Plenty of Nothing

Dublin Blitz

The Luftwaffe unaccountably bombed Dublin on this date in 1941, eighty years ago today. Source.

About FC Kariya

Home strips of the JFL. Top, left to right: Honda, Sony Sendai, Tokyo Musashino United, FC Kariya, Honda Lock, MIO Biwako Shiga. Middle, left to right: Verspah Oita, Maruyasu Okazaki, Nara Club, FC Osaka, ReinMeer Aomori, Veertien Mie. Bottom, left to right: Matsue City, Suzuka Point Getters, Iwaki FC, Kochi United, Tiamo. (From their Wikipedia pages.)

J2: Ehime [0 - 5] Mito HollyHock

JFL: FC Kariya 0 - 2 Sony Sendai (yesterday)

Athlone Town 2 - 3 UCD (May 28)

Asan 1 - 3 Pohang Steelers (May 26) (Korean FA Cup R16)

Pohang Steelers [1 - 0] Gwangju

TPS 0 - 1 JIPPO (yesterday)

Racing Luxembourg [0 - 0] Progrès Niederkorn

This really ends the Luxembourgish league. Progrès finish [5th and miss out on Europe.]

Faroe Islands Cup QF (yesterday): Streymur 2 - 3 B36

Copa Libertadores group stage, matchday 6:

Group B: Internacional 0 - 0 Always Ready (May 26)

Group C: Boca Juniors 3 - 0 The Strongest (May 26)

Always Ready and The Strongest are both eliminated.

Copa Sudamericana group stage, matchday 6:

Group B: Independiente 1 - 0 Guabira (May 26)

Group C: Jorge Wilstermann 1 - 0 Ceara (May 27)

Arsenal 3 - 1 Bolivar (May 27)

Guabira, Wilstermann and Bolivar are all eliminated.

2020-21 UEFA Europa League final (May 26):

Villarreal 1 - 1 Manchester United (Villarreal won on PK.)

2020-21 UEFA Champions League final (yesterday):

Manchester City 0 - 1 Chelsea

Mortonalia

The draw for the 2021-22 League Cup groups was held Friday. Morton will be in Group G with Kilmarnock, Clyde, Stranraer and East Kilbride.

Gus MacPherson will remain as manager under Morton's new ownership.

Cameron Salkeld, Markus Fjørtoft and Sean McGinty have jumped to Ayr United.

Kyle Jacobs and Brian McLean have signed contract extensions.

Other developments:

Atletico Ottawa's parent club Atletico Madrid has won the Spanish league title.

Jim Duffy has left Dumbarton.

Immediately after taking Kelty Hearts into League Two manager Barry Ferguson has resigned and moved to Alloa Athletic in League One. Alloa's previous manager Peter Grant takes over at Dunfermline. Former Hibs player Kevin Thomson takes over at Kelty Hearts.

Stenhousemuir have already signed eleven players for next season, including five from BSC Glasgow and former Morton men Thomas Orr and Ross Forbes. Albion Rovers have taken five players from Stirling Albion.

Which Japanese clubs have 100-Year-Plan status?

ReinMeer Aomori (JFL)

Iwaki FC (JFL)

Veertien Mie (JFL)

FC Osaka (JFL)

Nara Club (JFL)

Vonds Ichihara (Kanto 1)

Tochigi City (Kanto 1)

Nankatsu SC (Kanto 2)

Source.

About FC Kariya

Kariya is in Aichi Prefecture and is a satellite city of Nagoya in the Chūkyō metropolitan area, on the road between Osaka and Tokyo. Chūkyō means Central Capital, though the area never has been the capital of the country. The kanji looks like this: 刈谷. You can see it in the club emblem in a typeface that suggests there are twelve players on the field. The red slash on the right reproduces the club jersey.

The club began in 1949 as Nippon Denso SC, the company team of auto part manufacturer Nippon Denso. By 1989 they were in the Tokai regional league, and in 1996 they were promoted to the JFL, which was at the time the second tier of football in Japan. In 2006 the car manufacturer dropped out and the club rebranded as FC Kariya. They dropped back down to the Tokai league in 2010, but gained promotion to the JFL via the National Regional Soccer Campions League last November.

