Plenty of Nothing

Launch of Ottawa, 1964

Launch of the oil tanker Ottawa from the Swan, Hunter, Wigham Richardson yard at Wallsend on the Tyne, June 10th, 1964. Source.

Halifax Graving Dock, 1889

Source.

Magellan

A ceramic muarl in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, commemorating Fernanando de Magallanes and Juan Sebastian Elcano, who between them captained the first circumnavigation of the earth. The five ship fleet set sail 500 years ago today. Source.

Stad Ship Tunnel Test Tank

The Norwegians are planning to cut out a bit of difficult coastal navigation by digging the Stad Ship Tunnel though a peninsula to connect two fjords. But first they have to master the art of sailing through tunnels without scraping all the paint off the side of the boat. Source.

SS Hjejlen

Greenock has the PS Waverley, but Silkeborg has SS Hjejlen, The Golden Plover, built 1861. Source.

U-Boat 118

Submarine U-118 went adrift as it was being towed to France and washed up on Hastings Beach on this date in 1919. Source.

Lithuanian River Transport

A replica of an inland boat from the days of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Source.

Regatta Day

The first Wednesday of August is Regatta Day on Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Royal St. John's Regatta has been going on for 200 years. This is a photo of Bowring's Ladies Championship Crew, 1949. Source.

HMS Thrush

HMS Thrush was built at Scott's of Greenock in 1889 and stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia where for a time it came under the command of HRH Prince George, who was later to be King George V. HMS Thrush played a role in the 40-minute Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 and the Second Boer War. Source.

Morton host Stenhousemuir. These two have played six League Cup matches since 1946. Morton's record: 5W 1L.

This is Morton's first home date of the year.

The situation: The highest points total Morton can possibly earn in the group stage is 6, which is not enough for them to become one of the top four runners-up. No runner-up with fewer than 9 points has ever made it to Round Two, under the present format. The only hope for Morton is to finish in first place. This can happen if the final Group E standings are a five-way tie with every team having 6 points. Morton need lopsided wins against Stenny and Albion Rovers so as to have the best goal difference at the end. This scheme relies on Albion Rovers beating both Partick and Ayr and then losing to Morton, so pinch of salt.

If Morton are eliminated today it means no cup game on August 18th. That would create the opportunity to move one of Morton's two already scheduled Tuesday night league fixtures to that date. Who do Morton play on those two nights? Queen of the South ... and Queen of the South. Currently QoS are first in Group G with 6 points, so they might not be available. Another option is a friendly against some Premiership squad that finds itself similarly idle. Kilmarnock and Hamilton look like possibilities.

Morton have signed Kyle Thomson, formerly of Loyola University Chicago.

Other game of the day: Albion Rovers [0 - 2] Ayr United.

[Morton win 2 - 0. Goals by MacLean and McHugh.

Group E standings:

                         Pld  W  PW   PL   L    F    A   GD  Pts

Ayr United         2     2     0     0     0    5    1   +4    6

Partick               2     2     0     0     0    4    1   +3    6

Stenny               3     1     0     0     2    4    4     0    3

Morton               3     1     0     0     2    4    5    -1    3

Albion Rovers    2     0     0     0     2    0    6    -6    0  ]

What was Stenhousemuir's greatest League Cup moment?

October 4th, 1972 they beat Rangers 1 - 2 at Ibrox.

By the bye. In 1946 when the League Cup first began every club took part in the opening group stage. But under the present format forty teams participate in the group stage, and four others (the ones involved in European competition) receive a bye into Round Two. A group stage side that reaches the League Cup final will have played eight matches. A side that enters in Round Two and reaches the final will have played four. Since 2016 when the group stage was reintroduced, which teams have made the final, and were they from the group stage or did they have a bye?

2016-17    Celtic (bye)

2016-17    Aberdeen (bye)

2017-18    Celtic (bye)

2017-18    Motherwell (group stage)

How many games did each club with a bye eventually play in Europe?

