Plenty of Nothing

Stade Jos Haupert

Progrès Niederkorn's Stade Jos Haupert would show well in the Lowland League. Source.

St Mirren host Kilmarnock.

Killie's best score in a league match against St Mirren:

1961/8/26      Kilmarnock 6 - 1 St Mirren

And worst:

1980/10/4      Kilmarnock 1 - 6 St Mirren

How many games did Kilmarnock play against the other Premiership clubs last season?

5    Aberdeen

4    Hibs, Hamilton

3    St Johnstone, Ross County, Rangers, Hearts, Celtic

2    St Mirren, Motherwell, Livingston

[St Mirren 0 - 1 Killie.]

Mortonalia:

Morton have signed striker Ross Maciver on loan from Motherwell. The Wallace Duffy signing has been called off for reasons. Yesterday the club signed winger Josh McPake, who has played for Rangers and Dundee; defender Michael Ledger, who played for Queen of the South last year; defender Markus Fjortoft, who played for Hamilton Accies last season; and forward James Wallace, most recently of Fleetwood Town.

Developments:

The SPFL has issued rules for Covid testing in the League and Challenge Cups. Premiership sides that come up against lower league sides who can't afford to test will have the option of paying for the tests themselves.

I take from this there will be a Challenge Cup.

Other matches:

J2: Giravanz Kitakyushu 0 - 3 Mito HollyHock (September 23)

Mito HollyHock [3 - 1] Thespakusatsu Gunma (tomorrow)

J3: Fukushima United [0 - 2] Blaublitz Akita

JFL: Iwaki FC [3 - 2] FC Osaka (tomorrow)

Tōhoku: Morioka Zebra [0 - 1] Omiya SC

Faroes: B36 [1 - 2] HB (Monday)

Iceland: Throttur [0 - 3] ÍBV

Allsvenskan: Malmö [3 - 0] Häcken (tomorrow)

HJK 2 - 2 TPS (September 24)

Ilves [4 - 0] TPS (tomorrow)

Ireland: Longford 3 - 1 UCD (September 21)

Shamrock Rovers II [2 - 5] UCD

Luxembourg: Progrès Niederkorn 3 - 2 Union Titus Pétange (September 23)

Wiltz [3 - 0] Progrès Niederkorn (tomorrow)

3.Liga: 1.FC Saarbrücken [2 - 0] FC Hansa

Swiss Challenge League: Winterthur 5 - 2 Aarau (yesterday)

Korean Cup (September 23):

Suwon Bluewings 1 - 1 Pohang Steelers (Suwon won on PK.)

Canadian Doneil Henry plays for Suwon.

2020-21 UEFA Europa League, 3rd qualifying round (September 24):

There have never been four Scottish clubs in the 3QR of the Europa League before.

Riga 0 - 1 Celtic

Willem II 0 - 4 Rangers

Hapoel Beer-Sheva 3 - 0 Motherwell

Sporting Lisbon 1 - 0 Aberdeen

Sheriff Tiraspol 1 - 1 Dundalk (Dundalk win on PK.)

KÍ 6 - 1 Dinamo Tbilisi

CSKA Sofia 3 - 1 B36

Malmö 5 - 0 Lokomotiva Zagreb

2020 Copa Libertadores, group stage, matchday 4:

Group B: Tigre 1 - 1 Bolívar (September 22)

Group C: Jorge Wilstermann 3 - 1 Peñarol (September 24)

Historical matches:

Sept 26, 1914. Hibs visited Cappielow and played Morton to a scoreless draw.

Sept 26, 1992. Morton visited Stirling Albion and played to a 1 - 1 draw. Scott McArthur scored.

JFL 1999: Mito HollyHock 2 - 1 Jatco

Last ten non-Premiership sides to beat Celtic:

2013/9/24      Celtic 0 - 1 Morton        League Cup

2010/4/10      Celtic 0 - 2 Ross County (neutral site)    Scottish Cup

2006/1/8        Clyde 2 - 1 Celtic        Scottish Cup

2003/3/23      Inverness CT 1 - 0 Celtic    Scottish Cup

2000/2/8        Celtic 1 - 3 Inverness CT    Scottish Cup

1998/8/19      Airdrieonians 1 - 0 Celtic    League Cup

1997/4/23      Celtic 0 - 1 Falkirk (neutral site)    Scottish Cup

1994/11/27    Celtic 2 - 2 Raith Rovers (neutral site) (Raith won on PK) League Cup

1981/8/12      St Johnstone 2 - 0 Celtic    League Cup group stage

1980/8/27      Stirling Albion 1 - 0 Celtic    League Cup group stage

Coleraine FC versus Scottish clubs:

1970/9/15      Coleraine 1 - 1 Kilmarnock    Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1

1970/9/29      Kilmarnock 2 - 3 Coleraine    Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1

1987/9/16      Coleraine 0 - 1 Dundee United    UEFA Cup R1

1987/9/30      Dundee United 3 - 1 Coleraine    UEFA Cup R1

2018/9/8        Coleraine 1 - 1 Formartine (Coleraine won on PK.)    Challenge Cup

2020/9/17      Coleraine 2 - 2 Motherwell (Motherwell won on PK.)    Europa League 2QR

HFX Wanderers versus everyone else all-time, league and cup:

                    G    W    D    L    F     A    GD

Valour          8     5     1     2    9     4    +5

Forge           7     1     4     2    7   10     -3

Cavalry        7     1     1     5    4   10     -6

Pacific          7     1     3     3    7   14     -7

York9           6     2     3     1    7     8     -1

Edmonton    5     1     2     2    4     6     -2

Azzuri          2     1     0     1    3     3      0

Fury             2     0     1     1    4     5     -1

Atlético        1     1     0     0    2     0    +2

SFL Division Three results, Sept 27, 1924:

Beith 4 - 4 Helensburgh

Brechin City 1 - 3 Queen of the South

Clackmannan 0 - 2 Solway Star

Dykehead 3 - 1 Royal Albert

Mid Annandale 1 - 2 Lochgelly United

Nithsdale Wanderers 0 - 0 Dumbarton Harp

Vale of Leven 6 - 2 Montrose

1924-25 Scottish Qualifying Cup, Second Round replays:

Galston 4 - 0 Glasgow University

Vale of Leithen 0 - 2 Leith Athletic

Source: Glasgow Herald, September 29, 1924, p. 13.

2020 Canadian Premier League Final

Hami and Hali have met twice already in The Island Games. Source.

It's the finale of the 2020 Canadian Premier League Island Games.

The last games of the group stage were played Tuesday and reduced the three remaining hopefuls to two.

Cavalry 0 - 1 Forge (September 15)

This afternoon result put both Forge and Wanderers into the final.

Wanderers 0 - 5 Pacific (September 15)

Halifax rested their best players, obviously.

