Plenty of Nothing

Seasons of Greenock Juniors FC

Source.

1956-57

1957-58

1958-59    34    19      6      9    85    66    +19    44    4th, SCJLB

1959-60    34    19      4    11    93    74    +19    42    4th, SCJLA                βδε

1960-61    20    16      3      1    88    31    +57    35    1st, SCJLC               αβε

1961-62    30    16      7      7    83    44    +39    39    4th, SCJLW               ε

1962-63    30    15      7      8    58    44    +14    37    4th, SCJLA                β

1963-64    30    21      5      4    85    41    +44    47    2nd, SCJLW              β

1964-65    28    18      4      6    85    46    +39    40    4th, SCJLW

1965-66    28    22      4      2  115    48    +67    46    1st, SCJLA                αγ

1966-67    28    16      3      9    66    53    +13    35    4th, SCJLA               αβ

1967-68    22    11      4      7    60    36    +24    26    8th, SCJLA

1968-69    26    12      7      7    49    33    +16    31    6th, CRJLB

1969-70    26    10      6    10    45    43      +2    26    8th, CRJLB

1970-71    26    12      5      9    60    44    +16    29    6th, CRJLB

1971-72    26    14      6      6    54    34    +20    34    4th, CRJLB

1972-73    26      8      4    14    43    58     -15    20    12th, CRJLA

1973-74    26    12      9      5    49    38     -11    33    5th, CRJLB

1974-75    26      4      4    18    41    75     -34    12    14th, CRJLB

1975-76    26    10      5    11    47    42      +5    25    7th, CRJLC

1976-77    24    13      4      7    57    40    +17    30    3rd, CRJLC

1977-78    26    13      7      6    62    48    +14    33    4th, CRJLB

1978-79    26      6      6    14    21    46     -25    18    12th, CRJLA

1979-80    26      7      5    14    30    64     -26    19    12th, CRJLB

1980-81    24    11      4      9    41    36      +5    26    8th, CRJLC

1981-82    24    11      5      8    46    32    +14    27    6th, CRJLC

1982-83    22    11      3      8    45    34    +11    25    5th, CRJLC

1983-84    24      9      8      7    39    27    +12    26    7th, CRJLC

1984-85    24      7      5    12    30    38       -8    19    9th, CRJLC

1985-86    24      8      5    11    34    43       -9    21    9th, CRJLC

1986-87    24      9    11      4    32    25      +7    29    5th, CRJLC

1987-88    24    16      2      6    53    29    +24    34    3rd, CRJL2

1988-89    26    13      2    11    40    42       -2    28    5th, CRJL1

1989-90    26      7      8    11    23    32       -9    22    12th, CRJL1

1990-91    20      9      3      8    35    30      +5    21    6th, CRJL2

1991-92    26    12      5      9    51    38    +13    29    6th, CRJL2

1992-93    26    14      2    10    55    41    +14    30    5th, CRJL2

1993-94    24    11      8      5    48    26    +22    30    6th, CRJL2

1994-95    24    12      6      6    41    28    +13    42    5th, CRJL2

1995-96    24    15      4      5    61    28    +33    49    3rd, CRJL2

1996-97    26      8      5    13    34    44     -10    29    12th, CRJL1

1997-98    24    19      3      2    64    29    +35    60    1st, CRJL2

1998-99    26    14      4      8    55    33    +22    46    5th, CRJL1

1999-00    26    10      4    12    40    42       -2    34    8th, CRJL1

2000-01    26    14      5      7    50    43      +7    47    5th, CRJL1

2001-02    26    10    10      6    40    37      +3    40    6th, CRJL1

2002-03    22    12      4      6    34    21    +13    40    3rd, WRJLCD1

2003-04    22    12      4      6    50    37    +13    40    3rd, WRJLCD1

2004-05    22      6      7      9    33    37       -4    25    9th, WRJLCD1

2005-06    22      7      3    12    32    46     -14    24    10th, WRJLCD1

2006-07    22    12      5      5    57    34    +23    41    4th, WRJLCD2

2007-08    18      7      4      7    33    30      +3    25    6th, WRJLCD2

2008-09    20      7      4      9    27    38     -11    25    7th, WRJLCD2

2009-10    20    12      4      4    46    22    +24    40    3rd, WRJLCD2

2010-11    24      7      7    10    47    46      +1    28    10th, WRJLCD1

2011-12    26    17      4      5    60    36    +24    55    3rd, WRJLCD1

2012-13    26    17      5      4    66    33    +33    56    1st, WRJLCD1

2013-14    26      9      5    12    41    49       -8    32    10th, WRJLSL1

2014-15    26    10      4    12    47    50       -3    34    8th, WRJLSL1

2015-16    26      9      4    13    34    39       -5    31    11th, WRJLSL1

2016-17    26    10      5    11    41    49       -8    35    9th, WRSLCD1

2017-18    28    10      4    14    38    52     -14    34    12th, WRJLCD1

2018-19    30    15      3    12    49    46      +3    48    5th, WRJLL1

2019-20    22    10      5      7    51    40    +11    PpG 1.59    7th, WRJLL1

2020-21      8      6      1      1    23      8    +15    19    2nd, WoSLCB

2021-22    28    12      6    10    68    54    +14    42    8th, WoSLCB

Leagues:

CRJL1 = Central Region Junior League Division 1; CRJL2 = Central Region Junior League Division 2; CRJLA = Central Region Junior League Division A; CRJLB = Central Region Junior League Division B; CRJLC = Central Region Junior League Division C; SCJLA = Scottish Central Junior League Division A; SCJLB = Scottish Central Junior League Division B; SCJLC = Scottish Central Junior League Division C; SCJLW = Scottish Central Junior League West; WoSLCB = West of Scotland League, Conference B; WRJLCD1 = West Region Junior League Central Division 1; WRJLCD2 = West Region Junior League Central Division 2; WRJLL1 = Western Region Junior League, League 1; WRJLSL1 = West Region Junior League Super League Division 1

Cups:

α = Central League Cup; β = Renfrewshire Junior Cup; γ = Pompey Cup ; δ = Erskine Hospital Charity Cup; ε = Greenock and District Junior Cup

(Source: Scottish Football Historical Archive for leagues and cups; Wikipedia "Greenock Juniors FC" for cups.)

The Red and the Black, Part Vancouver

I was all set to dislike Vancouver FC based purely on their colourless black home kit, but then they unveiled their away strip and -- it's Dennis the Menace. Source.

Morton host Queen's Park. QP are second in the Championship with 58 points, Morton sixth with 51 points. Despite their relative positions Morton have dominated QP this season, taking two wins and a draw.

Morton's path to the playoffs basically involves winning both remaining games while Partick and Ayr lose theirs.

If Queen's Park mean to finish top of the Championship they must win today. Queen's Park held first place for twelve consecutive weeks but gave it up to Dundee on April 8th. A win today will put them in first place.

Regardless of the results this weekend and next Morton have had a winning season, their first since 2018.

Declan McManus has won the Cymru Premier League scoring title for the second consecutive year.

[Morton win 2 - 1. Goals by Gillespie and Robbie Crawford.]

The other Championship matches:

Dundee (1st) 0 - 0 Cove Rangers (10th) (last night)

Partick (4th) [2 - 0] Arbroath (8th)

Ayr United (5th) [1 - 0] Raith Rovers (7th)*

*This is a Plenty of Nothing Championship Consolation Cup quarter-final.

It's the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Falkirk [0 - 3] Inverness CT

Rangers [0 - 1] Celtic (tomorrow)

Celtic have won the Cup 40 times, Rangers 34, Falkirk twice and Inverness CT once. ICT are in this after being awarded a fourth round win over Queen's Park after the latter fielded an ineligible player.

Other times in the 21st Century that the Scottish Cup semi-finals included two teams outwith the Premiership:

2001-02        Partick Thistle and Ayr United

2005-06        Dundee and Gretna

2007-08        St Johnstone and Queen of the South

2009-10        Ross County and Raith Rovers

2014-15        Hibs and Falkirk

2015-16        Rangers and Hibs

Has any team beaten both Old Firm clubs on the way to winning the Scottish Cup?

In 1901-02 Hibs beat Rangers in the semi-finals and Celtic in the final.

In 1925-26 St Mirren beat Rangers in the semi-finals and Celtic in the final.

In 1928-29 Kilmarnock beat Celtic in the semi-finals and Rangers in the final.

In the 1955-56 cup Hearts beat Rangers in the quarter-finals and Celtic in the final.

The last time each 2022-23 Championship team played Rangers:

2023/3/12        Rangers 3 - 0 Raith Rovers       SCup QF

2023/2/12        Rangers 3 - 2 Partick Thistle     SCup R5

2022/10/19      Rangers 1 - 0 Dundee               LCup QF

2021/4/4          Rangers 4 - 0 Cove Rangers    SCup R3

2021/2/7          Hamilton 1 - 1 Rangers             Premiership

2018/9/26        Rangers 4 - 0 Ayr United           LCup QF

2017/2/24        Inverness CT 2 - 1 Rangers    Premiership

2017/2/12        Rangers 2 - 1 Morton                SCup R5

2014/8/26        Queen's Park 1 - 2 Rangers      LCup R1

2014/3/23        Arbroath 1 - 2 Rangers              League One

It's the pyramid playoff, first leg:

The Spartans [1 - 0] Brechin City

Brechin are attempting to reenter the SPFL after an absence of two years. You'll recall that they were in the Championship as recently as 2017-18. They're the only one of the four clubs relegated out of the SPFL to have made a serious effort to get back in, and there's a lot of public sentiment in their favour on account of that hedge.