14    Celtic (2017-18)

12    Celtic (2016-17)

  6    Aberdeen (2016-17)

  4    Aberdeen (2017-18)

  4    Hearts (2016-17)

  2    Hibs (2016-17)

  2    Rangers (2017-18)

  2    St Johnstone (2017-18)

Robert McHugh's goals for Morton:

date                 venue               opponent           goalkeeper      competition

2017/7/18        Cappielow        Queen's Park        W. Muir        League Cup

2017/7/29        Cappielow        Edinburgh City      C.Antell        League Cup

2017/7/29        Cappielow        Edinburgh City      C.Antell        League Cup

2017/8/12        Cappielow        St Mirren         Craig Samson     league

2017/9/23        Tannadice        Dundee Utd        Harry Lewis     league

2017/10/21      Cappielow        Dumbarton     Scott Gallacher    league

2018/1/6          Glebe Park       Brechin City    Graeme Smith*   league

2018/2/10        Cappielow        Dumbarton     Scott Gallacher    Scottish Cup

[2018/7/21       Cappielow     Stenhousemuir   Graeme Smith*   League Cup]

*The one born in 1983, not the one born in 1982.

UEFA Europa League 1QR, second leg (midweek):

Molde 5 - 1 Glenavon. Glenavon are out.

Shkupi 0 - 0 Rangers. Rangers advance.

Progrès Niederkorn 0 - 1 Gabala. Nonetheless Progrès progress.

Coleraine 0 - 2 Spartak Subotica. Coleraine are out.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk 2 - 0 Connah's Quay Nomads. Nomads are out.

Nordsjælland 2 - 1 Cliftonville. Cliftonville are out.

NSÍ Runavík 4 - 6 Hibs. Hibs advance, having scored 12 goals altogether.

Sarpsborg 2 - 0 ÍBV. The Vestmannaeyjar men are out.

Titograd 1 - 2 B36. B36 advance.

Elsewhere: 

JFL: ReinMeer Aomori [1 - 5] Sony Sendai

League of Ireland, First Division: UCD 2 - 0 Galway United

Allsvenskan: Örebro SK [1 - 2] Malmö FF

J2: Renofa Yamaguchi [2 - 2] Mito HollyHock

Kantō Soccer League: Tokyo 23 FC [1 - 3] Joyful Honda Tsukuba

USL: Ottawa Fury [2 - 0] Nashville FC

It's the beginning of the 2018-19 Swiss Challenge League. Let's watch:

Wil [2 - 0] Winterthur

Testspiel: 1. FC Saarbrücken [1 - 0] SG Wattenscheid 09

SG Wattenscheid play in (tier IV) Regionalliga West.

Friendly: Largs Thistle 2 - 1 Greenock Morton's development squad (July 20)

Yesterday the Canadian Premier League unveiled its Victoria club, to be named Pacific FC. The league expects to begin play next spring, with eight clubs for the first season. (Ottawa Fury is most probably the eighth, but because they currently play in the USL, the CPL is not really in a position to announce them.) The league has instituted quotas for Canadian talent and a salary cap.

The 7th Kantō University Football Tournament concludes tomorrow. [The final: Meiji Gakuin University 1 - 2 Hosei University.

The top eight Kantō university teams, as a result of this tournament, are: 1. Hosei, 2. Meiji Gakuin, 3. Komazawa, 4. Meiji, 5. Waseda, 6. Senshu, 7. Ryutsu Keizai, 8. Tokai. The top six move on to the Prime Minister Cup in the fall.]

MV Rapana

MV Rapana, a Merchant Aircraft Carrier, anchored off Greenock in 1943. Yep, there were merchant aircraft carriers in World War Two. Rapana was a converted Shell Oil tanker, capable of launching Swordfish anti-submarine aircraft, while hauling oil. Source.

Morton entertain Falkirk. Last Saturday Falkirk beat the Tangerines 6 - 1, but then on Tuesday lost 4 - 1 to ICT. Who'll show up today? Falkirk enter today's play in ninth place, right where they've been almost all season.

With ICT's recovery from the post-relegation vapors there are now five teams chasing two playoff spots: Dunfermline, Livingston, Queen of the South, Morton and ICT. Morton can finish the day anywhere from fourth to seventh place.

[Falkirk win 0 - 1.]

Other match of the day: Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Queen of the South. [ICT win 3 - 1.]

1933-34. Morton hosted East Fife and won 3 - 1.