Group Stage final table:

Forge            3    2    1    0    4    1     3    7

Wanderers    3    1    1    1    3    7    -4    4

Cavalry         3    1    0    2    4    4     0    3

Pacific           3    1    0    2    6    5     1    3

Both previous meetings between Hamilton and Halifax in the Island Games have ended in a 1 - 1 draw.

The winner of this game will go down in history as 2020 CPL champion, and will advance to the 2020 Voyageurs Cup, now due to Covid-19 a two-team one-game tournament, as well as to the 2021 Concacaf League.

Forge were CPL champions last year, while HFX Wanderers finished bottom. If Forge win they will have made the Concacaf League for the third time, which is not bad for a team that has only been playing for two years.

I ride the CPL pretty constantly for their love of wacky one-time solutions, but you have to hand it to them for cobbling together some kind of season in 2020. They certainly showed more adaptibility in the face of Covid than the Canadian Football League managed.

If the coronavirus is still rampant this time next year the CPL could hold their bubble tournament at Cape Breton University and call it the Highland Games.

Final: Forge [2 - 0] Wanderers

Other matches:

It's Kilmarnock versus Hamilton. The Accies are without three players who tested positive.

Killie's best results against Hamilton in league play:

1898/12/3      Hamilton 1 - 7 Kilmarnock

1898/12/10    Kilmarnock 7 - 1 Hamilton

1910/2/12      Hamilton 1 - 7 Kilmarnock

And worst:

1921/10/8      Hamilton 7 - 1 Kilmarnock

[Today's score: Killie 2 - 1 Accies]

Rangers have played their first seven matches without allowing a goal. That's a Scottish record.

MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps 3 - 1 Montreal Impact (September 16)

As a result of this game Toronto FC advance to the Canadian Championship.

J2: Ryukyu [3 - 2] Mito HollyHock

JFL: ReinMeer Aomori [1 - 1] Iwaki FC (tomorrow)

Tōhoku: Morioka Zebra [2 - 1] Ganju Iwate (tomorrow)

Faroes: B36 [3 - 0] AB (tomorrow)

Ireland: UCD 1 - 3 Drogheda (yesterday)

Iceland: ÍBV 0 - 0 Leiknir F. (September 15)

ÍBV [2 - 2] Þór (Monday)

Allsvenskan: Norrköping [1 - 1] Malmö (tomorrow)

Finland: TPS 1 - 1 IFK Mariehamn (September 14)

FC Lahti 1 - 1 TPS (September 17)

The Finnish word for soccer is jalkapallo.

K League: Pohang Steelers [4 - 3] Sangju Sangmu (tomorrow)

Luxembourg: Hamm Benfica [0 - 0] Progrès Neiderkorn (tomorrow)

The 2020-21 Swiss Challenge League started this weekend:

Grasshoppers 3 - 2 Winterthur (yesterday)

1.FC Saarbrücken have made it into 3.Liga, the third tier of German football and the lowest nation-wide division, which means there are lots of new clubs to learn about. As usual I will misspell any German name that has an ordinal number in it by removing the space after the period, so that the software doesn't autoformat an itemized list.

VfB Lübeck [1 - 1] 1.FC Saarbrücken

2020-21 UEFA Europa League, 2nd qualifying round (midweek):

(Celtic and KÍ will join in 3QR.)

Lincoln Imps 0 - 5 Rangers

Viking FK 0 - 2 Aberdeen

Coleraine 2 - 2 Motherwell (Motherwell win on PK.)

Linfield 0 - 1 Floriana

Shamrock Rovers 0 - 2 AC Milan

Inter (Andorra) 0 - 1 Dundalk

B36 2 - 2 The New Saints (B36 win on PK.)

Connah's Quay Nomads 0 - 1 Dinamo Tbilisi

Bala Town 0 - 2 Standard Liege

Flora Tallinn 2 - 1 KR

Budapest Honvéd 0 - 2 Malmö

Progrès Niederkorn 0 - 5 Willem II

Willem II come from Tilburg.

The 2020 Copa Libertadores restarted this week, picking up in the middle of the group stage. We're following the Bolivians.

Matchday 3:

Group B: Bolívar 1 - 2 Palmeiras (September 16)

Group C: Jorge Wilstermann 2 - 3 Athletico Paranaense (September 15)

Developments:

Club the Strongest resumed training Monday.

Four Annan Athletic players have tested positive, causing a friendly against Queen of the South to be cancelled.

Mortonalia:

Morton have signed goalkeeper Aidan McAdams, formerly of Annan, Edinburgh City and Portadown. Also signed is defender Wallace Duffy on loan from St Johnstone.

The Easdales have purchased the former Watt Brothers department store in Glasgow for £20 million.

[Friendly today: Dumbarton 1 - 2 Morton. Goals by Muirhead and Oliver.]

The West of Scotland Football League has issued a revised format for 2020-21. In essence at divides each division in two and the overall schedule into phases. Largs Thistle, who are in the Premier Division, will play home and away matches against the nine other teams in their group in Phase 1. Then in Phase 2 they will play each of the ten teams in the other group once, five home and five away. This makes a total of 28 games (18 + 10). Presumably Phase 2 can be abandoned if too many games are being cancelled due to coronavirus.

Largs will be in the same group as Auckinleck Talbot, Glenafton, Irvine Meadow, Kilbirnie Ladeside, Clydebank, Benburb, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, Bonnyton Thistle and Blantyre Victoria. Greenock Juniors and Port Glasgow will be in the same group in Conference B.

Which clubs are in the 2020-21 Swiss Challenge League, when did they most recently join the division, and was it from above or below?

2020    Xamax (above)

2020    Thun (above)

2019    Grasshoppers (above)

2019    Lausanne-Ouchy (below)

2018    Lausanne Sport (above)

2018    Kriens (below)

2015    Aarau (above)

2010    Chiasso (below)

2004    Wil (above)

1999    Winterthur (below)

Historical matches:

Sept 19, 1914. Morton travelled to Hamilton and played the Accies to a 1 - 1 draw.

Sept 19, 1992. Morton hosted Hamilton Accies and won 2 - 1. Alan Mahood and Rowan Alexander scored.

