Plenty of Nothing

Purcell's Cove Quarry

Source.

Greenock Central Station (1841)

So clean and new! Painting by Thomas Carsell (1810-1860). Source.

Alloa Athletic visit Cappielow.

This is Alloa's fifth Championship campaign this decade, which puts them one ahead of Ayr United.

Morton's record against Alloa this decade has been 5 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses.

Morton's first game against Alloa was a 1 - 0 victory at Cappielow on December 30th, 1922, in Division One. Morton were Scottish Cup holders at the time.

The Wasps did all right against lower division clubs in the preseason, beating Albion Rovers 2 - 1 and Clyde 3 - 2. In the League Cup group stage they played Elgin City to a 3 - 3 draw but then lost the shootout, lost to Hibs, and then beat Stirling Albion and Arbroath. Their 7 points were not enough to get them into Round Two. Last weekend they played to a 1 - 1 draw against Partick Thistle.

Alloa midfielder Alan Trouten played for Morton in 2003-04.

The oldest player on the Alloa roster is captain Andy Graham, age 35. The oldest member of the Morton squad is Chris Millar, 36.

The situation: It's the snakes and ladders part of the season when a single result can transport a team to the top or bottom of the standings. Morton enter today's game in ninth place, which would put them in the relegation playoffs if they are still there in May 2020. If Morton lose today and ICT win or draw, it's the odium of tenth for the Ton.

When else have Morton played their league home opener against Alloa, and how did it go?

1977/8/20      Morton 4 - 2 Alloa

1958/9/3        Morton 4 - 1 Alloa

When was the last time Morton started the league season with a 4 - 2 loss?

A: It never happened before last weekend.

How many times last season did Morton score twice and still lose the game?

A: Zero.

Is scoring up?

Scoring is way up. In the eighteen games Morton played from January to May 2019, there were 34 goals scored for an average of 1.88 per game (counting both teams' goals). In Morton's first five games of 2019-20 there have been 28 goals scored, or 5.6 per game.

Morton are feuding with the Greenock Telegraph, which is too bad for both as they are basically in a symbiotic relationship.

Meanwhile, Buchanan's Toffees are big in Iraq.

Sort the Championship teams by points earned in the League Cup group stage:

10    Dundee

10    Partick

  9    Dunfermline

  8    Morton

  7    Ayr United

  7    Inverness CT

  7    Dundee United

  7    Alloa

  6    Arbroath

  6    Queen of the South

(Teams in bold progressed to Round Two.)

If group stage points counted in the league standings, would they have made any difference to the 2018-19 Championship table?

71    +    9    =    80    Ross County

65    +    5    =    70    Dundee United

56    +    9    =    65    Inverness CT

54    +   12   =    66    Ayr United

46    +    6    =    52    Morton

43    +    9    =    52    Partick

41    +   12   =    53    Dunfermline

39    +    8    =    47    Alloa

38    +    9    =    47    QoS

38    +    6    =    44    Falkirk

Yes they would. Ayr would have finished 3rd instead of 4th, Dunfermline 5th instead of 7th, and QoS would have finished 8th instead of 9th and avoided the playoffs, as they had a better GD than Alloa.

The other Championship matches:

Partick 1 - 2 Dundee United (last night)

With this win DUFC surpass Brechin's record low finish in '17-18.

Dundee [1 - 0] Ayr United

Inverness CT [2 - 1] Arbroath

Queen of the South [1 - 1] Dunfermline

[Morton win 4 - 1. Goals by McHugh (3) and Lyon. Morton jump from 9th place to 3rd.]

League One:

East Fife [1 - 1] Peterhead

Falkirk [6 - 0] Dumbarton

Former Morton managers McKinnon and Duffy go head to head.

Forfar [1 - 0] Stranraer

Montrose [0 - 1] Airdrieonians

Raith Rovers [5 - 2] Clyde

How have Morton fared in Match No. 2 this decade?

2018/8/11      Alloa 0 - 2 Morton

2017/8/12      Morton 4 - 1 St Mirren

2016/8/13      Morton 1 - 1 Falkirk

2015/8/15      Hibs 1 - 0 Morton

2014/8/16      Morton 4 - 0 Stranraer

2013/8/17      Falkirk 3 - 1 Morton

2012/8/18      Hamilton 1 - 1 Morton

2011/8/13      Morton 2 - 1 Livingston

2010/8/14      Dunfermline 2 - 0 Morton

4 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses.

1963-64: Morton began their season with a League Cup group stage match against Ayr United, winning 0 - 1 at Somerset Park.

Port Glasgow Athletic versus Hibs. Twenty league matches: Hibs won twelve, Port one, with seven draws. Hibs knocked Port Glasgoq out of the 1901-02 Scottish Cup.

