Plenty of Nothing

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]

Boats on the Nile

Barche sul Nilo, by Beniamino Facchinelli. Source. These are feluccas with two lateen sails apiece.

SS Persia

The SS Persia was constructed for the P & O Line by Caird's of Greenock in 1900 and ran between Britain and India before being sunk by a torpedo off Crete on December 30, 1915.

Morton host Raith Rovers. This was to have been the third meeting of these two but the second meeting got postponed till February.

Lately Morton, Falkirk and Raith Rovers have formed a pack competing for the last two promotion playoff spots, but Raith have fallen off a little and now have a negative goal difference thanks to last week's defeat at the hands of Falkirk.

How many years have Morton, Raith, and Falkirk all played in the one division? 33 years: 1910-11 to 1916-17; 1919-20 to 1925-26; 1935-36; 1950-51; 1967-68 and 1968-69; 1976-77; 1983-84; 1988-89 to 1990-91; 1997-98 to 2000-01; 2010-11 to 2013-14; 2015-16 and 2016-17. Whenever they were together in the years before World War Two it was always in the top tier, except for 1935-36. Whenever they were together after the war it was always in the second tier, except for 1950-51, 1967-68 and 1968-69.

Warren Hawke is Morton's new chief executive. Aidan Nesbitt is up for Worst Dive of the Year. Morton have signed Lawrence Shankland, formerly of Queen's Park, Aberdeen, Dunfermline, and St Mirren.

[Morton win 2 - 0. Goals by Forbes and Shankland. Morton improve their hold on third place. Going back to last March and counting league and cup games, Morton are on a 16-game home lossless streak.]

1898-99. Morton met Annbank United in the first round of the Scottish Cup. Annbank is a mining village five miles inland from Ayr. The current Annbank United was formed in 1939.

Glasgow Herald, January 16, 1899 (page 10):

    MORTON V. ANNBANK.--This game was played at Greenock on heavy ground, before a good attendance. Teams:--Morton--M'Pherson; Anderson and Orr; Colligan, Henderson, and Blair; Dale and Hunter; M'Culloch, Lynn, and Reid. Annbank--Stewart; Mulholland and Scott; Hay, Gourlay, and Welsh; Watson and Vance; Henderson, Donnelly, and Sanders. Annbank, although playing against the wind in the first half, more than held their own, and at half-time the score was one goal each. In the second half the home lot showed up a trifle better, and their wing play was good, but M'Culloch, centre, was hardly up to form. Annbank played a hard game, but the better team won. Result--Morton, 3 goals; Annbank, 1. The feature of the game was perhaps the fine display by the home backs, Anderson and Orr, while, on the other hand, the visiting half-backs were in excellent form.

Current home drawless streaks.

0            Dunfermline, Queen of the South, Dundee United, St Mirren

1            Falkirk, Hibs, Ayr United

2            Dumbarton, Morton, Raith

Most draws in a league season. The record appears to belong to Raith Rovers, who played to 20 draws in the 39-game 1986-87 Division Two season. Three clubs have played exactly half their games to draw scores: Stranraer, 18 of 36 times in 1995-96 and again in 1999-2000; Celtic, 18 of 36 times in 1994-95; and Hibs, 18 of 36 times in 1976-77. Morton's record is 16 draws in the 39-game schedule of 1989-90.

Since the reorganization of the Scottish league into four divisions in 1994, which clubs have played in all four divisions? Ross County, Inverness CT, Livingston, Hamilton, Gretna, Rangers.

2016-17 Championship clubs by best showing in the top division:

Hibs                            1st    (1902-03; 1947-48; 1950-51; 1951-52)

Dumbarton                 1st    (1890-91; 1891-92 joint winner)

Dundee United           1st    (1982-83)

Falkirk                         2nd   (1907-08; 1909-10)

Morton                        2nd    (1916-17)

St Mirren                     3rd    (1892-93; 1979-80)

Dunfermline                3rd    (1964-65; 1968-69)

Raith Rovers               3rd    (1921-22)

Ayr United                   4th    (1915-16)

Queen of the South     4th    (1933-34)

The League of Ireland has announced plans to switch to two ten-team divisions in 2018, from the present arrangement of 12 in the top tier and 8 in the second tier. Turmoil!

