Comedy team Morton and Mayo. Read about them.
It the Third Round of the 2018-19 Scottish Cup. Morton host Peterhead.
These clubs have met three times before in this cup. Morton won in 1937-38; Peterhead won in 2000-01 and 2008-09. Their most recent game in any competition took place on the final Saturday of the 2014-15 League One season at Cappielow. Morton won that game 3 - 1 and earned promotion. Peterhead have only won at Cappielow once, on Dec 20th, 2014.
Peterhead made it to this round by defeating Kelty Hearts 3 - 2. The Blue Toon are 2nd in League Two, where they have allowed only 9 goals in 12 league games. They did not make it out of the League Cup group stage, and they fell to Bohemians in Round Two of the Challenge Cup.
Peterhead manager Jim McInally has been in the post seven years, which is seven years longer than about a dozen other SPFL bosses. Only three -- McInally, Derek McInnes of Aberdeen, and Tommy Wright of St Johnstone -- have been in their jobs longer than four years. McInally was Morton boss from 2004 to 2008.
McInally recently delivered a seething interview in which he savaged the SPFL for its mishandling of the Challenge Cup, Morton for throwing their Challenge Cup First Round match against Dumbarton, and Morton exec Warren Hawke for being behind both travesties. Source.
Peterhead's Jamie Stevenson and Derek Lyle both played for Morton in years gone by.
Read the Peterhead fan forum, Sing When We're Fishing.
Morton need to win (or better yet, draw) this game if they hope to meet Plenty of Nothing's benchmark of 48 matches in 2018-19. If a replay is necessary it will be played November 27th. There have been only three replays so far this Scottish Cup, which is on the low side.
Number of Scottish Cup replays each year this decade:
2018-19 3 (to date)
2017-18 6
2016-17 20
2015-16 21
2014-15 16
2013-14 17
2012-13 17
2011-12 16
2010-11 25
Did a memo go round in 2017?
Other matches involving Championship sides today:
Beith [0 - 3] Ayr.
It's an Ayrshire derby.
Edinburgh City [1 - 1] Inverness CT (tomorrow)
Between them these clubs have only two losses in league action this season (but four in cup play).
QoS [4 - 1] Formartine
First meeting ever.
Alloa [3 - 0] Brechin
First Scottish Cup encounter since 1997.
Stenhousemuir [4 - 2] Falkirk. [Ha ha.]
See here and here for the history of Stenny versus Falkirk.
Also:
Fraserburgh [0 - 1] Auchinleck Talbot
This is Talbot's sixth game in this year's Scottish Cup.
Six Championship and ten League One clubs enter the Cup in this round, joining seven from League Two, three from the Highland League, four from the Lowland League, and Beith and Auchinleck Talbot from the juniors.
[Morton 1 - 1 Peterhead. Goal by McHugh. The replay is Tuesday in Peterhead.]
Championship: Ross County (3rd) [2 - 1] Dunfermline (7th)
Both these teams have a bye into the fourth round, so their November 13th match, which was pre-empted by Ross County's Challenge Cup quarter final last Saturday, fits here nicely.
Dundee United and Alloa played their Challenge-Cup-pre-empted game on Tuesday. The Tangerines won 4 - 2.
It's also Round Four of the Scottish Junior Cup. Let's watch:
Darvel [1 - 2] Largs Thistle
Carnoustie Panmure vs Troon [postponed]
Kilsyth Rangers [1 - 3] Hurlford United
1928-29. Morton entertained East Stirlingshire at Cappielow where they played to a 2 - 2 draw.
1951-52. Morton visited Hearts and lost 4 - 1.
Matches at Cappielow November 2018:
Nov 3 Morton 5 - 1 Partick
Nov 10 Morton 0 - 2 Alloa
Nov 12 Morton reserves 0 - 2 Motherwell reserves
Nov 15 Morton reserves 0 - 1 Manchester United U-23s
Nov 24 Morton [1 - 1] Peterhead
Arthurlie vs Brechin City. These two were together in the Third Division in 1923-24. Arthurlie won 4 - 0 at home, then Brechin won 2 - 0 at Glebe Park.