A few months ago there was talk of expanding the Championship to 12 clubs with a 44-game schedule. Morton have only ever played five 44-game seasons. They were:

                  G     W     D     L      GD    Pts    Pos             Z

1986-87    44    24      9    11    +32    57    1st Div 1      47

1987-88    44      3    10    31    -73    16    12th Prem    47

1991-92    44    17    12    15     +7    46    7th Div1        51

1992-93    44    19    10    15     +9    48    6th Div 1       50

1993-94    44      6    17    21    -31    29    11th Div 1     50

Z = total games, league + cup

The League Cup group stage was not played during any of these years, but the Challenge Cup was introduced in 1990-91, which accounts for the uptick in Z.

How have East Stirlingshire fared since relegation?

                  G     W    D    L     F       A     GD     P     Pos

2016-17    30    21    5    4    107    43    +64    68    2nd

                    (SC: R2    LC: GS    ChC: R1    LLC: QF    SChC: SF)

2017-18    30    19    7    4      67    31    +36    64    4th

                    (SC: R2    LC: ----    ChC: R1    LLC: R1    SChC: R3)

2018-19    28    11    6    11    57    47    +10    39    6th

                    (SC: R2    LC: ----    ChC: R1    LLC: F      SChC: QF)

(SC = Scottish Cup, LC = League Cup, ChC = Challenge Cup, LLC = Lowland League Cup, SChC = South Challenge Cup.)

East Stirlingshire look very good this year, due in large part to the former Morton players on their roster: Bobby Barr, Willie Dyer and Peter MacDonald. Will they yoyo back into League Two? Today they play wunderkinds Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic. [Bonnyrigg Rose 3 - 1 East Stirlingshire.]

It's the Scottish Cup, first preliminary round. A bunch of East of Scotland League sides were granted SFA licenses this summer, bumping the size of this round up to thirteen matches. Let's follow the clubs (in italics) that are in the cup for the first time:

Hill of Beath Hawthorn [2 - 0] Blackburn United

Broxburn Athletic [2 - 0] Tynecastle

Dundonald Bluebell [2 - 2] Auchinleck Talbot

Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare [1 - 6] Penicuik Athletic

Coldstream [1 - 9] Jeanfield Swifts

Camelon Juniors [4 - 0] Newton Stewart

Canadian Premier League:

HFX Wanderers [0 - 0] Cavalry

York 9 [0 - 2] Valour

Edmonton [3 - 1] Pacific

Swiss Challenge League: Vaduz [0 - 1] Winterthur (tomorrow)

Leaving Westboro Station for Detroit

Source.

Cape Tormentine

Steve Boyko of the blog Confessions of a Train Geek visits the abandoned Cape Tormentine train station.

Lake Shore Boulevard, 1961

Source.

IGR 7000

Sure, you could take the bullet train from Tokyo to Aomori and be there before you left, or you could get off at Ninohe and board this little sweetheart, an IGR 7000 in Iwate Galaxy Railway blue and yellow colours, which makes a stop every three or four kilometres. Source.

Winnipeg General Strike

The Winnipeg General Strike began on this day in 1919. As in Barcelona, the first target was the tram cars. Source.

To Dunfermline by Tram

Dunfermline High Street. Source.

Morton visit Dunfermline. It's Week 35 and either team can still finish the season 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th.

In August I speculated that this might be the year a team with 40 points gets relegated. Morton have 40 points now.

Ross County won the division last night, and they did Morton a double favour by denying QoS any points and by rendering Morton's game against Dundee United next week meaningless to the Tangerines.

If Morton win today they are safe from relegation.

Other Championship matches:

Ayr United 0 - 1 Partick (April 23)

Ross County 4 - 0 Queen of the South (yesterday)

Alloa [1 - 2] ICT

Dundee United [2 - 0] Falkirk

Partick [1 - 2] Ayr United

[Morton win 0 - 1 and qualify for the 2019-20 Championship. Goal by Kiltie.]

How have Morton performed against Dunfermline in league play this century?

2018-19        2 draws, 1 loss so far.

2017-18        2 wins, 2 draws; 6 gf, 4 ga; 8 points.

2016-17        1 win, 3 losses; 4 gf, 7 ga; 3 points.

2014-15        4 wins; 10 gf, 2 ga; 12 points.

2012-13        2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss; 10 gf, 6 ga; 7 points.

2010-11        2 wins, 2 losses; 5 gf, 6 ga; 6 points.

2009-10        4 losses; 3 gf, 11 ga; 0 points.

2008-09        2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss; 5 gf, 4 ga; 7 points.

2007-08        2 wins, 2 losses; 4 gf, 3 ga, 6 points.

