The scene after today's game, if Hibs win. Source. (Get a load of the guy trying to gnaw off a piece of the netting.)
Morton visit Easter Road to see if they can pry a point out of Hibernian. It has been three months and six days since Hibs ended their One Hundred and Fourteen Years of Hurt by winning the 2015-16 Scottish Cup. In the meantime they've hired former Celtic manager Neil Lennon with a mandate to get back to the Premiership by any means necessary.
Since winning the Scottish Cup, Hibs have been knocked out of the Europa League QR2 by Brøndby, the Scottish League Cup by Queen of the South, and Neil Lennon has received a five match UEFA ban for abusing an official. 63 Hibs supporters have been arrested for their part in the Scottish Cup disorder and one of them was jailed.
This is Hibernian's third consecutive season out of the Premiership. What other years have Hibs been out of the top tier? 1893-94, 1894-95, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1980-81, 1998-99.
Hibs have won their first three league games and are in second place, behind Raith Rovers on goal difference. Morton have played to a 1 - 1 draw in each of their first three. A 1 - 1 draw today would surely be some kind of record.
When have Morton ever begun the league season with three draws? 1975-76, Division One: Partick 0 - 0, St Mirren 2 - 2, Arbroath 2 - 2. Also 1960-61, Division Two: Stranraer 2 - 2, Stirling Albion 2 - 2, Brechin City 3 - 3. In both those years Morton's fourth start resulted in a loss.
When did Morton last play to four draws in a row? January 3rd, 17th, 24th, 31st, 2009 against Queen of the South, Dundee, Livingston and St Johnstone.
Morton's record for draw scores in a season is 16, set in 1989-90 (39 game schedule).
If Morton lose today, it will still be the furthest they have gone into the year before losing a competitive match since 1994, when they suffered their first loss on August 27th. What were Morton's best years, in terms of first loss deferred? 1963 (Oct 26), 1918 (Oct 19), 1977 (Oct 5), 1909 (Oct 2), 1912 (Sept 28), 1936 (Sept 26), 1944 (Sept 23), 1928 (Sept 22), 1966 (Sept 21), 1915 (Sept 20).
How many times have Morton played Hibs in the 21st Century? Last season they played four league games. Hibs won two, Morton won one, and there was one draw game. Apart from that there was the 2008-09 League Cup, Round Two, which Morton won.
What was Morton's best result against Hibs? 9 - 2, Feb 15th, 1919. What was Hibs' best score against Morton? 9 - 2, August 28th, 1893.
[Hibs win 4 - 0, leaving Morton in eighth place ahead of St Mirren and Ayr. Match report.]
1898-99. Morton's first home game of the season was against Ayr FC.
Ayr FC was formed in 1879 through a merger of Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academicals. Their home ground was Somerset Park. They wore red and yellow hoops. Ayr played thirteen seasons in the SFL, all of them in the second division. In 1910 the club merged with Ayr Parkhouse to become the Ayr United we know today.
Morton won 4 - 0.
About Strathspey Thistle.
Strathspey Thistle were founded in 1993 and played junior football until 2009 when they became one of three clubs to join the Highland League in its expansion from 15 to 18 teams. Formartine United and Turriff United were the other two. They play at Seafield Park, which can accommodate 1,600, in Grantown-on-Spey, up the Spey Valley. (A strath is a broad valley. A narrow valley is a glen.) They wear blue, and go by the nickname Strathy Jags.
They competed in the Scottish Cup for the first time in 2014-15, and lost in the first round to Culter. The following year they lost in the first round to Edinburgh University. Their first round opponent this year has yet to be drawn from the hat.
In their seven seasons in the Highland League they have finished 18th, 17th, 17th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 16th. Currently they are 18th with 0 points after four games, and a -18 goal difference.
Today: Clachnacuddin [0 - 2] Strathspey Thistle
Elsewhere:
UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, second leg: Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2 - 0 Celtic. Celtic win on aggregate and advance to the Champions League group stage, as opposed to the Europa League group stage, which is where Hapoel go. From this point on Celtic really begin to cash in.
In games so far this season, including friendlies, Celtic have played foreign clubs 14 times and Scottish clubs 3 times. There are six more UEFA matches to play by December 7th. Assuming that Celtic make up all postponed league games in a timely fashion, and go all the way to the Scottish League Cup final, their games against Scottish clubs should surpass those against foreign clubs on December 10th.
CAF Champions League Group B, August 23rd: Enyimba 3 - 1 Mamelodi Sundowns. This was a nothing game as Enyimba were already eliminated, and Mamelodi had already won the group, except for Enyimba's Mfon Udoh who scored twice and leads the tournament with nine goals.
Today it's the final of the Faroe Islands Cup between KÍ Klaksvíkar and Víkingur Gøta. [KÍ win on penalty kicks.]
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy [3 - 2] Largs Thistle
Tomorrow: UCD [2 - 3] Limerick. [Limerick win the division with six games left to play.]
Tomorrow: Häcken [3 - 1] Östersund
Monday: Mohun Bagan vs Tollygunge Agragami
[Drama! MB quit the match and the Calcutta Football League over a disallowed goal.]
Morton gave their website a redesign this summer. For those with instant nostalgia, here's a screen capture of how it used to look:
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