1944-45. Morton welcomed Hearts to Cappielow and beat them 5 - 1.

Reigning Swedish league champions Malmö FF have signed Fouad Bachirou, formerly of Greenock Morton, paying Östersunds FK a transfer fee reported to be in the neighbourhood of 7 million krona (about £633,000). Read an interview.

Ben Armour has been loaned out to Annan Athletic.

Current undefeated streaks:

6        St Mirren

3        Dunfermline

3        Morton

2        Queen of the South

1        ICT

1        Brechin

0        Dundee United

0        Livingston

0        Dumbarton

0        Falkirk

Postponements. Currently Morton have two postponed matches that have yet to be rescheduled: Livingston vs Morton, from December 16th; and Dumbarton vs Morton, from December 30th. Very often a postponed fixture is rescheduled on the second Tuesday after, or if there's time pressure, the first Tuesday. Neither of those things has happened in either case, probably because with this weather the chances were high that the rearranged match would get cancelled again. But now the Scottish Cup approaches with its inevitable replays. So neither of those December matches is likely to be played before February.

The three-division era. Since 1994 the Scottish League has been made up of four divisions, and Morton play each divisional rival four times. Before 1975 the league was usually comprised of two divisions, and Morton played each rival twice. From 1975 to 1994 there were three divisions. Did Morton play every opponent three times?

1975-76        26 games        (tier 2)        twice

1976-77        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1977-78        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1978-79        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1979-80        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1980-81        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1981-82        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1982-83        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1983-84        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1984-85        36 games        (tier 1)        four times

1985-86        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1986-87        44 games        (tier 2)        four times

1987-88        44 games        (tier 1)        four times

1988-89        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1989-90        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1990-91        39 games        (tier 2)        three times

1991-92        44 games        (tier 2)        four times

1992-93        44 games        (tier 2)        four times

1993-94        44 games        (tier 2)        four times

More on format. Since the founding of the Scottish League, Morton have played thirty seasons in a ten-team 36-game structure. Does any other format approach that mark? No. Morton have played 34 games in an 18-team division twenty-four times; 30 games in a 16-team division seventeen times; 38 games in a 20-team division sixteen times; 36 games in a 19-team division nine times; 18 games in a 10-team division eight times; 39 games in a 14-team division seven times; 44 games in a 12-team division five times; and a few other combinations for a handful of years each. The current format is the most time-honoured.

Last July I posted a list of the Falkirk/Stenhousemuir matches played during the 100-plus-year history of Stirlingshire Cup. The two clubs also met in some of the SFL's early rival leagues.

Midland League, 1893 to 1896:

1893/11/25      match abandoned

1894/1/27        Stenhousemuir 3 - 0 Falkirk

1894/4/21        Falkirk 4 - 0 Stenhousemuir

1894/12/15      Falkirk 2 - 0 Stenhousemuir

1895/4/27        Stenhousemuir 3 - 3 Falkirk

1895/11/2        Stenhousemuir 5 - 2 Falkirk

1896/2/29        Falkirk 4 - 3 Stenhousemuir

Scottish Combination, 1896-97:

1897/4/3         Falkirk 4 - 3 Stenhousemuir

1897/5/15       Stenhousemuir 1 - 1 Falkirk

Central Combination, 1897 to 1902:

1897/9/18        Falkirk 0 - 3 Stenhousemuir

1898/4/30        Stenhousemuir 6 - 1 Falkirk

1898/8/27        Stenhousemuir 0 - 6 Falkirk

1899/5/6          Falkirk 5 - 9 Stenhousemuir

1899/8/26        Falkirk 3 - 0 Stenhousemuir

1900/2/17        Stenhousemuir 5 - 4 Falkirk

1900/9/1          Stenhousemuir 2 - 1 Falkirk

1901/5/11        Falkirk 4 - 1 Stenhousemuir

1901/9/10        Stenhousemuir 4 - 1 Falkirk

1902/2/22        Falkirk 2 - 2 Stenhousemuir

They were also members of a supplementary league, the Falkirk District League:

1898/12/17      Falkirk 3 - 3 Stenhousemuir

1899/4/22        Stenhousemuir 2 - 3 Falkirk

1899/9/16        Stenhousemuir 3 - 1 Falkirk

1900/5/5          Falkirk 3 - 0 Stenhousemuir

1901/4/6          Falkirk 2 - 3 Stenhousemuir

Source: Scottish Football Historical Archive.