At the moment they occupy last place with 0 points.

FC Kariya in the Shakaijin Cup, aka Zensha Cup, aka All Japan Senior Football Championship:

The All Japan Senior Football Championship, or Shakaijin Cup or Zensha Cup, started in 1965 as a way for regional champions to earn promotion into the Japan Soccer League. Nowadays the Shakaijin Cup winners and runners-up go on to the Regional Champions League to compete for promotion to the Japan Football League.

As Nippon Denso:

1990/11/10    R1    Nippon Denso 2 - 1 TDK

1990/11/11    R2    Tokyo Gas 2 - 0 Nippon Denso

1991/9/28      R1    Teijin 0 - 3 Nippon Denso

1991/9/29      R2    Nissei Plastic 1 - 5 Nippon Denso

1991/9/30      QF    Nippon Denso 2 - 1 Honda Sayama

1991/10/1      SF    PJM Futures 5 - 1 Nippon Denso

1992/11/24    SF    Kagawa Shiun 0 - 2 Nippon Denso

1992/11/25      F    PJM Futures 2 - 0 Nippon Denso

1993/11/22    R2    Kyoto Police 0 - 5 Nippon Denso

1993/11/23    QF    YKK 2 - 0 Nippon Denso

1994/9/24      R1    Tohoku Electric Power 1 - 2 Nippon Denso

1994/9/25      R2    Nippon Denso 1 - 2 Prima Ham FC

1995/11/19    R1    Nippon Denso 6 - 1 Sapporo Football

1995/11/20    R2    Nippon Denso 2 - 2 Horuriku Electric Power (Horuriku won on PK.)

As FC Kariya:

2011/10/15    R1    FC Kariya 4 - 1 Fukushima United

2011/10/16    R2    Tokyo23 FC 2 - 0 FC Kariya

2012/10/13    R1    Volca Kagoshima 0 - 2 FC Kariya

2012/10/14    R2    FC Kariya 1 - 0 Lagend Shiga FC

2012/10/15    QF    Fagiano Okayama Next 6 - 1 FC Kariya

2014/9/27      R1    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki 1 - 0 FC Kariya

2018/10/20    R1    FC Kariya 3 - 0 Ryutsu Keizai University

2018/10/21    R2    FC Kariya 3 - 2 JXTG Energy Mizushima

2018/10/22    QF    FC Kariya 0 - 0 Saurcos Fukui (Kariya won on PK.)

2018/10/23    SF    Ococias Kyoto AC 2 - 2 FC Kariya (Kariya won on PK.)

2018/10/24      F    FC Kariya 2 - 3 Matsue City

2019/10/12    R1    FC Kariya 2 - 1 Kandai FC 2008

2019/10/13    R2    FC Kariya 1 - 0 Tochigi City FC

2019/10/14    QF    FC Kariya 2 - 3 FC Tiamo Hirakata

Sources: Football of Japan for Nippon Denso; Japanese Wikipedia for FC Kariya.

There's a list of FC Kariya's games in the Emperor's Cup here.

Lego Irving Finkel

Source.

Boston or Dublin?

Taira no Kiyomori Cosplay

Source.

Tram 28

To ride Tram 28 through the streets of Lisbon after dark, board here.

Kazan

Illustration of a volcano in Kurukawa Yukichi's All the Countries of the World, For Children Written in Verse (1869). 火山 = fire mountain.

101st Emperor's Cup, Round One

Suzuka vs Kariya. Source.

It's Round One of the 101st Emperor's Cup. This year the tournament reverts to its pre-Covid format, with some changes. Due to the expansion of J1 to 20 teams, four J2 clubs are bumped into this round. Add the 47 prefectural champions and the best amateur club, and you get 52 clubs in 26 matches.

Match No. 1: AC Nagano Parceiro (J3) 3 - 1 Niigata University of Health and Welfare FC (Hokushinetsu 1)

Match No. 2: Fukuyama City (Hiroshima 1) [2 - 1] Matsue City (JFL) Upset

Match No. 3: Iwate Grulla Morioka (J3) [13 - 0] Oyama SC (Tohoku 2)

Match No. 4: Arterivo Wakayama (Kansai 1) 3 - 3 Ocacias Kyoto (Kansai 1) (Ococias won on PK.)

