Plenty of Nothing

Cliftonhill

Cliftonhill, 1934. Source. Christmas Day will the 100th anniversary of the opening of Albion Rovers' stadium.

Morton visit Indodrill Stadium for a game against Alloa Athletic. Morton hold ninth place, Alloa tenth. If Alloa win Morton will take over last place.

So far this season Morton have not earned a point away from Cappielow. How does that compare to their other drought years?

First away point:

                Match #    Date            score

1987-88        19        Nov 18        Hibs 0 - 0 Morton

(2019-20       17        today's game)

1893-94        16        April 28       Northern 2 - 7 Morton

1921-22*       15        Nov 5          Hamilton 1 - 1 Morton

*Morton did not earn an away point until November, but in April they won the Scottish Cup.

How does this compare to Brechin City 2017-18? Brechin did not earn their first league point away until match 23, a 1 - 2 win at Dumbarton, on Feb 3.

Morton's 0 - 0 - 8 away record is nearly the mirror image of Dundee United's 8 - 0 - 0 home record. United have 26 goals for and only 5 goals against at home. Morton have 5 goals for and 24 goals against away.

The other Championship matches:

Dundee United (1st) [4 - 0] Ayr United (3rd)

Inverness CT (2nd) [2 - 0] Dunfermline (4th)

Partick Thistle (8th) [0 - 1] Dundee (5th)

Queen of the South (7th) [2 - 0] Arbroath (6th)

These two were both in the Second Division in 2012-13.

[Morton win 0 - 2, their first away points of the season. Goals by Cadden and Baird.]

League One:

Clyde (8th) [3 - 1] Airdrieonians (2nd)

Montrose (5th) [2 - 3] Falkirk (4th)

Peterhead (7th) [1 - 2] East Fife (3rd)

Raith Rovers (1st) [0 - 2] Dumbarton (6th)

These two were in the Championship in 2016-17.

Stranraer (10th) [2 - 4] Forfar (9th)

1907-08: Morton visited Port Glasgow and won 2 - 4. Attendance 4000.

1963-64: Morton visited Raith Rovers and beat them 0 - 3.

SPFL Reserve League: Morton 6 - 1 Dunfermline (Dec 17)

FIFA Club World Cup:

Semi-finals (Dec 17 - 18):

Monterrey 1 - 2 Liverpool

Flamengo 3 - 1 Al-Hilal

Final:

Liverpool [1 - 0] Flamengo

[Liverpool FC are champions of the world.]

A definitive list of players who are not returning to HFX Wanderers for 2020 is out: Elton John, Matthew Arnone, Andre Bona, Juan Diego Gutierrrez, Chakib Hocine, Kodai Iida, Mohamed Kououma, Vincent Lamy, Ndzemdzela Langwa, Duran Lee, Kouame Ouattara, Luis Alberto Perea, Elliot Simmons, Tomasz Skublak, Zachary Sukunda, Abd-El-Aziz Yousef.

HFX Wanderers have signed forward Alessandro Riggi, previously of the USL Championship club Phoenix Rising.

Iida Kodai has signed with Oklahoma City Energy FC of the USL Championship.

Games in which Morton scored five or more goals in the 2010s:

2019/7/16      Morton 6 - 1 Dumbarton

2018/11/3      Morton 5 - 1 Partick Thistle

2018/7/28      Morton 5 - 0 Albion Rovers

2017/7/29      Morton 5 - 0 Edinburgh City

2016/12/3      Beith 0 - 6 Morton

2016/10/15    Queen of the South 0 - 5 Morton

2015/8/1        Morton 5 - 0 Elgin City

2014/8/19      Morton 5 - 2 Berwick Rangers

2013/8/3        East Fife 2 - 6 Morton

2013/4/6        Morton 5 - 2 Airdrie United

2012/12/17    Morton 6 - 0 Turriff United

2012/11/17    Dumbarton 1 - 5 Morton

2012/8/5        East Stirlingshire 1 - 5 Morton

2011/11/19    Morton 5 - 1 Deveronvale

2011/8/9        Forfar 0 - 5 Morton

2011/7/23      Stranraer 0 - 8 Morton

2011/1/25      Airdrie United 2 - 5 Morton

2010/7/31      Stranraer 1 - 7 Morton

(Jan 1 2010 to Dec 31 2019. League and cup only.)

