 11 1 2 51 16 23 2 Dunfermline Athletic 14 10 0 4 28 23 20 3 East Fife 14 8 1 5 27 19 17 4 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 14 6 0 8 26 32 12 5 Rangers 'A' 14 6 0 8 30 31 12 6 Dundee United 14 5 0 9 24 36 10 7 Hibernian 'A' 14 4 1 9 29 44 9 8 Raith Rovers 14 4 1 9 23 37 9

Second Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts 1 Aberdeen 14 10 2 2 39 12 7 22 2 East Fife 14 9 2 3 38 23 5 20 3 Raith Rovers 14 9 1 4 42 34 4 19 4 Dunfermline Athletic 14 6 3 5 30 28 3 15 5 Rangers 'A' 14 5 2 7 32 23 3 12 6 Dundee United 14 5 1 8 25 32 2 11 7 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 14 4 3 7 36 45 2 11 8 Hibernian 'A' 14 1 0 13 19 64 0 2 BP - an extra point was awarded by having a better aggregate score over each opponent

1943–44

First Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Raith Rovers 14 11 0 3 42 24 22 2 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 14 9 1 4 35 27 19 3 Aberdeen 14 7 3 4 36 22 17 4 Dunfermline Athletic 14 8 1 5 35 22 17 5 Dundee United 14 7 0 7 36 43 14 6 East Fife 14 4 1 9 22 31 9 7 Rangers 'A' 14 4 1 9 24 22 9 8 Falkirk 'A' 14 2 1 11 15 4 5

Second Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts 1 Aberdeen 14 9 2 3 40 18 4 20 2 Rangers 'A' 14 9 2 3 42 25 4 20 3 East Fife 14 6 3 5 26 14 3 15 4 Dundee United 14 6 1 7 30 39 2 13 5 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 14 5 2 7 28 33 2 12 6 Dunfermline Athletic 14 5 1 8 27 33 2 11 7 Raith Rovers 14 4 3 7 19 29 2 11 8 Falkirk 'A' 14 4 2 8 27 48 2 10 BP - 3 points were awarded for an away win, 2 points for an away draw

1944–45

First Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Dundee 18 13 2 3 56 30 28 2 Raith Rovers 18 10 2 6 42 32 22 3 Dunfermline Athletic 18 8 5 5 49 36 21 4 Arbroath 18 6 4 8 30 43 16 5 East Fife 18 6 4 8 31 44 16 6 Rangers 'A' 18 7 2 9 32 32 16 7 Dundee United 18 5 3 10 34 49 13 8 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 18 5 2 11 31 49 12 9 Falkirk 'A' 18 3 3 12 16 47 9 10 Aberdeen 18 3 1 14 65 21 7

Second Series P Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts 1 Aberdeen 18 11 3 4 63 19 6 25 2 East Fife 18 10 3 5 39 29 5 23 3 Rangers 'A' 18 10 3 5 41 25 4 23 4 Dunfermline Athletic 18 9 3 6 38 35 4 21 5 Dundee 18 10 0 8 49 36 33 20 6 Dundee United 18 7 2 9 31 54 3 16 7 Raith Rovers 18 7 1 10 39 47 3 15 8 Arbroath 18 5 4 9 28 43 4 14 9 Heart of Midlothian 'A' 18 5 4 9 27 42 4 14 10 Falkirk 'A' 18 4 1 13 32 57 2 9 BP - 3 points were awarded for an away win, 2 points for an away draw

See also

• Association football during World War II