Match No. 5: Renofa Yamaguchi (J2) 1 - 1 Verspah Oita (JFL) (Verspah won on PK.) Upset

Match No. 6: FC Gifu (J3) 0 - 2 Honda FC (JFL) Upset

Match No. 7: Blaublitz Akita (J2) [1 - 1] Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth (Hokkaido) [Sky Earth won on PK.] Upset

Match No. 8: Gainare Tottori (J3) [4 - 1] FC Tokushima (Shikoku)

Match No. 9: Roasso Kumamoto (J3) 3 - 0 Nippon Bunri University Alumni

Match No. 10: Kagoshima United (J3) [4 - 0] MD Nagasaki (Nagasaki 1)

Match No. 11: Ryutsu Keizai University (Kanto Univ 1) 2 - 3 YSCC (J3)

Match No. 12: Iwaki FC (JFL) 2 - 2 Sony Sendai (JFL) (Sony won on PK.)

Match No. 13: Fukuoka University (Kyushu Univ) [1 - 3] Okinawa SV (Kyushu)

Match No. 14: Biwako Seikei Sport College (Kansai Univ) [0 - 2] Kwansei Gakuin University (Kansai Univ)

Match No. 15: Vanraure Hachinohe (J3) [13 - 0] Saruta Kogyo (Tohoku 1)

Match No. 16: Porvenir Asuka (Kansai 1) [0 - 2] FC Osaka (JFL)

Match No. 17: Tochigi City (Kanto 1) [9 - 0] [Nirasaki Astros (Yamanashi 1)] (May 26)

Yamanashi Gakuin University Pegasus were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in the Yamanashi prefectural championship and are replaced by Nirasaki Astros.

Match No. 18: Ehime FC (J2) 1 - 2 FC Imabari (J3)    Upset

Match No. 19: Kataller Toyama (J3) [8 - 0] FC Hokuriku (Hokushinetsu 1)

Match No. 20: SC Sagamihara (J2) 3 - 1 Komazawa University (Kanto Univ 1)

Match No. 21: Mitsubishi Mizushima (Chugoku) 3 - 1 Baleine Shimonoseki (Chugoku)

Match No. 22: Suzuka Point Getters (JFL) [2 - 1] FC Kariya (JFL)

Match No. 23: Kochi United (JFL) [1 - 0] Kamatamare Sanuki (J3)  Upset

Match No. 24: Tonan Maebashi (Kanto 2) [1 - 6] Juntendo University (Kanto Univ 1) [May 26][June 5]

Match No. 25: Honda Lock (J3) 5 - 0 Saga Kawasoe Club (Kyushu)

Match No. 26: Fukui United (Hokushinetsu 1) [2 - 1] Aventura Kawaguchi (Kanto 2)

Which clubs have been 48th club in Round One, and how did they fare?

2021        Verspah Oita

2020        Honda FC                               Advanced to QF

2019        Hosei University                     Advanced to R4

2018        Ryutsu Keizai University        Advanced to R2

2017        Honda FC                               Advanced to R2

2016        Kwansei Gakuin University    Knocked out of R1

2015        Vanraure Hachinohe              Knocked out of R1

2014        AC Nagano Parceiro              Advanced to R2

2013        Kamatamare Sanuki              Advanced to R2

2012        V-Varen Nagasaki                  Advanced to R2

2020-21 Scottish Cup Final

St Johnstone explain nasal swabs to Hibernian. Source.

It's the 2020-21 Scottish Cup final: Hibs versus St Johnstone. These two clubs have never met in the Scottish Cup final before; in fact, they've never met in a cup final of any kind before. To put that in perspective: Hibernian FC was founded in 1875, St Johnstone FC in 1884. They did meet in the semi-finals of the League Cup in January, and St Johnstone won 3 - 0. And in four league matches this season St Johnstone took two wins, Hibs one win, and there was a draw.

This Scottish Cup final comes just five months and two days after the last one.