JFL 1999: Mito HollyHock 4 - 1 Sony Sendai (Sept 15, 1999)

Honda FC 2 - 1 Mito HollyHock (Sept 19, 1999)

Last ten non-Premiership sides to beat Aberdeen:

2015/9/23      Hibs 2 - 0 Aberdeen        League Cup

2011/9/20      Aberdeen 3 - 3 East Fife (East Fife won on PK)    League Cup

2010/2/16      Aberdeen 0 - 1 Raith Rovers        Scottish Cup

2009/9/22      Dundee 3 - 2 Aberdeen    League Cup

2009/3/18      Aberdeen 0 - 0 Dunfermline (Pars won on PK)    Scottish Cup

2008/4/12      QoS 4 - 3 Aberdeen (Neutral site)    Scottish Cup

2006/8/22      Queen's Park 0 - 0 Aberdeen (QP won on PK)    League Cup

2001/3/6        Aberdeen 0 - 1 Livingston        Scottish Cup

1999/1/23      Aberdeen 0 - 1 Livingston        Scottish Cup

1996/9/17      Dundee 2 - 1 Aberdeen    League Cup

SFL Division Three results, September 20, 1924:

Brechin City 0 - 2 Solway Star

Helensburgh 3 - 1 Clackmannan

Lochgelly United 4 - 1 Beith

Nithsdale Wanderers 4 - 0 Dykehead

Queen of the South 0 - 1 Vale of Leven

1924-25 Scottish Qualifying Cup, Second Round:

Douglas Wanderers 0 - 7 Queen of the South

Glasgow University 1 - 1 Galston

Leith Athletic 1 - 1 Vale of Leithen

Montrose 6 - 0 St Andrews University

Peebles Rovers 2 - 0 Berwick Rangers

Royal Albert 2 - 0 Dumbarton Harp

Source: Glasgow Herald, September 22, 1924, p. 16.

Takashi Hirano

Takashi Hirano played three seasons for the Vancouver Whitecaps, 2008 to 2010. Before that he played for Nagoya Grampus Eight, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Júbilo Iwata, Vissel Kobe, Tokyo Verdy, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Omiya Ardija. He also made fifteen appearances for the Japan national team. Source.

Aberdeen host Kilmarnock in one of two SPFL matches with 300 real spectators in the stands, and not just cardboard cutouts.

Aberdeen enter today's game in fourth place with 9 points. Killie hold ninth place with 5 points. Last season in league play Aberdeen beat Kilmarnock once, with 2 draws.

Goalkeeper Danny Rogers, who made 24 appearances for Morton last season, has played 5 1/2 games for Kilmarnock this year, and has allowed 7 goals.

Killie's best result against Aberdeen in league play:

1917/1/27      Kilmarnock 7 - 0 Aberdeen

Killie's worst:

1932/8/24      Aberdeen 7 - 1 Kilmarnock

Aberdeen vs Abercorn, the record:

1904/9/24      Aberdeen 3 - 1 Abercorn

1905/2/4        Abercorn 3 - 1 Aberdeen

[Aberdeen 1 - 0 Kilmarnock.]

Other matches:

MLS: Montreal Impact 1 - 2 Toronto FC (September 9)

Vancouver Whitecaps [2 - 4] Montreal Impact (tomorrow)

Iwaki FC had a training match against Sendai University Monday. Result: Iwaki 0 - 3 Sendaidai.

JFL: Iwaki FC [4 - 3] Kochi United (tomorrow)

K League: Gangwon FC [0 - 3] Pohang Steelers (tomorrow)

J2: Jubilo Iwata 0 - 0 Mito HollyHock (September 9)

Mito HollyHock [4 - 2] Renofu Yamaguchi (tomorrow)

Faroes: NSÍ [4 - 2] B36

Tōhoku: Morioka Zebra [1 - 7] Blancdieu Hirosaki (tomorrow)

Morioka Zebra have already played four league matches this season:

2020/7/4        Nippon Steel Kamaishi 5 - 3 Morioka Zebra

2020/7/11      Primeiro Fukushima 1 - 1 Morioka Zebra

2020/7/18      Morioka Zebra 1 - 0 Saruta Industries

2020/8/29      Fuji Club 2003 2 - 2 Morioka Zebra

Plus:

2020/3/22      Fuji University 4 - 0 Morioka Zebra

(Iwate Prefecture 100th Emperor's Cup qualification, 2nd Round)

Iceland: Grindavík 1 - 1 ÍBV (September 7)

ÍBV [1 - 3] Keflavik

Ireland: UCD 0 - 3 Galway United (September 7)

Cobh Ramblers [0 - 6] UCD [This is UCD's most lopsided win since September 4th.]

Allsvenskan: Örebro 3 - 2 Malmö (September 10)

Malmö [0 - 0] AIK (tomorrow)

TPS 2 - 3 FC Haka (September 9)

Progrès Niederkorn [1 - 2] Dudelange

Swiss Cup, Round Two: FC Tuggen [1 - 2] FC Winterthur

Canadian Premier League, Island Games, group stage:

Coming into the group stage Akeem Garcia is the tournament's leading scorer with 4 goals in 7 games.

Wanderers 1 - 1 Forge (September 9) Garcia scores.

Cavalry 3 - 1 Pacific (September 9)

Forge [2 - 0] Pacific

Cavalry [1 - 2] Wanderers [Garcia and Morelli score.]

[Table after these matches:

Forge            2    1    1    0    3    1    2    4

Wanderers    2    1    1    0    3    2    1    4

Cavalry         2    1    0    1    4    3    1    3

Pacific           2    0    0    2    1    5   -4    0

Pacific cannot make the final.

If Wanderers win their last game they're into the final. If they play to a draw they're in. If they lose and Forge win they're in. If they lose by 1 goal and Forge lose by 3 they're in.]

How many points did the other six CPL teams take from Cavalry and Forge in the first stage?

                     C          F

York9             0    +    3    =    3

Pacific           3    +    0    =    3

Atlético          3    +    0    =    3

Valour           0    +    1    =    1

Wanderers    0    +    1    =    1

Edmonton     0    +    0    =    0

How would the group stage teams finish, based on their first stage games against each other?

Forge            3    1    2    0    5    4     1    5

Pacific           3    1    1    1    5    5     0    4

Cavalry          3    1    1    1    5    5    0    4

Wanderers    3    0    2    1    4    5    -1    2

Mortonalia:

Michael Tidser (Morton 2010-13 and 2015-19) was in court Monday accused of trying to run someone over with his car at Somerset Park in 2019.

In the absence of a reserve league this season Morton are loaning out their young players. Alexander Easdale goes to BSC Glasgow, Darren Hynes and Lewis McGrattan go to Gretna 2008, Chris Stafford will play for Johnstone Burgh of the WoSFL Conference A, Michael Garrity for St. Cadoc's of Conference B, Chris Wylie and John Gallager for Port Glasgow Juniors (also Conference B) and Aidan Duffy for Greenock Juniors.

Other developments:

The West of Scotland League and Lowland League plan to start October 10th. The Lowland League will play a double round robin. The Highland League starts October 17th and will play a single round robin.

Fans will be admitted to most games in Rounds One and Two of the Emperor's Cup.

Two St Mirren players have tested positive, and a third must self-isolate. They are the club's three goalies. The SPFL has ruled against postponing the match, and St Mirren have made an emergency signing.

If the 2020-21 Scottish Challenge Cup is held using the same format as last year, which clubs from other football associations should be in it?

