Morton visit Palmerston Park one last time to tangle with Queen of the South, the only team in the Bible, as their fans will have you understand. The original Q o' S was of course the Queen of Sheba, who ruled Ethiopia or Yemen or both in the days of Solomon. There are Jewish, Islamic, Ethiopian and renaissance European artistic traditions surrounding her. And don't forget about Hollywood. Betty Blythe played the Queen of Sheba in a 1921 film of the same name.
All of which is to say I've run out of things to say about Queen of the South FC.
Except that Ross County beat them in the long-delayed Scottish League Challenge Club final Saturday. Morton and QoS fans can console each other with the thought that both their clubs were crushed by the same Ross County juggernaut.
We're nearing the end of the season, and the promotion/relegation picture is getting clearer. Stirling Albion are now officially relegated to the Second Division. Livingston, who were hurled two divisions downward for insolvency at the start of the 2009-10 season, have now made it back and will play in the First Division next season, and most likely will be tough opponents. They finished third in the Premier League not so many years ago. Hamilton Academical seem to be on track to fall from the Premier League, though whether Raith or Dunfermline replace them will be a matter for the final weekend. Going into today's match Morton's magic number for avoiding a relegation playoff is four. (Do they talk about the magic number in soccer? It's the number of points Morton must earn to do better than the ninth-place team can possibly do. As Morton win and tie, and Cowdenbeath lose and tie, the magic number should dwindle to zero, possibly by full time Saturday.)
[Morton win 4 - 1! This is their first four-goal league game this season, and it avenges their 4 - 0 loss to Queens in February and ends the Doonhamers' chance of promotion. Morton now sit in fourth place, ahead of QoS, needing only one point to clinch a place in the 2011-12 First Division.]