Port Glasgow Athletic versus Morton.

Leagues:

1891-92 Scottish Alliance:

1891/9/19      Port Glasgow Athletic 5 - 5 Morton

1891/11/7      Morton 1 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

Both clubs joined the Scottish Football League in 1893, and until Port Glasgow dropped out in 1911 the two clubs played all but three years in the same division (seven years in Div 2, eight in Div 1), for a total of thirty league matches. Port Glasgow won fourteen matches, Morton won thirteen, and there were three draws.

Both were members of the supplementary Glasgow and West of Scotland Football League from 1898-98 till 1905-06. Their matches:

1898/11/12    Morton 2 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1899/5/15      Port Glasgow Athletic 3 - 1 Morton

1899/12/30    Morton 3 - 1 Port Glasgow Athletic

(1899-1900)   another match

1901/4/15      Morton 2 - 3 Port Glasgow Athletic

1901/5/15      Port Glasgow Athletic 4 - 2 Morton

1901/12/21    Port Glasgow Athletic 2 - 2 Morton

1902/1/1        Morton 1 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1903/1/24      Port Glasgow Athletic 3 - 2 Morton

1903/5/11      Morton 0 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1904/2/27      Port Glasgow Athletic 2 - 2 Morton

1904/5/11      Morton 1 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1905/2/25      Port Glasgow Athletic 2 - 2 Morton

1905/5/6        Morton 3 - 1 Port Glasgow Athletic

1906/4/9        Morton 1 - 3 Port Glasgow Athletic

Cups:

They met only once in the Scottish Cup:

1888/9/1        R1        Port Glasgow Athletic 3 - 7 Morton

The Renfrewshire Cup:

1885/3/21        Port Glasgow Athletic 2 - 1 Morton (cup-winning game)

1894/10/6        Morton 2 - 3 Port Glasgow Athletic

1895/12/14      Port Glasgow Athletic 3 - 2 Morton

1897/3/27        Morton 2 - 4 Port Glasgow Athletic

1898/2/12        Morton 1 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic (abandoned)

1898/2/19        Morton 3 - 0 Port Glasgow Athletic (abandoned)

1898/2/26        Morton 1 - 4 Port Glasgow Athletic (in Paisley)

1899/4/8          Morton 4 - 3 Port Glasgow Athletic

1900/4/21        Port Glasgow Athletic 3 - 2 Morton

1900/4/28        Morton 1 - 1 Port Glasgow Athletic (cup-winning game)

1907/8/21        Port Glasgow Athletic 2 - 2 Morton

1907/8/28        Morton 2 - 0 Port Glasgow Athletic

1909/4/21        Morton 2 - 0 Port Glasgow Athletic

1909/4/26        Port Glasgow Athletic 4 - 2 Morton

1909/4/30        Morton 1 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic (cup-winning game)

1910/8/15        Morton 3 - 1 Port Glasgow Athletic

1912/1/3          Morton 2 - 0 Port Glasgow Athletic

The Renfrewshire Coronation Cup:

1902/5/24        Morton 2 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1902/6/3          Morton 2 - 2 Port Glasgow Athletic

1902/6/9          Port Glasgow Athletic 4 - 0 Morton (in Paisley)

Almost all of these scores come out of the Scottish Football Historical Archive.

Jólasveinarnir

Every Christmastime the Yule Lads sneak down, one a day, from the hills, to cause mischief in people's houses, until all thirteen are around, and then they sneak away, one a day, until they're all gone again and the season is over. I wonder if Tolkien had them in mind when he wrote about the dwarves at the beginning of The Hobbit. Source.

Northwest Arm Penitentiary

The Northwest Arm Penitentiary was a federal prison located in the south end of Halifax from 1844 to 1948. It occupied a block of land whose shape can still be seen as the big bite taken out the western shoreline of Point Pleasant Park. The site is now a neighbourhood of 1950s bungalows, where one of the streets has the evocative name of Chain Rock Drive. Source.

Catherine the Tank

Tennis Racket Portrait

Read about an Ottawa house full of art including this tennis racket portrait by Mark Marsters.

Golden Kamuy Snow Globe

Source.

The Alunda Elk

This stone moose head was carved around 2000 BC and found in 1920 in Uppland, Sweden.