Wales: Connah's Quay Nomads, The New Saints

Northern Ireland: Linfield, Coleraine

Republic of Ireland: Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers

England: Notts County, Yeovil Town

The window for this is mighty small. The National League will begin October 3rd, and the League of Ireland will end October 30th. The SPFL clubs that would be involved only have the 20th and 27th of October free. And the 2020-21 Scottish Cup hasn't even been scheduled yet.

What's going on with the Japanese regional leagues?

Hokkaido. The eight-team Hokkaido League is reduced from two round robins to one, so each team will play 7 games, sort of like the Canadian Premier League.

Tōhoku. Schedule reduced to one round robin. Blancdieu Hirosaki lead the top division. Our guys Morioka Zebra are midtable as always. The second divisions north and south look like they're having difficulty fulfilling their fixtures.

Kantō. Single round robin. Vonds Ichihara lead the first division.

Hokushinetsu. Single round robin.

Tōkai. The first and second division schedules have been replaced by knockout tournaments. The finals for both take place October 4th.

Kansai. Single round robin. FC Tiamo lead the first division.

Chūgoku. The league is cancelled and replaced by a tournament involving seven teams. There is a group stage followed by semifinals and a final on September 27th.

Shikoku. Single round robin.

Kyushu. The Kyushu League was cancelled on August 11 after 4 games, and last year's winner Okinawa SV (who were also leading this year) were designated as Regional Champions League representative.

The Regional Champions League is scheduled to go ahead November 6th.

Historical matches:

Sept 12, 1914. Morton were at home to Dumbarton and won 3 - 2.

Sept 12, 1992. Morton visited Raith Rovers and lost 2 - 1. Rowan Alexander scored.

David Norman Jr. is a 22-year-old Canadian midfielder who came up through the Vancouver Whitecaps system and currently plays for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer. While with Vancouver he was loaned out to Queen of the South and then to Pacific FC. He holds the distinction of being the only player to have appeared against all three of Iwaki FC, Greenock Morton and HFX Wanderers.

2018/2/8        Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - 0 Iwaki FC

2018/10/30    Queen of the South 1 - 2 Greenock Morton

2019/10/10    HFX Wanderers 1 - 1 Pacific FC

SFL Division Three results, September 13, 1924:

Beith 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

Clackmannan 2 - 2 Queen of the South

Dumbarton Harp 0 - 3 Dykehead

Galston 3 - 2 Lochgelly United

Mid Annandale 4 - 4 Helensburgh

Vale of Leven 2 - 1 Leith Athletic

Brechin City 1 - 1 Nithsdale Wanderers

Solway Star 1 - 1 Montrose

Source: Glasgow Herald, September 15, 1924, p. 14.

2020 Prefectural Finals

ReinMeer receive the championship flag of Aomori, 2018. Source.

Here is a summary of the 2020 prefectural championships and how they were decided. Covid-19 has caused the reformatting of many of the competitions, more than once in some cases. For the first time J3 clubs are excluded.

Hokkaido: 38th Chijihai Zendo Football Championship final (August 9):

Sapporo University 2 - 1 Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth

Aomori: NHK Cup 73nd Aomori Football Championship final (August 16):

ReinMeer Aomori 2 - 1 Blancdieu Hirosaki

Vanraure Hachinohe had a bye into the final until J3 clubs were excluded.

Akita: 30th Akita Football Championship final (July 5):

Saruta Kogyo SC 2 - 1 North Asia University

When the Akita championship was originally cancelled Blaublitz Akita were to be the designated Akita representative. But then the J3 clubs were excluded from the cup. But subsequently the format was altered to include the J3 champion in one of the late rounds. Blaublitz are presently at the top of J3, so they could well appear in the cup after all.

Iwate: 70th Iwate Football Championship final (September 2):

Fuji University 1 - 0 Nippon Steel Muroran Soccer Department

Yamagata: 24th Yamagata Football Championship final (August 16):

Yamagata University School of Medicine SC 1 - 2 Oyama SC

Miyagi: NHK Cup, Kohoku Cup 24th Miyagi Football Championship final (August 16):

Sony Sendai 2 - 0 Sendai University

Fukushima: Fukushima Cup, NHK Cup 25th Fukushima Football Championship final:

Championship cancelled, Iwaki FC are designated.

Ibaraki: 23rd Ibaraki Football Championship final (September 2):

University of Tsukuba 2 - 1 Ryutsu Keizai University

Tokyo: 25th Tokyo Football Tournament final (September 2):

Tokyo Musashino City 1 - 0 Hosei University

Tochigi: NEZAS Cup 25th Tochigi Prefecture Football Championship final:

Tochigi City FC has been designated Tochigi representative in Round One.

Gunma: 25th Gunma President's Cup final (August 23):

Tonan Maebashi 1 - 1 Thespakusatsu Challengers (Tonan won on PK.)

Saitama: Friendship Cup 25th Saitama Prefecture Football Championship Tournament final:

As of July 1 Tokyo International University FC are the designated Saitama representative.

Chiba: 25th Chiba Prefecture Football Championship final (August 26):

Vonds Ichhara 1 - 0 Juntendo University

Kanagawa: 25th Kanagawa Football Championship final (August 23):

Toin University of Yokohama 2 - 0 Toin University of Yokohama FC

Yamanashi: 25th Yamanashi Football Championship final (cancelled):

Yamanashi Gakuin University Soccer Club has been designated Yamanashi representative in Round One.

Nagano: 25th Nagano Football Championship final (August 15):

Artista Asama 1 - 0 Matsumoto University

Niigata: 2020 Niigata Daily Cup · NHK Cup · Kyodo News Cup 25th Niigata Prefecture Football Championship final (August 16):

Niigata University of Health and Welfare 3 - 0 Niigata University of Management

Toyama: 25th Toyama Football Championship final (September 3):

Toyama University 0 - 3 Toyama Shinjo Club

Ishikawa: 49th Ishikawa Football Championship final (August 29):

Hokuriku University 0 - 1 Kanazawa Seiryo University

Fukui: Heisei 32 Fukui Football Championship final (July 12):

Fukui United 3 - 1 Fukui Institute of Technology

Shizuoka: 25th Suruga Cup Competition Shizuoka Soccer Championship final (August 30):

Fujieda City Hall 1 - 3 Tohoka University

Aichi: AIFA 25th Aichi Football Championship final (August 9):

Maruyasu Okazaki 2 - 1 Tokai Gakuen University

Mie: 25th Mie Football Championship final (July 26):

Suzuka Point Getters 1 - 0 Veertien Mie

Gifu: 25th Gifu Football Championship final (August 30):

Gifu Kyoritsu University 3 - 4 Nagara Club

Gifu Kyoritsu University is the former Gifu Keizai University.

Shiga: 25th Shiga Football Championship final (August 15):

Biwako Seikei Sport College Hira 0 - 4 MIO Biwako Shiga

Kyoto: Kyoto FA Cup 25th Kyoto Championship final (August 26):

Ococias Kyoto 4 - 1 AS Laranja Kyoto

Osaka: 25th Osaka Football Championship final (August 26):

FC Osaka 2 - 2 FC Tiamo Hirakata (Tiamo won on PK.)