How is FC Wohlen like Greenock Morton?

FC Wohlen are a blue and white club, like Morton, from the town of Wohlen in Aargau. Wohlen has 15,600 people and more train stations than are needed, like Greenock. They play at Stadion Neidermatten, "The Low Mats," which can accommodate 5,000.

FC Wohlen were founded in 1904. They have never won the Swiss Cup. They have spent most of their history below the second tier, but have currently appeared in the Challenge League 14 years running. They have a cantonal rivalry with FC Aarau.

Largs [0 - 1] Beith

Forres Mechanics [postponed] Strathspey Thistle

Greenock High School Magazine

Greenock High School Magazine, June 1933. The ship is flying the Scottish Red Ensign, which went out of use after 1707. In the upper left corner you can just read, "This cover was printed from linoleum blocks," which would lead you to suppose that printmaking was taught at GHS. The linoleum likely came from Kirkcaldy.

Morton host Dumbarton.

This is the beginning of the second half of the season for Morton. So far the Ton have accumulated seven wins, seven draws, and four losses, for 28 points and third place. They have 25 goals for and 19 against.

Dumbarton are coming off a 1 - 0 win over Dundee United, their second win of the season against the Tangerines. If Dundee United fail to earn promotion they can thank Dumbarton for it. This makes up for Dumbarton being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Bonnyrigg Rose.

In their first meeting in August, Morton and Dumbarton played to a 1 - 1 draw. In November Morton won 0 - 2 in Dumbarton.

Morton's best ever result against Dumbarton was 8 - 0, Sept 19, 1953, at Cappielow. Dumbarton's best result against Morton was 5 - 0, Aug 10, 1927, at Boghead Park.

[Morton win 2 - 1. Goal by Tidser plus an own goal. Morton are third, 7 points behind Dundee United. Match report.]

How many Scottish League games have Dumbarton played against the other 2016-17 Championship clubs?

Morton                130

Ayr United            121

Raith Rovers        115

QoS                        93

Dunfermline            84

Falkirk                     74

Dundee United        73

St Mirren                 63

Hibs                        47

Greenock Morton are Dumbarton's Championship besties.

Current home lossless streaks.

0            Falkirk, Raith

1            Ayr United

2            Queen of the South

3            Dumbarton, St Mirren

4            Dunfermline

7            Hibs

10          Dundee United

11          Morton

How far into the season have Morton gone without suffering a loss at home in league play?

1918-19        no home losses (Division One)

1935-36        no home losses (Division Two)

1949-50        no home losses (Division Two)

1963-64        no home losses (Division Two)

2006-07        February 2nd (Second Division)

1898-99. Today in 1899, St Mirren hosted Morton in Glasgow & West of Scotland Football League action.

From The Glasgow Herald, January 9, 1899 (page 10):

    ST MIRREN V. MORTON--These teams met in a Western League game at Paisley on Saturday in wretched weather. The teams were:--St Mirren--Patrick; M'Blane and Jackson; Greenlaw, Bruce, and M'Avoy; Chalmers and Steel; M'Neilly, Orr, and Wylie. Morton--M'Pherson; Anderson and Orr; Colligan, Henderson, and Blair; Dale and Hunter; M'Culloch, Lynn, and Reid. Referee--Mr Bell, Mauchline. The game from the outset was very keenly contested, both teams being well matched. St Mirren, however, were the first to make any headway, and a few minutes after the start they scored from Orr. No further advantage was secured in this half. Early in the second half Morton scored from a penalty kick, and thus drew level with their opponents. St Mirren tried hard to gain the lead, but failed. Just on time they were awarded a penalty kick, which, however, McPherson saved cleverly. Result--St mirren, 1 goal; Morton, 1 goal.

