Bascule bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal at Firhill, 1955, and swans. Source.
The 2024-25 Championship begins. Morton visit Partick Thistle.
Morton are on a run of ten straight seasons in the Championship, which equals Queen of the South's streak from 2002-03 to 2011-12. This season marks the first time Morton have appeared in the Championship in the fifth football season of a decade. In 1994-95, 2004-05 and 2014-15 they were in the league below.
The 2024-25 Championship is made up of Airdrieonians, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Livingston, Morton, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park and Raith Rovers. With the exception of Livi every club entered the division from League One. (See below.)
This year's Championship has seven teams in common with last year's, and eight in common with 2012-13. It's very much a Central Belt league, but not quite up to the standard of 2012-13 which did not have Ayr United in it.
For once there is no big Premiership club slumming in the Championship, except in the minds of Partick Thistle supporters.
Partick want their group stage match against Motherwell replayed because the fourth official couldn't find the name of one of their substitutes on the app. Story.
Three of last year's top Morton players have moved to other clubs in the division: Oakley to Ayr United, Muirhead to Livingston, and Crawford to Partick Thistle.
Morton have signed midfielder Ali Crawford who previously made 12 appearances for the club in 2023.
Morton's starting line-up is: [Mullen, Delany, Boyes, Broadfoot, Ballantyne, Wilson, Moffat, Lyall, A. Crawford, Garrity, Emannuel-Taylor.]
Compare 2023: MacDonald, O'Connor, Waters, Boyd, Muirhead, Quitongo, R. Crawford, Broadfoot, McGrattan, Gillespie, Oakley.
[Partick Thistle 0 - 0 Morton.]
The other Championship matches:
Falkirk 2 - 1 Queen's Park (yesterday)*
Hamilton Accies [0 - 2] Ayr United*
*These are Plenty of Nothing Championship League Cup Round One matches.
Airdrieonians [1 - 0] Raith Rovers
Livingston [2 - 0] Dunfermline Athletic
Other matches:
Þór/KA 3 - 3 Tindastóll (July 30)
UCD 1 - 1 Wexford (yesterday)
Nairn County [0 - 3] Brechin City
Culter [2 - 0] Longside
Civil Service Strollers [2 - 1] Cowdenbeath
Largs Thistle [0 - 0] Hurlford United
Carluke Rovers [1 - 3] Eglinton
Scrosoppi [4 - 0]] Sigma
V-Varen Nagasaki [1 - 2] Mito HollyHock
HFX Wanderers have signed midfielder Sean Rea, formerly of CF Montreal, Valour and Club Deportivo Castellón "B".
Concacaf Leagues Cup group stage:
Atlético de San Luis 2 - 3 CF Montréal (July 30)
Vancouver Whitecaps [3 - 1] Tijuana
Pachuca [1 - 2] Toronto FC (tomorrow)
[None of the group stage matches took place in Mexico.]
UEFA Europa League, 2QR, second leg (August 1):
Cercle Brugge 1 - 0 Kilmarnock
Elfsborg 2 - 0 Sheriff Tiraspol
Elfsborg advance. Kilmarnock drop down to the Conference League.
UEFA Conference League, 2QR, second leg (mostly August 1):
St Mirren 4 - 1 Valur
Vaduz 2 - 2 St Patrick's Athletic
Caernarfon Town 0 - 5 Legia Warsaw
Auda 2 - 0 Cliftonville (July 31)
Shelbourne 0 - 0 Zurich
St Mirren and St Patrick's Athletic advance. Caernarfon Town, Cliftonville and Shelbourne are out.
Olympic women's soccer, QF:
United States [1 - 0] Japan
Canada [0 - 0] Germany [Germany win on PK]
Previous times that Morton started the league season against Partick Thistle:
1893/8/19 Morton 2 - 3 Partick Thistle
1896/8/22 Partick Thistle 2 - 2 Morton
1909/8/16 Morton 2 - 1 Partick Thistle
1911/8/15 Partick Thistle 1 - 1 Morton
1915/8/21 Partick Thistle 3 - 2 Morton
1917/8/18 Partick Thistle 3 - 3 Morton
1919/8/16 Partick Thistle 1 - 1 Morton
1931/8/8 Morton 1 - 2 Partick Thistle
1975/8/30 Morton 0 - 0 Partick Thistle
1985/8/10 Partick Thistle 1 - 1 Morton
1991/8/10 Morton 2 - 1 Partick Thistle
When did the 2024-25 Championship clubs most recently get into the Championship and was it from above or below?
2024 Livingston (above)
2024 Hamilton Academical (below)
2024 Falkirk (below)
2023 Dunfermline (below)
2023 Airdrieonians (below)
2022 Queen's Park (below)
2021 Partick Thistle (below)
2020 Raith Rovers (below)
2018 Ayr United (below)
2015 Morton (below)
In which divisions have the 2024-25 Championship clubs played since 1994?
Dunfermline bbaaab aaaaaaabbb babcccbbbb bbcbb
Livingston cdcccb baaaaabbbd cbbbbbcbaa aaaab
Hamilton bbcbbc dcccbbbbaa abbbaaaaaa abbcb
Partick Thistle aabbcc cbaabcbbbb bbbaaaaabb cbbbb
Falkirk aabbbb bbbbbaaaaa bbbbbbbbbc ccccb
Raith Rovers baabbb bbcbbccccb bbbbbbbccc bbbbb
Morton cbbbbb bcdccccbbb bbbbcbbbbb bbbbb
Ayr Utd bccbbb bbbbcccccb cbccccbcbb bbbbb
Airdrieonians ccbbbcbb ccbccccccc cccbb
Queen's Park dddddd cddddddccd ddddddccdd dcbbb
(a = Premiership; b = Championship; etc.)
Which clubs have spent at least 15 seasons in the Championship, including this year?
23 years Morton
21 years Raith Rovers
19 years Queen of the South
19 years Falkirk
18 years Ayr United
17 years Partick Thistle
16 years Dunfermline
15 years Dundee
Plenty of Nothing's goals for Morton:
1) Score on Aberdeen.
2) Score on Celtic.
3) Win the Challenge Cup.
4) Get a win off every divisional opponent.
5) Post a 5 - 0 win.
6) Avoid a 5 - 0 loss.
7) Finish above Hamilton.
8) Finish above Dunfermline.
9) Positive goal difference.
10) Stay out of tenth place.
Historical matches:
2002/8/3 Gretna 1 - 1 Morton
Goal for Warren Hawke.
Video: Derek Gaston has a brilliant future as a groundskeeper.
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