Hyogo: 23rd Hyogo Football Championship final:

Cento Cuore Hirama 2 - 1 Kwansei Gakuin University

Cento Cuore Hirama are the former Bonditonce Kakogawa.

Nara: 25th Nara Football Championship final (August 10):

Nara Club 0 - 0 Porvenir Asuka (Nara won on PK).

Wakayama: 25th Wakayama Football Championship final (August 2):

Arterivo Wakayama 3 - 0 Wakayama Kihoku Shukyudan

Wakayama Kihoku Shukyudan play in the Wakayama Division I league. They made it to the Emperor's Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Tottori: Heisei 32 Tottori Football Championship final:

Gainare Tottori were designated Tottori representative before J3 clubs were excluded. Subsequently Yonago Genki SC of the Chugoku league were recommended.

Shimane: 25th Shimane Football Championship final (August 16):

Matsue City FC 3 - 0 E-Wing Izumo

Okayama: 40th Okayama Football Championship final:

Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima FC 3 - 2 Pacific Rim University SC

Hiroshima: 2020 All Hiroshima Football Championship final (August 23):

The championship was cancelled and SRC Hiroshima designated Hiroshima representative, but subsequently the championship was uncancelled and an eight-team tournament held with games on August 10th, 16th and 23rd. The final match was:

Fukuyama City FC 3 - 0 SRC Hiroshima

Yamaguchi: Heisei 32 Yamaguchi Prefecture Football Championship final (August 23):

Tokiwa Club 0 - 3 Baleine Shimonoseki

Kagawa: 25th Kagawa Football Championship final (August 23):

Shikoku Gakuin University 0 - 1 Takamatsu University

Tokushima: Heisei 32 Football Championship in Tokushima Prefecture (July 26):

FC Tokushima 12 - 0 Yellow Monkeys

FC Tokushima play in the Shikoku regional league. Yellow Monkeys play in the Tokushima prefecture league. Oof, what a name.

Kōchi: 25th Kochi Football Championship final (July 26):

Kōchi United 2 - 0 Kōchi University

Ehime: 2020 Ehime Prefecture Football Championship final (August 23):

Reveni Rosso NC 1 - 2 Matsuyama University

FC Imabari was designated representative until J3 clubs were excluded.

Fukuoka: 24th Fukuoka Football Championship final (September 3):

Fukuoka University 5 - 1 Kyushu Sangyo University

Saga: 25th Saga Football Championship final (August 16):

Saga Lixil 0 - 1 EV Internacional

EV Internacional belong to the Saga I league. They're the former FC Tosu.

Nagasaki: 31st Nagasaki Football Championship final (August 29):

MD Nagasaki 0 - 0 Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science (MD won on PK.)

Kumamoto: NHK Cup KFA 24th Kumamoto Football Championship final (August 26):

Kumamoto Teachers Club 2 - 1 Kumamoto Gakuen University

Roasso Kumamoto were the designated Kumamoto Prefecture representative for a while before J3 clubs were excluded.

Oita: OFA 2020 Oita Football Championship final (August 16):

Verspah Oita 3 - 0 Nippon Bunri University

Miyazaki: 24th Miyazaki / NHK Cup Miyazaki Football Championship final (August 16):

Honda Lock 0 - 2 Tegevagaro Miyazaki

Kagoshima: 35th Kagoshima Football Championship final:

National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya SC (NIFS Kayoya for short) are designated.

Okinawa: OFA Times Cup 25th Okinawa Football Championship final:

The Okinawa championship cancelled, Okinawa SV are designated.

Sensible Soccer 1992

Source.

Canadian Premier League:

Edmonton 0 - 1 York9 (September 1)

Valour 0 - 2 HFX Wanderers (September 2)

Goals by Alex De Carolis and Cory Bent.

Last season these two played each other to 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw in league play. In their Voyageurs Cup qualifying round Halifax won both legs.

Pacific 0 - 1 Atlético Ottawa (September 2)

The table after these games:

Forge            6    3    2    1    11     7     4    11

Cavalry         6    3    1    2      9     7     2    10

York9            6    2    4    0      8     6     2    10

Wanderers    6    2    3    1    10     7     3     9

Atlético         6    2    2    2      7    10    -3     8

Pacific          6    2    2    2      8      7     1     8

Valour           6    2    1    3     6      7    -1     7

Edmonton     6    0    1    5     4    12    -8     1

If HFX Wanderers win their final game, Cavalry and York9 play to a draw, and Forge lose, then Halifax will finish first. If Wanderers lose, and Pacific and Valour win, Halifax will finish seventh. The only important thing is to finish in the top four, and if Halifax win they're in.

Forge [2 - 2] Valour

[Forge advance; Valour are out.]

Cavalry [1 - 0] York9

[Cavalry advance; York9 are not out yet.]

HFX Wanderers [2 - 0] Atlético Ottawa (tomorrow)

[Goals by Garcia and Riggi. Wanderers advance. Ottawa are out.]

Pacific [2 - 1] Edmonton (tomorrow)

[Pacific are in. York9 are out.]

[Table at the conclusion of the first stage:

Cavalry         7    4    1    2    10     7     3    13

Wanderers    7    3    3    1    12     7     5    12

Forge            7    3    3    1    13     9     4    12

Pacific          7    3    2    2     10     8     2    11

York9            7    2    4    1      8     7     1    10

Atlético         7    2    2    3      7    12    -5     8

Valour           7    2    2    3     8      9     -1     8

Edmonton     7    0    1    6     5    14     -9     1    ]

Other matches happening:

Toronto FC 0 - 1 Montreal Impact (September 1)

Vancouver Whitecaps [3 - 2] Toronto FC

JFL: Iwaki FC [1 - 2] Honda Lock (tomorrow)

Iceland: ÍBV 0 - 2 Leiknir R. (September 2)

Ireland: UCD 8 - 0 Wexford (yesterday)

J2: Tokushima Vortis 1 - 2 Mito HollyHock (September 2)

Mito HollyHock [1 - 2] Tochigi (tomorrow)

Luxembourg  0 - 0 1.FC Saarbrücken (September 1)

FC Zürich [3 - 0] Winterthur (test match)

Developments:

A German consortium is buying 30% of Dunfermline Athletic.

From now on Brazilian men's and women's national team soccer players will be paid at the same rate.

PS Waverley hit the dock in Arran, sending 17 people to hospital.

The draw for the first round of the 2020-21 South Challenge Cup is today. The semi-finals and final of the 2019-20 cup have still not been played.

Jack Baird, who played for Morton last season on loan from St Mirren, has signed with Ayr United.

Historical matches:

Sept 5, 1914. Morton visited Celtic and lost 6 - 2.