Transfers. Goalkeeper Andy McNeil is leaving Morton to take up a coaching position with Guangzhou R&F of the Chinese Super League. Aidan Nesbitt has signed on for the rest of the season. Gavin Gunning has departed for Grimsby.

How to read a cross table.

A cross table is a compact way of presenting the results of a double round robin. It's faster and easier to consult than a list of scores.

Home teams are listed on the left, away teams along the top. The row extending across from the name Dynamo Dresden contains all of Dynamo Dresden's home games. The column extending downward from DRE contains all of Dynamo Dresden's away games.

To find the result of FC St. Pauli's visit to Dresden, follow the Dresden row across to the STP column: 1 - 0. The first part of the score is always the home team, so Dresden won 1 - 0. Dresden's game against Aue ended 0 - 3, meaning that Aue won. The white spaces are games that have not been played yet. The grey spaces are nonexistent games (e.g., Dresden vs DRE).

How is FC Winterthur like Greenock Morton?

FC Winterthur was founded in 1896, making it one of the older Swiss clubs. They had a heyday was just prior to and including World War One when they won the Swiss league three times (1906, 1908, 1917). They were runners up in the Swiss League Cup twice in the early 1970s.

Their stadium holds 8,550, and has been their home since 1900.

Keller AG, shirt sponsor for FC Winterthur, manufactures piezoresistive pressure sensors in Winterthur. Piezo-what? Just watch the video. Greenock used to have an IBM plant, and soon will used to have Texas Instruments.

Scottish Championship and Swiss Challenge League towns by population:

Championship

Edinburgh                    464,990

Dundee                        148,260

Paisley                          78,834

Dunfermline                  50,380

Dumfries                       49,883

Kirkcaldy                       49,460

Ayr                                47,190

Greenock                      44,248

Falkirk                           35,168

Dumbarton                    19,990

Challenge League

Zürich                           396,027

Geneva                        197,376

Winterthur                    108,044

Schaffhausen                35,927

Neuchâtel                      33,815

Wil                                 23,715

Aarau                            20,445

Wohlen                         15,446

Chiasso                          8,202

Le Mont-sur-Lausanne   6,954

Positionally Wohlen is closest to Greenock, numerically Schaffhausen.

Speaking of high school, tomorrow is the final of the All Japan High School Women's Football Championship: Daisho Gakuen High School [0 - 1] Jumonji High School.

Who are the past winners of the All Japan High School Women's Football Championship?

1992    Seiwa Gakuen High School (1)

1993    Honjo-Daiichi High School (1)

1994    Saitama Heisei Senior High School (1)

1995    Saitama Sakae High School (1)

1996    Saitama Heisei Senior High School (2)

1997    Keimei Gakuin High School (1)

1998    Seiwa Gakuen High School (2)

1999    Shonan Gakuin High School (1)

2000    Keimei Gakuin High School (2)

2001    Seiwa Gakuen High School (3)

2002    Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (1)

2003    Hooh High School (1)

2004    Kamimura Gakuin High School (1)

2005    Kamimura Gakuin High School (2)

2006    Fujieda Junshin Junior and Senior High School (1)

2007    Hooh High School (2)

2008    Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (2)

2009    Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (3)

2010    Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School (1)

2011    Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (4)

2012    Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (5)

2013    Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School (2)

2014    Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School (3)

2015    Fujieda Junshin Junior and Senior High School (2)

[2016   Jumonji High School (1)]

Source.

Kilwinning [0 - 1] Largs

Strathspey Thistle [2 - 2] Nairn County

East Stirlingshire play Edinburgh University for the first time since 1908 today. [1 - 1.]

Southerner

"Southerner of Greenock, Captain James Grant, Entering Smyrna, 1864" by Raffaele Corsini. Source.

No one knows for sure why Greenock Morton is named Morton. Is the club named after Morton Terrace, or Provost James Morton, or maybe even the Earl of Morton? One reason why it wasn't simply named Greenock FC is that there were other football clubs springing up around town at the same time as Morton. One of those was Greenock Southern. Morton met them in Round Three of the 1884-85 Scottish Cup and won 5 - 0.