The Spartans have won the Lowland League three times now, but this is their first trip to the pyramid playoffs.

So far this season the Highland League is ahead in head-to-head games with the Lowland League.

2022/9/16      Broomhill (LL) 3 - 2 Brora (HL)    SCup R1

2022/9/17      Formartine (HL) 3 - 1 East Stirlingshire (LL)    SCup R1

2022/9/17      Civil Service Strollers (LL) 1 - 2 Fraserburgh (HL)    SCup R1

2022/9/17      Deveronvale (HL) 2 - 4 East Kilbride (LL)    SCup R1

2022/10/22    Buckie Thistle (HL) 1 - 3 Broomhill (LL)    SCup R2

Who beat Brechin this season?

2022/9/24      Inverness CT 3 - 3 Brechin (ICT won on PK)    Challenge Cup R3

2022/10/22    Brechin 2 - 2 Stirling Albion (Stirling won on PK)    Scottish Cup R2

2023/2/22      Formartine 2 - 0 Brechin    Highland League

2023/3/4        Inverurie Loco Works 2 - 0 Brechin    Highland League Cup

Other matches:

Lowland League Cup, R1:

Gala Fairydean Rovers [2 - 2] Caledonian Braves (Braves win on PK)

This ends Gala's season. They finished twelfth (out of nineteen) in the league.

South Challenge Cup, SF: Gartcairn 0 - 1 Drumchapel United (April 26)

Largs Thistle 1 - 0 Auchinleck Talbot (April 25)

Luzern 3 - 1 Winterthur (April 27)

Winterthur [1 - 4] Basel (tomorrow)

UCD 1 - 1 Bohemians (yesterday)

JEF United [2 - 2] Elfen Saitama

PEC Zwolle 4 - 0 FC Dordrecht (yesterday)

Darby FC [1 - 2] Scrosoppi (yesterday)

Minaj [1 - 1] Metalist 1926

Mito HollyHock [0 - 2] Tokyo Verdy

Honda FC [1 - 1] Tiamo Hirakata

Morioka Zebra [1 - 1] Oshu United

Tokyo United [0 - 3] Tokyo 23 FC (tomorrow)

Yazaki Valente [0 - 2] Fujieda City Hall (tomorrow)

NPL2 Vic: Bulleen Lions [3 - 4] Preston Lions (Monday)

Welsh Cup final (tomorrow):

The New Saints [6 - 0] Bala Town

KNVB Beker final (tomorrow):

Ajax [1 - 1] PSV Eindhoven [PSV win on PK]

Coupe de France final:

Nantes [1 - 5] Toulouse

2022 AFC Champions League final, first leg:

Al-Hilal [1 - 1] Urawa Red Diamonds

2023 Concacaf Champions League, SF, first leg:

UANL 2 - 1 León (April 25)

Philadelphia Union 1 - 1 Los Angeles FC (April 26)

Canada:

HFX Wanderers play their first home game of the season, and their first ever match against Vancouver FC.

[HFX Wanderers 1 - 1 Vancouver. Goal by Collomb.]

If you do a Google search on Vancouver FC almost all results that come back are for Vancouver Whitecaps, so you can imagine a rebranding is in the not so distant future.

Meanwhile, the league has taken over York United.

The Halifax sports calendar falls pretty neatly into Wanderers season and Mooseheads season. But is there ever any overlap?

2019/5/4        first Wanderers home game

2019/5/11      last Mooseheads home game

2019/9/27      first Mooseheads home game

2019/10/9      last Wanderers home game

2021/10/2      first Mooseheads home game

2021/11/7      last Wanderers home game

2022/4/30      first Wanderers home game

2022/5/11      last Mooseheads home game

2022/10/1      last Wanderers home game and first Mooseheads home game

2023/4/29      first Wanderers home game

2023/5/4 at the earliest         last Mooseheads home game

How do Morton tend to finish a Championship season?

  1st

  2nd    2013

  3rd    1996

  4th    2017

  5th    1998, 2016, 2019 [2023]

  6th    1999, 2009

  7th    2011, 2018, 2020, 2022

  8th    1997, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2012

  9th    2001, 2021

10th    2014

They tend to finish eighth.

Historical matches:

April 24, 1967    Queen's Park 1 - 2 Morton

April 29, 1967    Morton 6 - 1 Hamilton Academical

This ends the 1966-67 season. Morton finished in first place with 69 points and a +93 goal difference and were promoted to Division One. If it had been the three-point-win era they would have had 102 points. They allowed only 20 goals in 38 league matches.

April 26, 1978    Morton 3 - 1 Airdrieonians

Goals by Davie Hayes, Goldthorp and Ritchie.