About Peebles Rovers

You can get soaked at the Peebles Hydro. Source.

Morton host Queen of the South. Morton are eighth in the division with 16 points, QoS seventh with 19.

Morton are only two points out of last place. If Partick win or draw and Alloa win today, and Morton lose, Morton will take over last place.

Morton's next two games after this one are against Alloa and Partick. Morton urgently need to come up with a winning streak. If you can't beat the bottom teams you are the bottom team.

[Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch.]

The other Championship matches:

Arbroath (5th) [0 - 1] Dundee United (1st)

Ayr United (4th) [2 - 1] Alloa (10th)

Dundee (6th) [4 - 3] Dunfermline (3rd)

Partick Thistle (9th) [3 - 1] Inverness CT (2nd)*

(*Championship League Cup, Round Two.)

League One:

Airdrieonians (2nd) [2 - 1] Peterhead (7th)

Falkirk (3rd) [1 - 1] Raith Rovers (1st)

Forfar (9th) [3 - 4] Dumbarton (6th)

Montrose (5th) [4 - 0] Clyde (8th)

Stranraer (10th) [0 - 2] East Fife (4th)

1907-08: Morton were home to Dundee FC who played them to a 2 - 2 draw.

1963-64: Morton hosted Cowdenbeath and won 2 - 0.

HFX Wanderers goaltender Jan-Michael Williams has retired, but he'll return to the club in 2020 as a goalie coach. Peter Schaale has re-signed.

Ottawa Fury have sold their USL membership to Miami FC.

Swiss Challenge League: Wil [4 - 0] Winterthur (tomorrow)

The Challenge League season is half done. The league now takes a break until January 24th.

[After 18 games Winterthur have 6 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses, and occupy 6th place.]

UEFA Europa League group stage, matchday 6 (Dec 12):

Cluj 2 - 0 Celtic

Rangers 1 - 1 Young Boys

Copenhagen 0 - 1 Malmö

Celtic, Rangers and Malmö all advance to the knockout phase.

FIFA Club World Cup:

Round One (Dec 11):

Al-Sadd 3 - 1 Hienghène Sport

Round Two (today):

Monterrey [3 - 2] Al-Sadd

Al-Hilal [1 - 0] Espérance Sportive de Tunis

The Club World Cup will continue in the present seven-club format next year, and then expand to 24 clubs in 2021. Source.

Championship League Cup*, Round Two results:

2019/10/29    Morton 2 - 3 Ayr United

2019/12/7      Arbroath 1 - 1 Dundee (Arbroath advanced on the yellow card rule.)

2019/12/7      Dundee United 2 - 1 Alloa

2019/12/14    Partick Thistle [3 - 1] Inverness CT

*The Championship League Cup uses actual match results to simulate a tier-II knockout tournament. It is as yet unsponsored.

About Peebles Rovers:

Peebles is a picturesque market and spa town in the watershed of the Tweed, rather closer to Edinburgh than to England.

Peebles Rovers FC was founded in 1893. The club's home ground is Whitestone Park.

The club played in the Border League in 1893-94, 1896-97, 1897-98, 1902 till 1908, 1911-12 and 1912-13, 1919-20, 1920-21 and 1921-22. They were members of the Scottish Football Union in 1909-10 (finishing 3rd), 1910-11 (1st), 1911-12 (7th) and 1914-15 (an unfinished season). They also participated in the Eastern League in 1912-13 and 1913-14, and a different Eastern League in 1921-22.

They joined the Western League for 1922-23, and then followed the other clubs into the SFL as the new Third Division. In three seasons in the Scottish League Third Division they finishing 14th, 8th and 14th.

After the Third Division was dissolved the club played the 1926-27 season as members of the Scottish Alliance. They entered the Midlothian Junior League in 1927-28.

They joined the East of Scotland League in the 1928-29 season, and won the league championship five times before the war, and again in 1945-46. They played in the EoSFL until 1966 when they went junior and then amateur. They rejoined the EoSFL in 1979 and have been there ever since, generally in the lower division. Perhaps remembering their experience of the 1920s they opted to stay where they were when most of the top division went off to form the Lowland League in 2015.

