Winner of today's match gets Morton Castle. Source.
Morton visit Palmerston Park to play Queen of the South.
If Morton win today, and Dundee United lose to Raith, Morton will move up into second place.
We have established through point by point comparison that the Swiss Challenge League is the European league most like the Scottish Championship, and that within that league the club most like Greenock Morton is FC Winterthur. But, on second thought, there was one ten-club second-tier division that we left out: the Scottish Championship. Which Scottish Championship club is most like Greenock Morton? Let's analyze each of Morton's nine rivals as they meet them in the coming weeks to see which one is most Tonlike.
How are Queen of the South like Morton?
Since 1994 Morton and QoS are the 3rd and 4th most frequent members of the second tier. Both clubs recently had one-year stints in the third tier. Palmerston Park is a good old-fashioned football ground, except for the artificial turf. Both teams wear blue and white. Morton have won the Scottish Cup once, QoS never. Queen of the South have won the Challenge Cup twice, Morton never. Neither club has won the League Cup.
How has the Battle for Morton Castle gone up till now?
Jan 28, 2012 QoS 2 - 1 Morton
Mar 29, 2014 QoS 3 - 0 Morton
Oct 10, 2015 QoS 1 - 0 Morton
[QoS win 3 - 0 and keep the castle. Morton slip to fourth place behind Falkirk.]
What was the high point in each competition for Morton in the 21st Century?
League Cup semi-final 2016-17
Scottish Cup quarter-final 2015-16
League First Division runners-up 2012-13
Challenge Cup semi-final 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08
Compare Queen of the South:
League Cup quarter-final 2016-17
Scottish Cup final 2007-08
Challenge Cup won 2002-03, 2012-13
League First Division/Championship, 4th place 6 times
What is the correct abbreviation for Greenock Morton? It's GMFC. But the people who design television graphics demand three-letter abbreviations. So you sometimes see MOR, and sometimes GMO, which also stands for genetically modified organism.
If Morton earn promotion, how well will they do in the Premiership?
Let's start with some assumptions: Morton finish third, and then win the playoffs, beating Falkirk, Dundee United, and then Hamilton. Hibs and Morton go up, Inverness and Hamilton go down.
Let's suppose that in the part of 2017-18 before the split, Morton perform exactly as they have done in their last three games against each opponent. This is a pessimistic measure, as most of those games were played by a worse Morton squad. In some cases it's also a hopelessly outdated measure as, in the case of Hearts, those games took place in the 1980s.
Over the first 33 games, Morton would win 5, draw 7, and lose 21, for a total of 22 points. That would not be enough to make the split. Let's suppose that Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, St Johnstone and Ross County make the split. If you look at Morton's fourth-most-recent game against each of Partick, Dundee, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, and Hibs, you find two more wins and three more losses. So Morton would finish with 28 points, good for twelfth place in every year so far in the 21st Century. Morton would be relegated.
Current away lossless streaks:
0 Raith Rovers
1 Dundee United, Dumbarton, St Mirren
2 Morton
3 Falkirk, QoS
4 Hibs, Dunfermline
5 Ayr United
Copa Liberadores, second stage, leg one. Let's follow the three winners from the first stage, plus the club with the best name:
Montevideo Wanderers 0 - 2 The Strongest (BOL)
This was The Strongest's first ever victory on Uruguayan soil.
Independiente del Valle 1 - 0 Olimpia (PAR)
Capiatá 1 - 3 Universitario (PER)
OFC Champions League, qualification round:
January 31st:
Puaikura 2 - 1 Lupe o le Soaga
Veitongo 3 - 1 Utulei Youth
February 3rd:
Puaikura 3 - 1 Utulei Youth
Lupe o le Soaga 1 - 1 Veitongo
Puaikura and Lope o le Soaga advance to the group stage.
It was the preliminary round of the 2017 AFC Champions League this midweek. No Japanese clubs involved yet. Last week's winner Global of the Philippines were knocked out 6 - 0 by Brisbane Roar. I notice that India is now in the West Zone.
The Swiss Challenge League ends its midwinter break and returns today to start the second half of the schedule. Our guys Winterthur are in eighth place, five points above the tenth, relegation, spot, currently occupied by Schaffhausen. Chiasso are ninth. In first place and running away with the league are FC Zürich.
Today: Chiasso [4 - 1] Winterthur
Auchinleck Talbot vs Largs Thistle
Largs Thistle, I should have mentioned before now, play in the Super League Premier Division, the top tier of the 64-club West Region of junior football. The Super League Premier Division has twelve clubs, each playing a 22-game schedule. The bottom three face relegation at the end of the season. Largs are currently eleventh and would drop automatically if the season were over now. Largs have six games left to play, but due to Scottish Cup and Scottish Junior Cup commitments, Auchinleck have twelve. [Auchinleck Talbot win 2 - 1.]
Comments