Port Glasgow Athletic played against two other early Greenock clubs. They beat Greenock Rangers 11-0 in Round One of the 1887-88 Scottish Cup, and Greenock Abstainers 8 - 0 in Round Two of the 1889-90 Scottish Cup.

Today St Mirren visit Cappielow. This is the first rearranged fixture of the season for both clubs. It was to have been played on October 22nd but was preempted by Morton's League Cup semi-final.

What a terrible season St Mirren are having. They have played eleven league matches and have yet to record a win. The Buddies became the first Championship club to sack their manager this season, doing so on September 18th. They have held last place in the division since Week Five.

But, to their credit, they did win three of four in the League Cup group stage, and they're into the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup.

If Morton win tonight they move into fourth place. If St Mirren win by four goals the Buddies move into ninth.

Morton have not had a win against St Mirren since April 10th, 1999.

[Morton win 3 - 1. Goals by O'Ware, Forbes, and Oliver.]

Livingston have been ordered to replay their Challenge Cup fourth round match against Crusaders, because they fielded an ineligible player the first time. That goes tonight. [Crusaders 0 - 3 Livingston.]

Also: Forfar vs Edinburgh City in the Scottish Cup. [Edinburgh City win 0 - 1.]

Jai Quitongo has been added to Scotland's U-21 squad.

Which saints play in Scottish football, and at what level?

Premiership: John the Baptist (St Johnstone FC)

Championship: Mirren (St Mirren FC)

South of Scotland League: Cuthbert (St Cuthbert Wanderers FC)

North Caledonian League: Duthus (St Duthus FC)

East Region Superleague: Andrew (St Andrews United FC)

North Region Superleague: Ternan (Banchory St Ternan FC)

North Region First Division West: Ninian (Nairn St Ninian FC)

West Region Central District First Division:

Roch (St Roch's FC)

Anthony (St Anthony's FC)

Caledonian League: Mungo (St Mungo's AFC)

Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division:

Joseph (St Joseph's FP AFC)

All of them (Oban Saints AFC)

Scottish Women's Football League First Division:

All of them (Paisley Saints Ladies)

How to do early football research. Your most important resource is the newspaper. When you read a match report in a daily newspaper the only person between you and the play is the reporter, who in most cases was there at the game. (Sometimes they're at the pub.) Newspaper reports offer a level of detail that you won't find in football history books, and they put the game in the context of what else was going on in town. Sports historians are often guilty of not knowing their civic history. Oftentimes the answer to a question about the football club comes from some other page than the sports page.

For Greenock Morton, your best resource is the Greenock Telegraph. Unfortunately, the online archive only goes back to 1998, so you need to find a library with the Tele on microfilm. If you are not in the UK this will probably be a problem.

Second best is the Glasgow Herald. It carried summaries of football matches from across Scotland. Any Morton game will receive a paragraph, and you will at least learn the names of the players. The Herald did not publish on Sunday, so the Saturday results were printed on Monday. A more or less complete run of the Herald is available at the Google News Archive. The images of the newspaper pages are scans of photos, so sometimes the text is illegible.

Much of the statistical work has already been done for you by FitbaStats and Scottish Football Historical Archive. But they're not infallible, so it never hurts to test them against the old newspaper results.

Northern Ireland, Wales and Kazakhstan

The sailing ship Comte de Smet de Naeyer lies capsized in the James Watt Dock, October, 1904. Source.

It's the final 16 of the Challenge Cup. Morton are out. Dumbarton and Raith are out. All the U20 teams, and the Highland and Lowland League clubs are out. Now two representatives each from the Northern Ireland Football League Premiership (Crusaders, Linfield) and the Welsh Premier Division (The New Saints, Bala Town) join in. Two of them (The New Saints and Crusaders) participated in the 2016-17 Champions League, the other two (Linfield, Bala Town) the 2016-17 Europa League. The Challenge Cup now becomes an experiment to see how the Scottish lower leagues (who never get invited anywhere) measure up against the top leagues of Europe's little countries.