Sept 5, 1992. Morton visited Ayr United and won 0 - 2. Goals by Douglas Johnstone and Alan Mahood.

Japanese clubs versus Thai clubs in the Asian Club Championship:

1994/2/5        Thai Farmers Bank FC 1 - 1 Verdy Kawasaki (Bank won on PK)

1994/11/?      Verdy Kawasaki 0 - 0 Thai Farmers Bank FC

1995/11/28    Thai Farmers Bank FC 0 - 0 Verdy Kawasaki

2000/2/25      Jubilo Iwata 2 - 0 Sinthana

2000/2/29      Kashima Antlers 3 - 0 Sinthana

2001/11?       Kashima Antlers 3 - 0 BEC Taro Sasana

2001/11?       BEC Taro Sabana 1 - 0 Kashima Antlers

Japanese clubs versus Thai clubs in the AFC Champions League:

2003/3/10      Kashima Antlers 2 - 2 BEC Tero Sasana

2003/3/15      Osotsapa FC 0 - 7 Shimizu S-Pulse

2004/2/25      Jubilo Iwata 3 - 0 BEC Tero

2004/5/19      BEC Tero 2 - 3 Jubilo Iwata

2005/4/6        BEC Tero 1 - 2 Yokohama F. Marinos

2005/4/20      Yokohama F. Marinos 2 - 0 BEC Tero

2007/3/21      Kawasaki Frontale 1 - 1 Bangkok University

2007/5/23      Bangkok University 1 - 2 Kawasaki Frontale

2008/3/12      Krung Thai Bank 1 - 9 Kashima Antlers

2008/3/12      Gamba Osaka 1 - 1 Chonburi

2008/5/7        Kashima Antlers 8 - 1 Krung Thai Bank

2008/5/7        Chonburi 0 - 2 Gamba Osaka

2012/3/7        Buriram United 3 - 2 Kashiwa Reysol

2012/5/1        Kashiwa Reysol 1 - 0 Buriram United

2013/2/26      Vegalta Sendai 1 - 1 Buriram United

2013/3/12      Urawa Red Diamonds 4 - 1 Muangthong United

2013/4/24      Buriram United 1 - 1 Vegalta Sendai

2013/5/1        Muangthong United 0 - 1 Urawa Red Diamonds

2014/3/18      Cerezo Osaka 4 - 0 Buriram United

2014/4/2        Buriram United 2 - 2 Cerezo Osaka

2015/2/17      Kashiwa Reysol 3 - 2 Chonburi

2015/3/18      Gamba Osaka 1 - 1 Buriram United

2015/4/7        Buriram United 1 - 2 Gamba Osaka

2016/2/9        FC Tokyo 9 - 0 Chonburi

2016/3/16      Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3 - 0 Buriram United

2016/4/5        Buriram United 0 - 2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

2017/2/28      Muangthong United 2 - 1 Kashima Antlers

2017/5/10      Kashima Antlers 2 - 1 Muangthong United

2017/5/23      Muangthong United 1 - 3 Kawasaki Frontale

2017/5/30      Kawasaki Frontale 4 - 1 Muangthong United

2018/1/30      Kashiwa Reysol 3 - 0 Muangthong United

2018/3/6        Buriram United 2 - 0 Cerezo Osaka

2018/3/14      Cerezo Osaka 2 - 2 Buriram United

2019/2/19      Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0 - 0 Chiangrai United (Sanfrecce won on PK)

2019/3/6        Urawa Red Diamonds 3 - 0 Buriram United

2019/5/7        Buriram United 1 - 2 Urawa Red Diamonds

SFL Division Three results, September 6, 1924:

Peebles Rovers 4 - 3 Clackmannan

Lochgelly United 1 - 3 Vale of Leven

Most Division Three clubs were busy with the Scottish Qualifying Cup, Round One:

Solway Star 3 - 0 Creetown

Thornhill 1 - 7 Nithsdale Wanderers

Queen of the South 4 - 1 Mid Annandale

Dykehead 2 - 1 Paisley Academical

Royal Albert 3 - 0 Beith

Helensburgh 9 - 0 Paisley Grammar School FP

Mosspark 0 - 3 Galston

Gala Fairydean 1 - 7 Leith Athletic

Montrose 2 - 3 Brechin City

Dumbarton Harp wo/scr Hamilton Garrison

Source: Glasgow Herald, September 8, 1924, p. 16.

Tsubasa Endoh

Tsubasa Endoh joined Toronto FC in 2016 from the University of Maryland Terrapins. He has scored 8 goals for the first team, and 11 for TFC II. Source.

It's Kilmarnock versus Dundee United. These two have not met since 2016 due to United's extended residency in the Championship. Although 2015-16 was the year United got relegated they still outplayed Killie, winning two, with a loss and a draw. The all-time record between these two clubs is 58 wins for Killie, 57 for United and 43 draws.

Killie's greatest league win against Dundee United was:

1931/12/12    Kilmarnock 8 - 0 Dundee United

Killie's worst league losses against them were:

1982/12/11    Dundee United 7 - 0 Kilmarnock

1981/1/3        Dundee United 7 - 0 Kilmarnock

So far this season Kilmarnock have a record of 2 draws and 3 losses, 5 goals scored and 9 allowed, good for 2 points and 11th place.

[Kilmarnock 4 - 0 Dundee United. Killie get their first win in emphatic manner.]

Canadian Premier League:

Read about U-21 minutes here.

Pacific 2 - 0 Valour (August 25)

York9  3 - 2  Forge (August 26)

Edmonton 1 - 3 HFX Wanderers (August 26)

Atlético Ottawa 2 - 0 Cavalry (August 27)

Valour [2 - 1] Edmonton

HFX Wanderers [1 - 1] York9

[Omar Kreim scores for Halifax.]

Cavalry [1 - 2] Pacific (tomorrow)

Atlético Ottawa [0 - 2] Forge (tomorrow)

[Table after these games:

Forge            6    3    2    1    11     7    +4    11

Cavalry         6    3    1    2      9     7    +2    10

Pacific           5    2    2    1     8     6     +2      8

York9            5    1    4    0      7     6    +1      7

Valour           5    2    1    2      6     5    +1      7

Wanderers    5    1    3    1     8     7     +1      6

Atlético          5    1    2    2     6   10      -4      5

Edmonton     5    0    1    4     4    11     -7      1

The top four will advance to the group stage. There is now no path to the group stage for Edmonton. Pacific's remaining games are against the bottom two clubs. Wanderers have Valour and Atlético.]

