Hurlford's Blair Park. Source.
It's Auchinleck Talbot vs Hurlford United in the Scottish Junior Cup, at Hampden [Rugby Park, Kilmarnock], not at either of the grounds shown. Talbot have won this cup 11 times, Hurlford once. Auchinleck and Hurlford are villages 18 miles apart in East Ayrshire.
Whereas there are only theories about how Greenock Morton got the name Morton, Auchinleck Talbot is unambiguously named after the 2nd Baron Talbot de Malahide, who provided the land for their pitch.
What is meant by senior and junior in Scottish football? The senior clubs are those of the SPFL, Highland League, Lowland League, East of Scotland League, South of Scotland League and North Caledonian League. Senior is subdivided into senior league and senior non-league. The SPFL is senior league, and the other leagues I just listed are senior non-league, even though they are leagues. The junior clubs are the member clubs of the SJFA. The difference is one of scale, with the seniors generally playing in cities and large towns, and the juniors in small towns and villages, although there are some junior clubs that outdraw senior clubs.
When the Scottish pyramid was implemented several years ago it was thought that the strongest junior clubs would line up to get in on it, but that didn't happen, at least not right away. But now thirteen junior clubs have made the jump to the East of Scotland League. Kelty Hearts led the way last year, won the league in their first season, and have now earned promotion to the Lowland League. In the West Clydebank have expressed a desire to start up the senior ladder. A West of Scotland League has been proposed, and could appear as soon as next summer.
In a separate development, the western region of the SJFA will be reorganized from five divisions to four this summer, putting an end to the Ayrshire District League.
[Auchinleck Talbot win 3 - 2.]
Morton watch: Still no manager. The three names on the managerial shortlist are said to be Lee McCulloch, Ray McKinnon and Jim McIntyre. But rumour also has Livingston manager David Hopkin signing with Morton and Jim Duffy joining Livingston. But rumour also has Hopkin signing with St Mirren.
Morton defender Mike Doyle saved somebody from a hotel room fire in Spain.
The 2018-19 League Cup groups are out. Morton are in Group E with Partick, Ayr, Albion Rovers and Stenny. That's winnable.
Sort the 2017-18 Championship clubs by competitive matches played:
53 Dumbarton
51 Dundee United
50 Livingston
48 Dunfermline
47 Falkirk
47 Queen of the South
47 Inverness CT
45 St Mirren
44 Morton
43 Brechin
Elsewhere:
HFX Wanderers FC was launched Friday. The club will play on the old Wanderers Ground when the new Canadian Premier League starts up next spring. I don't know whether HFX is supposed to pronounced HFX or Halifax.
UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid 3 - 1 Liverpool
League of Ireland, First Division: Cabinteely 2 - 0 UCD
Allsvenskan: Malmö FF [1 - 1] Dalkurd
J2: Mito HollyHock [0 - 2] Avispa Fukuoka
USL: Ottawa Fury 1 - 0 Bethlehem Steel FC
Ottawa have not conceded a goal in five games.
Scottish Women's Cup, First Round: Queen's Park [2 - 0] Morton
Ayrshire Cup, semi-final: Kilbirnie Ladeside 0 - 3 Largs Thistle (Largs won on penalty kicks.) (May 23)
SJFA West Div 1: Shettleston 0 - 3 Largs (May 26)
Saarland Cup final (May 21):
SV Elversberg (1 - 0) 1. FC Saarbrücken
German promotion playoffs:
1. FC Saarbrücken 2 - 3 TSV 1860 München (May 24)
TSV 1860 München [2 - 2] 1. FC Saarbrücken (May 27)
Abruzzo:
The Italian Serie D Girone F season is over. This is how the six teams from Abruzzo fared in the 18-team group:
Pos Team G W D L F A GD P
3rd Avezzano 34 16 14 4 51 26 +25 62
4th Pineto 34 15 12 7 53 41 +12 57
5th L'Aquila 34 15 10 9 57 40 +17 55
6th Francavilla 34 14 11 9 47 38 +9 53
8th Vastese 34 15 6 13 55 50 +5 51
14th San Nicolo 34 11 7 16 42 51 -9 40
Here's how they fared against each other:
Vastese 10 5 1 4 17 16 +1 16
Pineto 10 4 3 3 14 12 +2 15
Avezzano 10 3 5 2 17 12 +5 14
San Nicolo 10 4 2 4 17 21 -4 14
Francavilla 10 2 5 3 10 13 -3 11
L'Aquila 10 2 4 4 16 17 -1 10
In the promotion playoffs L'Aquila lost to 2nd-place Matelica, and Pineto beat Avezzano and then lost to Matelica in the final. In the relegation playout San Nicolo beat Jesina. So all six Abruzzo teams remain in Serie D.
Talbot bought their main stand from Hamilton Accies when the old Douglas Park was torn down. Source.
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