Forfar vs The New Saints

The New Saints finished 2015-16 atop the Welsh Premier League, and in fact have won the league five years in a row. They are unique (or at least uniquish) in the football world for being an amalgamation of two border clubs, one Welsh (Llansantffraid, founded 1959) and one English (Oswestry Town, founded 1860). They play at Park Hall in Oswestry, which has a capacity of 2,000. They wear green and white. They have won the Welsh league 10 times, the Welsh Cup 6, and the Welsh League Cup 7. They have participated in European competition 18 of the past 20 years, though they have beaten only four opponents: Bohemians, Cliftonville, B36 and Tre Penne. UEFA ranks them 223rd in Europe. [Forfar 1 - 3 The New Saints]

Bala Town vs Alloa

Bala Town's achievements are more modest. They were founded in 1880, and have never won the top league or the big cups. They have been to the Europa League three times but have never advanced past the first qualifying round. They play at Maes Tegid which holds 3,000. They wear black and white. UEFA ranks them 412th. [Bala Town 2 - 4 Alloa]

Crusaders vs Livingston

Crusaders play at Seaview (capacity 3,383) in Belfast. They were founded in 1898 and joined the league in 1949. They are 6-time league winners (including last year), 3-time Cup winners, and 2-time League Cup winners. They have been to Europe 16 times but have only advanced twice, beating Ekranas of Lithuania and Levadia Tallinn of Estonia. They wear red and black. UEFA ranks them 326th. [Crusaders 1 - 2 Livingston]

Queen of the South vs Linfield

Linfield are also from Belfast. They have 51 league championships, 42 Irish Cups, 9 League Cups, and to top it off they dress like Rangers FC. Their arena, Windsor Park, holds 18,167. Last season they finished second in the NIFL Premiership. They've played in European competition a gazillion times. Brest showing: the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1966-67. This year they were knocked out of the first qualifying round of the Europa League by Cork City. UEFA ranks them 309th. [QoS 2 - 0 Linfield]

Ayr United vs Falkirk

Falkirk are the most successful club in Challenge Cup history. They won the cup in 1993-94, 1997-98, 2004-05 and 2011-12. Ayr United have been runners-up twice. [Ayr 1 - 0 Falkirk.]

Winners this round: Ayr, Livingston, Alloa, Dundee United, Dunfermline, The New Saints, St Mirren, QoS.

Resources: Welsh Football Data Archives, Irish Football Club Project.

There's no SPFL league play this weekend, except for Edinburgh City [1 - 2] Elgin City, both of whom are out of the Challenge Cup. But the Highland and Lowland leagues, and junior football are on.

Strathspey Thistle [1 - 2] Lossiemouth

Troon [3 - 1] Largs Thistle

1898-99. On this date in 1898 Morton were at home to Airdrieonians and won 3 - 1.

How is the Kazakhstani First Division like the Scottish Championship?

Not very much. Average stadium capacity is 9,053. There are no reserve clubs, but Bayterek is an academy club. The Khazakhstani First Division is a summer league. Kazakhstan itself is a country of North American proportions: the distance from Aktau to Ekibastuz is 2010 km. The average age of the ten clubs is only 23 years. The four eldest were founded in the 1960s, the other six in the 21st century. They play an 18-game schedule. There is a promotion playoff.

The Allsvenskan, J3, and Effo-deildin are all off this weekend.

Yesterday: UCD 3 - 2 Shelbourne. UCD are close securing a playoff spot. Cobh Ramblers must win their last two to have a chance of overtaking them.

Read about Crusaders FC in the Daily Express.

The UEFA Women's Champions League is going on. The group stage Qualifying Round was played in August, but no Scottish clubs were involved. Scotland is ranked eleventh in Europe for women's football, so they enjoy a bye through that round. This week the Round of 32 got going. Games involving Scottish clubs were:

Eskilstuna United DFF (of Sweden) 1 - 0 Glasgow City

Hibs 0 - 6 Bayern Munich