Other games:

MLS: Montreal Impact 2 - 0 Vancouver Whitecaps (August 25)

Montreal Impact 0 - 1 Toronto FC (yesterday)

JFL: FC Maruyasu Okazaki [0 - 2] Iwaki FC (tomorrow)

2019-20 Swiss Cup semi-final: Basel 6 - 1 Winterthur (August 25)

2020 FAI Cup, Second Round: UCD [1 - 3] Sligo Rovers (tomorrow)

Iceland: Vikingur Olafsvik [1 - 1] ÍBV

Allsvenskan: Malmö [1 - 1] Elfsborg (tomorrow)

TPS 1 - 0 HIFK (August 26)

KuPS [3 - 1] TPS

K League: Pohang Steelers [2 - 1] Seongnam FC (tomorrow)

J2: Mito HollyHock 0 - 0 Ehime

Luxembourg: UNA Strassen [0 - 4] Progrès Niederkorn (tomorrow)

The Tim Traveller attends a Red Star FC match.

Headline seen: "Rangers fans asbolutely buzzing at latest SPFL Old Firm announcement." Asbolutely is my new abverb for anything that crowd does.

2020-21 UEFA Champions League, 2nd qualifying round:

Celtic 1 - 2 Ferencváros

This is Celtic's earliest exit from the Champions League since 2005.

Young Boys 3 - 1 KI

2020-21 UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round:

Maribor 1 - 1 Coleraine (Coleraine win on PK.)

Olimpija 2 - 1 Vikingur Reykjavik

B36 4 - 3 FCI Levadia

Riteriai (Lithuania) 3 - 2 Derry City

Valletta 0 - 1 Bala Town

Rosenborg 4 - 2 Breiðablik

These two met in 2011, Rosenborg winning 7 - 0 on aggregate.

Aberdeen 6 - 0 NSÍ

Motherwell 5 - 1 Glentoran

Malmö 2 - 0 Cracovia

Shamrock Rovers 2 - 2 Ilves (Shamrock Rovers win on PK.)

FH 0 - 2 DAC Dunajská Streda

The New Saints 3 - 1 Žilina

Vaduz 0 - 2 Hibernians (Malta)

Fehérvár 1 - 1 Bohemians (Ireland) (Fehérvár win on PK.)

Progrès Niederkorn 3 - 0 Zeta (Montenegro)

(As usual we're following clubs from Scotland, Wales, the two Irelands, the Faroes, Iceland, plus a few favourites from other places.)

Mortonalia:

Morton are training.

Fouad Bachirou (Morton 2010 to 2014) is transferring from Malmö to Nottingham Forest of the English Championship.

Queen of the South made multiple player signings this week, including Joe McKee (Morton 2013 to 2016), and Gregor Buchanan (Morton 2018-19).

Lawrence Shankland (Morton 2017) will play for Scotland in the coming matches against Israel and the Czech Republic.

Historical matches:

Aug 29, 1914. Morton hosted Aberdeen and played to a 1 - 1 draw.

Aug 29, 1992. Morton hosted Cowdenbeath and won 1 - 0. Goal by Rowan Alexander.

SFL Division Three results August 30, 1924:

Queen of the South 1 - 0 Dumbarton Harp

Solway Star 1 - 0 Leith Athletic

Dykehead 4 - 1 Vale of Leven

Galston 3 - 0 Brechin City

Helensburgh 1 - 1 Royal Albert

Peebles Rovers 4 - 0 Mid Annandale

Nithsdale Wanderers 1 - 1 Lochgelly United

Montrose 3 - 0 Beith

Source: Glasgow Herald, Sept 1, 1924, p. 14.

Seongnam FC have a very sharp Magpies thing going on.

Gasparotto and Aird

Luca Gasparotto and Fraser Aird in Rangers days. Source.

Canadian Premier League:

Pacific 1 - 1 York9 (August 18)

Atlético Ottawa 0 - 4 Valour (August 19)

This is Valour's biggest win to date. Goal for Aird.

HFX Wanderers 1 - 1 Forge (August 19)

Goal by Akeem Garcia.

Last season in head-to-head competition these two teams each took a win, with two draws.

Edmonton 0 - 2 Cavalry (August 20)

York9 [0 - 0] Valour

Luca Gasparotto versus Fraser Aird. These two used to play together in the Rangers system and later at Falkirk. They played opposite each other when Gasparotto was with Morton and Aird was with Dunfermline in 2017-18.

Forge [2 - 1] Pacific

Atlético Ottawa [2 - 2] Edmonton (tomorrow)

[With 10 minutes to go Edmonton were down by 2 goals and effectively out of the next round.]

Cavalry [2 - 1] HFX Wanderers (tomorrow)

[Goal Garcia.]

Last season in head-to-head competition Cavalry took four wins, HFX none, with one draw.

[Table after these matches:

Cavalry          4    3    1    0    8    3    +5    10

Forge             4    2    2    0    7    4    +3      8

Valour            3    1    1    1    4    2    +2      4

York9             3    0    3    0    3    3      0      3    

Wanderers    3    0    2    1    4    5     -1      2

Pacific           3    0    2    1    4    5     -1      2

Atlético          3    0    2    1    4    8     -4      2

Edmonton     3    0    1    2    2    6     -4      1    ]

What are the methods of determining the order of clubs in the standings?

1) points;

2) head-to-head record;

3) goal difference;

4) goals for;

5) total wins;

6) U-21 minutes;

7) coin toss or drawing of lots.

Other games:

Rangers [2 - 0] Kilmarnock

What was Kilmarnock's greatest league game against Rangers?

2000/10/28    Rangers 0 - 3 Kilmarnock

What was Killie's worst league game against them? It's a tie:

1918/12/21    Rangers 8 - 0 Kilmarnock

1937/2/27      Rangers 8 - 0 Kilmarnock

MLS: Toronto FC 3 - 0 Vancouver Whitecaps (August 18)

Toronto FC 1 - 0 Vancouver Whitecaps (yesterday)

The three Canadian MLS clubs will play each other three times each through August and September and the one with the best record will play the winner of the Canadian Premier League for the Voyageurs Cup.

J2: Fukuoka 0 - 1 Mito HollyHock (August 19)

Mito HollyHock [2 - 3] V-Varen Nagasaki (tomorrow)

JFL: Verspah Oita [4 - 1] Iwaki FC (tomorrow)

[Looks like Iwaki have found their level. This is their first league loss since 2014, when they played in the third tier of the Fukushima prefecture league.]

Faroes: B36 vs TB (tomorrow)

Iceland: ÍBV 1 - 0 Afturelding (August 19)

Magni [0 - 0] ÍBV

Ireland: UCD 2 - 1 Athlone (August 17) UCD received two red cards to one for Athlone.

Cabinteely 0 - 3 UCD (yesterday)

Allsvenskan: Malmö [2 - 1] Falkenbergs FF (tomorrow)

TPS [1 - 0] FC Inter Turku

[This is a huge win against the Finnish league's top club.]

K League: Busan IPark [2 - 1] Pohang Steelers

Saarland Cup semi-final (August 18):

FC 08 Homburg  3 - 0  1.FC Saarbrücken

The time has come to choose a club from Luxembourg, and who could it be but FC Progrès Niederkorn, who knocked Rangers out of the 2017-18 Europa League? Progrès play in the top tier of football in Luxembourg, the National Division.