1928-29: Morton visited Queen of the South and beat them 3 - 2. It was Morton's ninth win in a row, and also the last game of the season. Morton finished second in Division Two, with 21 wins, 8 draws and 7 losses, 85 goals for and 49 against, for 50 points. They and first-place Dundee United gained promotion.

Read a slightly outdated piece about former Morton goalkeeper Andy McNeil's coaching career in China. He's now with R&F (HK) FC.

Angus derby: Forfar [1 - 0] Montrose

Pyramid playoffs, first leg: East Kilbride [1 - 2] Cove Rangers

Longest current unbroken string of years by rivals in the same division:

75    Celtic/Aberdeen    (1945-46 on)

35    Celtic/Motherwell    (1985-86 on)

35    Aberdeen/Motherwell    (1985-86 on)

26    Celtic/Kilmarnock    (1993-94 on)

26    Aberdeen/Kilmarnock    (1993-94 on)

26    Motherwell/Kilmarnock    (1993-94 on)

11    Elgin/Annan    (2008-09 on)

11    Elgin/Berwick    (2008-09 on)

11    Berwick/Annan    (2008-09 on)

Which Premiership clubs were relegated to tier II this decade, after how long in the top league, and how long did they then stay out?

                                                 A            B

2018        Ross County            6             1

2018        Partick Thistle          5            1+

2017        Inverness CT           7             2+

2016        Dundee United       20            3+

2015        St Mirren                  9             3

2014        Hearts                     31            1

2014        Hibs                        15             3

2013        Dundee                    1             1

2012        Dunfermline             1             7+

2011        Hamilton                   3             3

2010        Falkirk                      5             9+

A = ended a run of how many years in the top tier; B = began a run of how many years out of the top tier; "+" means "or more"

East of Scotland League championship playoffs:

Penicuik Athletic [3 - 2] Broxburn Athletic

West of Scotland Premiership:

Largs Thistle vs Troon (April 24) [abandoned due to high winds]

Glenafton [1 - 1] Largs Thistle (today)

The Canadian Premier League starts today:

Forge FC [1 - 1] York 9

The commute from York 9's Alumni Field to Forge's ground Tim Horton Field in Hamilton is the shortest in the Canadian Premier League, at 80.6 km or 51 minutes driving time, according to Google Maps.

[York 9's Ryan Telfer scores the first ever CPL goal. He and Morton's Charlie Telfer are the only two people named Telfer I have ever heard of.]

Tomorrow it's Pacific FC [1 - 0] HFX Wanderers.

Pacific FC play at Westhills Stadium in Langford, a suburb of Victoria. Their team colours are a spin on that Nineties favourite, purple and teal. Their badge appears to be a picture of a metronome. It takes 8 1/2 hours to fly from Halifax to Victoria via Air Canada or WestJet.

Pacific FC's name is unfortunate because 1) it could apply to nearly any team in that hemisphere, and 2) it's already taken. There's a Pacific FC in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, in the Mexican third tier. It was founded a year before the Langford one so they have dibs. Somebody in CONCACAF should have noticed.

North American sport scores are usually reported with the home team second. I'm going to make sure to do the CanPL scores the European way, with the home team first.

The Wanderers' new mascot is a dog named Rover. [But not a real dog.]

[If HFX Wanderers' first home game had been today (Saturday, April 17) it would have been rained out.]

Abbreviations: Is it CPL, CanPL or CdnPL?

AFC Champions League group stage, matchday 4:

Group E: Kashima Antlers 0 - 1 Gyeongnam FC

Group F: Daegu FC 0 - 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Group G: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 - 1 Urawa Red Diamonds

Group H: Kawasaki Frontale 2 - 2 Ulsan Hyundai

24th Fukushima Prefecture Football Championship:

Match No. 16: FC Primeiro [1 - 5] Fukushima University SC

Match No. 17: Bandits Iwaki [2 - 1] FFC Matsushita

Match No. 18: Eastern Japan Int'l University SC [3 - 0] Merry

Iwaki FC play a training match against Sendai University a.k.a. Sendaidai. [Iwaki 1 - 7 Sendaidai. What the?]

J-Village, a sports complex in Fukushima Prefecture, has reopened after serving for most of the decade as a staging area for Fukushima nuclear power plant cleanup operations. Story.

Danish 1st Division: Naestved [1 - 2] Fredericia (April 28)

Swiss Challenge League: Lausanne [4 - 1] Winterthur

Regionalliga Südwest: Mainz 05 II [3 - 1] 1. FC Saarbrücken

Footings for footie at Westhills Stadium in Langford. Source.

Old 56028

Engine No. 56028 of the Caledonian Railway at the Greenock Ladyburn Shed. Source.