April 29, 1978    Morton 2 - 3 Dundee

Two goals for Russell. This ends the schedule. Morton win the league, beating Hearts on goal difference and Dundee by a point. Morton and Hearts are promoted.

Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 1958

Source.

Don Quijote by José Guadalupe Posada

Source.

Charles Darwin

Statue of Charles Darwin in Shrewsbury, where he went to school. Source.

Melissa Hayden

Melissa Hayden, principal dancer of the New York City Ballet from 1955 to 1973, was born on this date in 1923 in Toronto. Source.

La Décapole: Haguenau

Source.

Austrian George and the Dragon

A 14th-Century George and the Dragon from Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, now at the Met. Source.

Castle Levan

Castle Levan is a fortified house overlooking Levan Burn on the west side of Gourock. Source.

Raith Rovers visit Cappielow. Morton are sixth with 48 points, Raith seventh with 42. These two have an even record so far, with a win, a draw and a loss each, but Raith knocked Morton out of the Challenge Cup. Raith are out of the playoffs; Morton still have an outside chance.

Morton have not lost since April 1st; Raith have not won since April 1st.

Raith's top scorer is Aidan Connolly with 12 goals. Robbie Muirhead has 9.

Morton enter this match with 12 draws. (See below.) And they have only 9 losses. If they can avoid another one they will equal their total for 1995-96 and 2012-13.

Michael Tidser is to be the next Kelty Hearts manager.

[Morton win 1 - 0. Goal by King.]

The other Championship matches:

Hamilton 1 - 2 Inverness CT (April 18)

Ayr (5th) 0 - 0 Queen's Park (2nd) (last night)

Arbroath (8th) [0 - 1] Cove Rangers (10th)

Hamilton Academical (9th) [2 - 2] Partick Thistle (4th)

Inverness Caledonian Thistle (3rd) [1 - 1] Dundee (1st)

Highland League:

Buckie Thistle [0 - 2] Brechin City

This is for the Highland League title. First-place Buckie Thistle have 87 points, second-place Brechin City 86. The winner of this match will go on to meet The Spartans in the pyramid playoffs. Brechin are trying to become the first club to return to the SPFL after having been relegated out via the playoffs.

Other matches:

[Stirling Albion win League Two.]

Gala Fairydean Rovers [4 - 1] Open Goal Broomhill

The name Open Goal Broomhill becomes plain old Broomhill once this season ends. This is Gala's final league fixture of 2022-23, but they have the Lowland League Cup next weekend.

Largs Thistle [4 - 1] Hurlford United

[South Challenge Cup SF (April 18):

Caledonian Braves 2 - 3 The Spartans]

FC Isle of Man [3 - 1] Wythenshawe Town

Sligo Rovers [3 - 1] UCD

Winterthur [1 -  2] Grasshoppers

Almere City FC 1 - 1 PEC Zwolle (yesterday)

Veres Rivne [1 - 1] Minaj

Nojima Stella [0 - 1] Elfen Saitama

Dryburgh [0 - 0] Morton Women (tomorrow)

Oita Trinita [0 - 1] Mito HollyHock (tomorrow)

NPL2 Vic: Preston Lions 2 - 1 Northcote City (yesterday)

Forge [1 - 1] HFX Wanderers

[Halifax goal by Ferrin.]

Scrosoppi [0 - 2] Vaughan Azzurri

Each CPL club is allowed to partner with a lower league club and send players down to gain increased playing time. York United is affiliated with Alliance United and Forge with Sigma, both of League1 Ontario. HFX Wanderers have their own reserve team that will play a series of exhibition games this summer.

76th Aomori Prefecture Football Championship (April 23):

Match No. 9: ReinMeer Aomori [2 - 3] Blancdieu Hirosaki

73rd Iwate Prefecture Football Championship:

FC Ganju Iwate [1 - 0] Nippon Steel Kamaishi

28th Mie Prefecture Football Championship, semifinals (April 23):

Veertien Mie [7 - 0] Yokkaichi University

FC Ise-Shima [1 - 2] Suzuka Point Getters

Most draws in a season, Morton:

17    1993-94 (44-game season)

16    1989-90 (39-game season)

14    2001-02 (36-game season)

14    1920-21 (42-game season)

Historical matches:

April 17, 1967    Brechin 0 - 4 Morton

April 19, 1967    Morton 13 - 1 Rootes (Linwood)

This was the first round of the Renfrewshire Cup. The final round took place late in 1967.

April 22, 1967    Morton 0 - 0 Arbroath

April 19, 1978    St Johnstone 0 - 1 Morton

Goal by Russell.

April 22, 1978    Stirling Albion 1 - 2 Morton

Goals by Billy Thomas and Goldthorp.

Toddy Tapper

A toddy tapper in Tamil Nadu, 1785. Source.