The SPFL is talking about creating a League Three which would take in four Highland clubs and four Lowland clubs plus four Premiership colt teams. Read about it here.
Kanto University League: Komazawa [1 - 0 ] Tsukuba
Here ends the 2018 Kanto University Soccer League schedule. [Tsukuba finished second, 8 points behind Waseda University.]
Kashima Antlers and Ventforet Kofu played their Emperor's Cup quarter-final on Wednesday. Kashima won 1 - 0. Because Kashima are into the FIFA Club World Cup this win triggers a rescheduling of the Emperor's Cup semi-finals and final. The semi-finals move from Dec 16th to Dec 5th, and the final from Dec 24th to Dec 9th, and I have to move some blog posts around.
The Canadian Premier League has bought the Ontario League 1. Story.
Danish 1st Division: Fredericia [3 - 0] Naestved
The Danish 1st Division is off until March.
Swiss Challenge League: Lausanne [5 - 1] Winterthur
Who won in Iceland this year? Valur finished first and go to the UEFA Champions League. Breiðablik, Stjarnan and KR advance to the Europa League. Our guys ÍBV finished sixth.
Who won in the Faroe Islands this year? HB finished first and make the Champions League. NSÍ, our guys B36, and KÍ go to the Europa League.
Who won in Sweden this year? AIK finished atop the Allsvensken and advance to the Champions League. Norrköping and Malmö go into the Europa League. Ex-Morton man Fouad Bacherou made 40 starts for Malmö but did not score.
Regionalliga Südwest: FSV Frankfurt [1 - 2] 1. FC Saarbrücken
It's the final round of the National Regional Football Champions League 2018 in Japan. The four clubs play a round robin to establish a pecking order for promotion to the JFL. They are FC Kariya, Suzuka United, Matsue City FC and J.FC Miyazaki.
[And the pecking order is: Matsue, Suzuka, Kariya, Miyazaki.]
It's also Round Two of the 40th Empress's Cup:
Match No. 17: Nippon TV Beleza (N1) [6 - 1] JFA Academy Fukushima
Match No. 18: Orca Kamogawa (N2) [6 - 1] Daito Bunka University
Match No. 19: Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies (N1) [1 - 0] Nippon TV Menina*
Match No. 20: Mynavi Vegalta Sendai Ladies (N1) [2 - 0] Waseda University
Match No. 21: AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies (N1) [4 - 0] Mukogawa Women's University
Match No. 22: Ehime FC Ladies (N2) [0 - 1] Tokigawa Gakuin High School
Match No. 23: Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls (N2) [2 - 1] Kanagawa University
Match No. 24: Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (N1) [5 - 1] Bunnys Kyoto SC (N2)
Match No. 25: Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara (N1) [3 - 0] Fujieda Junshin High School
Match No. 26: Sfida Setagawa FC (N2) [0 - 4] AS Harima Albion (N2)
Match No. 27: Iga FC Kunoichi (N2) [1 - 2] Teikyo Heisei University
Match No. 28: JEF United Chiba Ladies (N1) [2 - 0] Angeviolet Hiroshima
Match No. 29: Albirex Niigata Ladies (N1) [3 - 2] Okayama Yunogo Belle (N2)
Match No. 30: Nippon Sport Science University Fields Yokohama (N1) [1 - 0] JEF United Chiba Ladies U-18
Match No. 31: Shizuoka Sangyo University Iwata Bonita (N2) [6 - 1] Nippon Sport Science University Fields Yokohama Satellite
Match No. 32: INAC Kobe Leonessa (N1) [4 - 0] NGU Loveledge Nagoya
*NTV Menina is NTV Beleza's academy team.
Chart showing Kuwait's FIFA ranking over the past ten years, from the Kuwaiti Football Association website:
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