Morton host Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a match postponed from April 13th due to ICT's involvement in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Morton are seventh in the division, but only two points up on last place Partick. A win will restore them to sixth place. Inverness are fourth with 49 points and can guarantee themselves a place in the Premiership playoffs with a win.

You could divide the five clubs at the bottom of the Championship into two groups: those that are looking up (Alloa), and those that are looking down (Morton, QoS, Falkirk, Partick). Or those with four games left (Morton and Partick) and those with three (Alloa, QoS and Falkirk). Combine these factors and you get QoS and Falkirk getting demoted.

However, Morton have not won a game since Feb 26th, have not scored more than one goal in any game since Dec 29th, 2018, and have not beaten ICT since Feb 24th, 2018.

If Morton can cling to seventh place through to the end of the schedule it'll be a godsend, but Jonatan Johansson must be aware that finishing seventh was what got Jim Duffy fired last May.

[2 - 2. Morton goals scored by Lyon and Kiltie.]

How have Morton fared against ICT in league play over the years?

2018-19        1 draw, 2 losses so far.

2017-18        2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss; 4 gf, 4 ga; 7 points.

2009-10        4 losses; 1 gf, 10 ga; 0 points.

2000-01        1 win, 3 losses; 4 gf, 11 ga; 3 points.

1999-00        1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses; 8 gf, 10 ga; 4 points.

Matches at Cappielow April 2019:

April 1        Morton reserves 2 - 0 Dundee reserves

April 8        Morton reserves 0 - 0 Partick reserves

April 9        Morton 1 - 2 Alloa

April 16      Morton [2 - 2] Inverness CT

April 22      Morton reserves [2 - 2] Aberdeen reserves

When did each 2018-19 Premiership club most recently enter the top tier?

2018    Livingston

2018    St Mirren

2017    Hibs

2016    Rangers

2015    Hearts

2014    Dundee

2014    Hamilton 

2009    St Johnstone

1993    Kilmarnock

1985    Motherwell

1919    Aberdeen

1890    Celtic

What clubs are in the Lowland League, when did they join and from where?

2013    Dalbeattie Star                South of Scotland League

2013    East Kilbride                    new club

2013    Gretna 2008                    East of Scotland League

2013    Gala Fairydean Rovers   East of Scotland League

2013    Spartans                         East of Scotland League

2013    Stirling University            East of Scotland League

2013    Vale of Leithen                East of Scotland League

2013    Whitehill Welfare             East of Scotland League

2014    Edinburgh University       East of Scotland League

2014    BSC Glasgow                 new club   

2015    Cumbernauld Colts        Caledonian Amateur League

2016    East Stirlingshire            SPFL League Two

2016    Civil Service Strollers     East of Scotland League

2017    Edusport Academy         South of Scotland League

2018    Kelty Hearts                    East of Scotland League

In effect the whole East of Scotland Premier Division went off to form the Lowland League in 2013. The East of Scotland League was forced to downsize to a single division. But they were able to pass the pain on last summer by absorbing 25 clubs from the junior ranks.

Which Lowland League clubs use their own park and which ones groundshare?

Use their own park:

Civil Service Strollers -- Christie Gillies Park, Edinburgh (1,569)

Dalbeattie Star -- Islecroft Stadium, Dalbeattie (4,000)

East Kilbride -- K-Park, East Kilbride (660)

Edinburgh University -- East Peffermill, Edinburgh (1,100)

Gala Fairydean Rovers -- Netherdale, Galashiels (5,500)

Gretna 2008 -- Raydale Park, Gretna (3,000)

Kelty Hearts -- New Central Park, Kelty (3,000)

Selkirk -- Yarrow Park, Selkirk (1,000)

Spartans -- Ainslie Park, Edinburgh (though Edinburgh City groundshare it) (3,000)

Vale of Leithen -- Victoria Park, Innerleithen (1,500)

Whitehill Welfare -- Ferguson Park, Rosewell (4,000)

Groundshare:

BSC Glasgow -- Recreation Park (Alloa Athletic)

Cumbernauld Colts -- Broadview (Clyde FC)

East Stirlingshire -- Falkirk Stadium (Falkirk FC)

Edusport Academy -- Galabank (Annan Athletic)

Stirling University -- Forthbank (Stirling Albion)

CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield final:

Robinhood [1 - 0] Club Franciscain

HFX Wanderers ultimately did get in their friendly against FC Edmonton in the Dominican Republic and won 1 - 0, Akeem Garcia scoring.

J2 watch: After 9 games, Mito HollyHock are at the top of the table with 5 wins and 4 draws for 19 points, with 11 goals for and only 4 against.

Al Boraq

Morocco is building a high-speed rail network, with the initial Casablanca-Tangier route in service now. Watch it go. Source.