[St Johnstone 1 - 0 Hibs.]

Other recent first-time finals:

2014-15    Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Falkirk

2013-14    Dundee United vs St Johnstone

2009-10    Dundee United vs Ross County

2008-09    Rangers vs Falkirk

2007-08    Rangers vs Queen of the South

2005-06    Heart of Midlothian vs Gretna

Was a Scottish Cup final ever played at the home park of one of the finalists?

The 1902 final between Hibs and Celtic was played at Celtic Park, and Hibs won.

Which non-Old Firm clubs have won the Scottish Cup and League Cup in the same year?

1985-86        Aberdeen

1989-90        Aberdeen

[2020-21       St Johnstone]

Other Scottish matches:

League Two playoff final, second leg (tomorrow):

Brechin [0 - 1] Kelty Hearts

Brechin are down by a goal after the first leg. If they lose they drop into the Highland League. If Kelty prevail and are promoted into League Two it would be the first time since 1926 that there were five Fife clubs in the Scottish league.

[Goal by Tidser. Kelty win 3 - 1 on aggregate and join League Two.]

Premiership playoff final, second leg (Monday):

Kilmarnock [1 - 2] Dundee

Dundee lead by one goal, so if they win or draw they gain promotion. If Kilmarnock fail to win they will be relegated to the Championship. They have not been out of the Premiership since 1993.

[Dundee earn promotion, and Kilmarnock join the Championship.]

Developments:

Dougie Imrie has left Hamilton for Livingston.

Other matches:

Luxembourg: Progrès Niederkorn [2 - 0] Jeunesse Esch

This ends the 2020-21 Luxembourg National Division schedule.

3.Liga: Zwickau [2 - 0] 1.FC Saarbrücken

This ends the 2020-21 3.Liga schedule. [Saarbrücken finish fifth.]

Swiss Challenge League: Winterthur [1 - 2] Schaffhausen

This ends the 2020-21 Swiss Challenge League schedule. [Winterthur finish sixth.]

J2: Mito HollyHock [0 - 1] Ventforet Kofu (tomorrow)

Shelbourne [3 - 1] UCD (last night)

Faroes: B36 vs HB (Monday) [postponed]

Ulsan [1 - 0] Pohang Steelers

The Strongest vs Guabira (tomorrow) [postponed]

WE League preseason: Albirex Niigata [3 - 1] Elfen Saitama

MP Mikkeli [1 - 2] TPS (tomorrow)

Vale of Leven 1878-79

1879/5/10      Queen's Park 0 - 4 Vale of Leven        charity match

1879/4/26      Rangers scr/wo Vale of Leven           Scottish Cup final replay

1879/4/19      Rangers 1 - 1 Vale of Leven                Scottish Cup final (see below)

1879/4/12      Vale of Leven 7 - 1 Stonelaw

1879/3/29      Helensburgh 0 - 3 Vale of Leven        Scottish Cup SF

1879/3/29      Vale of Leven 2nd XI 4 - 0 Lennox 2nd XI

1879/3/22      Vale of Leven 3 - 1 Dumbarton           Scottish Cup R6

1879/3/8        Vale of Leven 6 - 1 Beith                     Scottish Cup R5

1879/3/1        Vale of Leven 3 - 1 Portland

1879/2/22      Vale of Leven 6 - 0 Helensburgh

1878/11/30    Vale of Leven 11 - 1 Govan                 Scottish Cup R4

1878/11/16    Rangers 3 - 0 Vale of Leven

1878/11/16    Vale of Leven 2nd XI 1 - 0 Rangers 2nd XI

1878/11/9      Vale of Leven 15 - 0 Jamestown         Scottish Cup R3

1878/11/2      Vale of Leven 2 - 1 Lennox

1878/10/26    Vale of Leven 11 - 0 Renton Thistle    Scottish Cup R2

1878/10/12    Third Lanark 2 - 1 Vale of Leven

1878/10/5      Vale of Leven 2 - 0 Rangers

1878/9/28      Queen's Park 0 - 1 Vale of Leven

1878/9/28      Queen's Park 2nd XI 1 - 1 Vale of Leven 2nd XI

1878/9/21      Vale of Leven 6 - 0 Alclutha                Scottish Cup R1

1879/9/14      Vale of Leven 1 - 0 Third Lanark

(Sources: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup; Glasgow Herald.)