Morton in the Scottish Cup, Part Two, the Early Twentieth Century:

1900-01        R1        Morton 10 - 0 Bo'ness

                     R2        Morton 1 - 1 St Bernard's (abandoned)

                                  Morton 3 - 1 St Bernard's

                     QF        Hibs 2 - 0 Morton

1901-02        R1        Third Lanark 0 - 0 Morton

                                  Morton 2 - 3 Third Lanark

1902-03        R1        Hibs 7 - 0 Morton

1903-04        R1        Morton 8 - 1 6th GRV

                     R2        Morton 2 - 0 Arbroath

                     QF        Leith Athletic 1 - 3 Morton

                     SF        Rangers 3 - 0 Morton

1904-05        R1        Morton 2 - 0 Renton

                     R2        Morton 0 - 6 Rangers

1905-06        R1        Morton 4 - 3 Lochgelly United

                     R2        St Mirren 3 - 1 Morton

1906-07        R1        Maxwelltown Volunteers 1 - 3 Morton

                     R2        Morton 0 - 0 Celtic

                                  Celtic 1 - 1 Morton

                                  Celtic 2 - 1 Morton

1907-08        R1        Morton 7 - 0 Vale of Atholl

                     R2        Hibs 3 - 0 Morton

1908-09        R1        Morton 0 - 4 Aberdeen

1909-10        R1        Morton 4 - 3 Partick Thistle

                     R2        Motherwell 3 - 0 Morton

1910-11        R1        East Stirlingshire 1 - 4 Morton

                     R2        Morton 0 - 3 Rangers

1911-12        R1        Morton 2 - 0 Clachnacuddin

                     R2        Falkirk 0 - 0 Morton

                                  Morton 3 - 1 Falkirk

                     QF        Morton 0 - 1 Hearts

1912-13        R1        Morton 2 - 2 Falkirk

                                  Falkirk 3 - 1 Morton

1913-14        R1        Morton 1 - 1 Hibs

                                  Hibs 2 - 1 Morton

1919-20        R1        Morton 4 - 0 Forfar

                     R2        St Johnstone 1 - 1 Morton

                                  Morton 5 - 3 St Johnstone

                     R3        Raith Rovers 2 - 2 Morton

                                  Morton 3 - 0 Raith Rovers

                     QF        Morton 3 - 0 Third Lanark

                     SF        Kilmarnock 3 - 2 Morton

1920-21        R2        Rangers 2 - 0 Morton

1921-22        R1        Morton 4 - 0 Vale of Leithen

                     R2        Morton 1 - 1 Clydebank

                                  Clydebank 1 - 3 Morton

                     R3        Morton 4 - 1 Clyde

                     QF        Motherwell 1 - 2 Morton

                     SF        Morton 3 - 1 Aberdeen

                      F          Morton 1 - 0 Rangers

1922-23        R1        Raith Rovers 1 - 0 Morton

1923-24        R1        Airdrieonians 2 - 1 Morton

1924-25        R1        Falkirk 1 - 1 Morton

                                  Morton 0 - 3 Falkirk

1925-26        R1        Dykehead 1 - 1 Morton

                                  Morton 4 - 1 Dykehead

                     R2        Morton 3 - 1 Raith Rovers

                     R3        Morton 1 - 0 Albion Rovers

                     QF        Morton 0 - 4 Rangers

1926-27        R1        Alloa 3 - 0 Morton

1927-28        R1        Morton 7 - 3 Mid Annandale

                     R2        Queen's Park 4 - 1 Morton

1928-29        R1        Dundee United 3 - 1 Morton

1929-30        R1        Dundee 2 - 0 Morton

Abruzzo: Avezzano [3 - 2] Vastese

Maebashi Ikuei High School from Gunma won the 96th All Japan High School Men's Soccer Championship. Fujieda Junshin HS from Shizuoka won the 26th All Japan Women's High School Soccer Championship.

Dyce [0 - 2] Irvine Meadow

Largs vs Cambuslang [match abandoned]