Peebles Rovers versus Queen of the South in the SFL:

1923/11/17    Peebles Rovers 1 - 1 Queen of the South

1924/3/22      Queen of the South 4 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1924/11/8      Peebles Rovers 0 - 1 Queen of the South

1925/1/31      Queen of the South 6 - 0 Peebles Rovers

Peebles Rovers versus Montrose in the SFL:

1923/9/8        Peebles Rovers 3 - 1 Montrose

1924/3/15      Montrose 1 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1924/11/22    Montrose 2 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1924/12/20    Peebles Rovers 4 - 3 Montrose

1925/9/26      Montrose 5 - 3 Peebles Rovers

Peebles Rovers versus Brechin City in the SFL:

1923/12/1      Brechin City 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1924/2/16      Peebles Rovers 2 - 0 Brechin City

1924/12/6      Peebles Rovers 3 - 1 Brechin City

1925/2/21      Brechin City 4 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1925/10/24    Peebles Rovers 3 - 0 Brechin City

Peebles Rovers versus Forfar Athletic in the SFL:

1926/1/30      Forfar Athletic 5 - 2 Peebles Rovers

1926/4/10      Peebles Rovers 2 - 1 Forfar Athletic

Peebles Rovers in the Scottish Cup:

1907-08    R1    Celtic 4 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1912-13    R2    Aberdeen University 0 - 3 Peebles Rovers

                 R3    Peebles Rovers 0 - 3 Celtic

1913-14    R2    Forres Mechanics 0 - 4 Peebles Rovers

                 R3    Stevenston United 3 - 2 Peebles Rovers

1922-23    R1    Moorpark 0 - 4 Peebles Rovers

                 R2    Hibs 0 - 0 Peebles Rovers

                          Hibs 3 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1924-25    R1    St Cuthbert Wanderers 0 - 0 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 5 - 0 St Cuthbert Wanderers

                 R2    Dykehead 3 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1925-26    R1    Peebles Rovers 7 - 3 Keith

                 R2    Albion Rovers 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 0 - 4 Albion Rovers

1926-27    R1    Kilmarnock 3 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1930-31    R1    Peebles Rovers 0 - 4 Falkirk

1934-35    R1    St Mirren 3 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1935-36    R1    Peebles Rovers 3 - 3 Dalbeattie Star

                          Dalbeattie Star 1 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1936-37    R1    Falkirk 6 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1951-52    R1    Berwick Rangers 7 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1953-54    R1    Montrose 0 - 1 Peebles Rovers

                 R2    Peebles Rovers 1 - 1 Buckie Thistle

                          Buckie Thistle 7 - 2 Peebles Rovers

1954-55    R1    Ross County 2 - 2 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 5 - 1 Ross County

                 R2    Peebles Rovers 4 - 3 Girvan Amateurs

                 R3    Peebles Rovers 5 - 2 St Cuthbert Wanderers

                 R4    Peebles Rovers 0 - 2 Forres Mechanics

1955-56    R1    Newton Stewart 3 - 5 Peebles Rovers

                 R2    Peebles Rovers 4 - 3 Eyemouth United

                 R3    Inverness Thistle 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 2 - 1 Inverness Thistle

                 R4    Brechin City 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 4 - 4 Brechin City

                          Peebles Rovers 0 - 0 Brechin City

                          Brechin City 6 - 2 Peebles Rovers

1956-57    R1    Peebles Rovers 4 - 2 Murrayfield Amateurs

                 R2    Peebles Rovers 2 - 2 Albion Rovers

                          Albion Rovers 6 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1957-58    R1    Raith Rovers 4 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1958-59    R1    Peebles Rovers 2 - 0 Ross County

                 R2    St Mirren 10 - 0 Peebles Rovers

1959-60    R2    Peebles Rovers 1 - 6 Ayr United

1960-61    R1    Peebles Rovers 4 - 2 Gala Fairydean

                 R2    Hibs 15 - 1 Peebles Rovers

1964-65   PR1   Peebles Rovers 1 - 4 Stirling Albion

1965-66   PR1   Dumbarton 2 - 2 Peebles Rovers

                          Peebles Rovers 2 - 3 Dumbarton

Sources: English, Danish, German Wikipedia; Fitbastats; Scottish Football Historical Archive; Historical Football Kits.

The Chebucto Grays

The Chebucto Grays.

Williamina Fleming

Williamina Fleming (1857-1911) discovered the Horsehead Nebula in 1888 and was a founding member of the Harvard Computers. Source.