Glasgow Herald, April 21, 1879, p. 9.

Crawford Rae

Crawford Rae tells David Hopkin his starting line-up. Source.

It's the final match of the season at Cappielow: Morton host Airdrieonians. Today's result will decide whether Morton hang on to their Championship place or go down to League One. Either way, it's the final game under ownership group Golden Casket. The club will become community owned next month.

Morton are up by one goal after winning 0 - 1 Tuesday in Airdrie.

Morton have never before played a competitive match on May 21st. Today's game is live on BBC Alba. It's Morton's fourth Friday night game this season.

The club is allowed to admit 500 spectators for this game. It will be the first and only match at Cappielow this season to have supporters in the stands. The last game played in front of live spectators at Cappielow took place on March 7th, 2020. Tuesday's game in Airdrie also had 500 spectators.

Morton in 2020-21 have been a very low-scoring team. They scored 22 goals in 27 league matches, or 0.81 per game. That's their worst goals per game average since 1987-88. The top scorer was Aidan Nesbitt with 4 goals, which ranks as the club's worst best of the post-WWII period.

2020-21 was also one of Morton's infamous three manager seasons. David Hopkin managed 10 games, league and cup. Anton McElhone managed 13. And Gus McPherson managed 15, counting today's.

If Morton win this playoff it will be the third year in a row that the ninth-place Championship team has stayed up.

If Airdrieonians win they will end an eight-year run in tier III. Since their second coming they have played six seasons in tier II and thirteen in tier III.

[Morton win 3 - 0. Goals by Muirhead (x2) and Oliver. Morton stay up.]

Also:

Premiership playoff final, first leg (yesterday):

Dundee 2 - 1 Kilmarnock

League One playoff final, second leg (yesterday):

Dumbarton 0 - 1 Edinburgh City

Dumbarton hold on to their place in League One.

Developments

The SWF proposes to play the 2020-21 Championship North and South seasons in June and July. Morton Women are in the Championship South.

Ayr United have entered into a strategic partnership with English club Burnley.

Challenge Cup:

The format and dates for the 2021-22 Challenge Cup, now called the SPFL Trust Trophy, were announced yesterday. There will be colt teams again, but because of Covid there will be no teams from other football associations involved this year.

League Cup:

The 2021-22 League Cup groups should be announced before the end of the month, if things spring back to the way they were organized before Covid.

How will having five teams in Europe affect the format? One way to tweek it would be to give the five European clubs a bye into Round Two, where they would join the eight group winners plus the top three second-place sides. But giving five clubs a bye leaves only 39 for the group stage. To ensure each group has five teams a third tier-V club could be added to the unseeded pot. Which one? Fraserburgh were clearly second in the Highland League with three wins in three starts (3.00 points per game) and a +15 goal difference. BSC Glasgow were second in the Lowland League based on points, with 30 points in 13 games (2.307 ppg). But East Kilbride and Bonnyrigg Rose each had 29 points in 12 games, which gives a better points per game average (2.417). East Kilbride had a goal difference of +26, Bonnyrigg +23 and BSC +22.

An alternative to having three tier-V clubs would be to cut back to one (which should be the pyramid playoff winner Kelty Hearts) and to turn one of the groups into a group of three clubs. Instead of having five clubs that play each other once, for a total of four games each, this group would have three clubs that play each other twice for a total of four games each, which would allow their point totals to mesh with those of the other seven groups.

If there are five byes then the top seeded teams would be the other seven Premiership clubs plus Hearts, and the second seeded clubs would be teams 2 to 9 in the Championship, which would save Morton a place in the second-seed pot. Is there an advantage to being second-seeded? Not really; in fact it seems to have prevented Morton from hosting a Premiership opponent at Cappielow; and has not prevented Morton having two other Championship clubs in the same group.

[I missed the announcement this morning. There will be three tier-V clubs in the group stage: Kelty, Brora and East Kilbride. EK and Fraserburgh drew lots for the third spot.]