Annan Athletic relegated after play-off final defeat
Annan Athletic have been relegated after defeat in the Scottish League One play-off final.
A 1-1 draw in the second leg against East Fife meant a 4-3 aggregate loss - and a return to League Two.
Wullie Gibson's side, trailing 3-2 from the first leg, levelled the final in the early stages at Galabank on Friday evening when Tommy Goss scored.
Ex-Carlisle United midfielder Josh Dixon was millimetres away from an Annan second when he hit the crossbar.
But East Fife regained the aggregate lead when Adam Laaref made it 1-1 on the night before half-time.
🎉 Tha East Fife a' dol shuas gu Lìog a h-Aon!@EastFifeFC are going up! Look at what it means 👇 pic.twitter.com/POzoR2u6Mz
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) May 16, 2025
And Dick Campbell's visitors held off Gibson's men after the break to clinch promotion as Annan's two-year stay in the third tier came to an end.
A 1,304 crowd packed into Galabank with the majority hoping Annan, who finished ninth in League One, could overturn League Two's second-placed finishers.
But afterwards player-boss Gibson, speaking via Annan's official channels, said: "I'm incredibly disappointed.
"The play-offs is an extra life and we've not managed to stay up.
"We're in the position we're in because we've conceded poor goals all season, and tonight was no different.
"I take the responsibility - over the course of the season it's been my team and it's not been good enough.
"We now need to do a very good job in terms of recruitment. We'll need to build on a tight budget and try to come back up again.
"That will be the desire in the changing room, from the boys, from myself and the staff.
"We don't want to be in League Two, and its going to hurt for a long time, but we need to bounce back."
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