The National Division is normally 14 teams big and plays 26 games. But last season was cut short by the coronavirus at 17 games. Every team played 17 so the final standings were decided by points rather than a points-per-game percentage. Unlike the SPFL the division avoided relegating anyone by expanding by two clubs. So there are 16 teams in 2020-21 and each team will play 30 games.

The National Division starts this weekend. However, Progrès's first match, against Racing FC, is postponed due to several Racing players having tested positive for coronavirus.

As a footballing nation Luxembourg is ranked 43rd in Europe and 98th in the world.

2019-20 UEFA Champions League final (tomorrow):

PSG [0 - 1] Bayern Munich

2020-21 UEFA Champions League, 1st qualifying round (midweek):

Celtic 6 - 0 KR

These two had met before in the 2QR of the 2014-15 Champions League. Celtic won both legs, outscoring KR 5 - 0 on aggregate.

Legia Warsaw 1 - 0 Linfield

Connah's Quay Nomads 0 - 2 Sarajevo

Celje 3 - 0 Dundalk

KÍ [3 - 0] Slovan Bratislava (postponed)

The losers drop down to the Europa League.

2019-20 UEFA Europa League final (yesterday):

Sevilla 3 - 2 Inter Milan

2020-21 UEFA Europa League, preliminary round:

Tre Penne 1 - 3 Gjilani (Kosovo)

Glentoran 1 - 0 HB

St Joseph's (Gibraltar) 1 - 2  B36

Coleraine 1 - 0 La Fiorita

NSÍ 5 - 1 Barry Town United

2019-20 UEFA Women's Champions League, QF (yesterday):

Glasgow City 1 - 9 VfL Wolfsburg

Developments:

Queen of the South made their first signing with Joe McKee, who played for Morton from 2013 to 2016.

The start of the Swiss Challenge league has been bumped to September 18 to take advantage of an expected relaxation of audience limits.

The 2020 Canadian Football League season has been scrapped.

Mortonalia:

The League Cup group stage fixtures are out. Morton don't get St Mirren at Cappielow, but they do get them in November.

Apparently Morton didn't complain that Hearts were training before the start date, they complained that they weren't allowed to train before the start date like Hearts were doing. It's a subtle difference, but it had the same effect.

Morton have signed forward Ross MacIver on loan from Motherwell.

Morton in the three-division era:

1975-76    26      7      9    10    31    40       -9    23    11th, Div 1

1976-77    39    20    10      9    77    52    +25    50    4th, Div 1

1977-78    39    25      8      6    85    42    +43    58    1st, Div 1 P

1978-79    36    12    12    12    52    53       -1    36    7th, Premier Div

1979-80    36    14      8    14    51    46      +5    36    6th, Premier Div

1980-81    36    10      8    18    36    58     -22    28    8th, Premier Div

1981-82    36      9    12    15    31    54     -23    30    7th, Premier Div

1982-83    36      6      8    22    36    81     -45    20    9th, Premier Div R

1983-84    39    21    12      6    75    46    +29    54    1st, Div 1 P

1984-85    36      5      2    29    29   100    -71    12    10th, Premier Div R

1985-86    39    14    11    14    57    63       -6    39    7th, Div 1

1986-87    44    24      9    11    88    56    +32    57    1st, Div 1 P

1987-88    44      3    10    31    27   100    -73    16    10th, Premier Div R

1988-89    39    16      9    14    46    46        0    41    5th, Div 1

1989-90    39      9    16    14    38    46       -8    34    11th, Div 1

1990-91    39    11    13    15    48    55       -7    35    9th, Div 1

1991-92    44    17    12    15    66    59      +7    46    7th, Div 1

1992-93    44    19    10    15    65    56      +9    48    6th, Div 1

1993-94    44      6    17    21    44    75     -31    29    11th, Div 1 R

Which clubs played in all three divisions in the three-division era (1975-76 to 1993-94)?

St Johnstone         ABBBB    BBBABCCCBB    AAAA

Kilmarnock            BABBA    ABABBBBBBC    BBBA

Falkirk                   BBCCC    BBBBBBAABB    BAAB

Dunfermline          BCCCB    BBBCCCBABA    AABB

Clydebank             CBABB    BBBBBAABBB    BBBB

Ayr United             AAABB    BBBBBBCCBB    BBBB

Dumbarton            BBBBB    BBBBABBBCC    CCBB

Raith Rovers         CBCBB    BBBBCCCBBB   BBBA

(A = Premier Division; B = Division 1; C = Division 2)

Historical matches:

Aug 22, 1914. Morton visited Third Lanark and played to a 3 - 3 draw.

Aug 22, 1992. Morton hosted St Mirren at Cappielow and lost 0 - 1.

1924-25 SFL Division Three, August 23 matches:

Vale of Leven 3 - 0 Galston

Royal Albert 1 - 1 Queen of the South

Beith 2 - 3 Solway Star

Brechin City 3 - 2 Helensburgh

Dumbarton Harp 1 - 4 Nithsdale Wanderers

Leith Athletic 2 - 1 Clackmannan

Lochgelly United 5 - 1 Dykehead

Mid Annandale 2 - 2 Montrose

Source: Glasgow Herald, August 25, 1924, p.14.

Island of Dreams

The Canadian Potato Museum in O'Leary, PEI. Website.

It's The Island Games, the Canadian Premier League's bubble tournament. Playing approximately one game per day on UPEI's Alumni Field, the eight teams will first complete a round robin, then the top four teams will go into a group stage, from which two will emerge to play the final. This will take them well into September. The pitch is available because Atlantic University sports have been cancelled for this autumn.

None of the teams has played a match in 2020. But Forge have Concacaf obligations in October, and there's the Voyageurs Cup to be played at some point.

You'd think the International Island Games Association would have something to say about the Canadian Premier League using their brandname. The Island Games proper are a biennial multisport tournament featuring athletes from two dozen islands, most of them in Europe. The first Island Games were held on the Isle of Man in 1985, and the most recent in Gibraltar (not strictly an island) in 2019. Soccer is even one of the sports played at the Island Games. You could say, well, that's over there and this is over here -- who in Canada has heard of the Island Games? But, see, Prince Edward Island has. PEI was a member of the International Island Games Association for two decades and won 21 medals.

The opening games are:

Forge 2 - 2 Cavalry (August 13)

This was an ideal result for the other six teams.

York9 [2 - 2] Atlético Ottawa

Luca Gasparotto is York9 team captain.

HFX Wanderers [2 - 2] Pacific

[Goals by Morelli and Sanoh.] Last season Pacific took 2 wins, Wanderers 1 win, with 2 draws.

Valour [0 - 2] Cavalry (tomorrow)

Forge [2 - 0] Edmonton (tomorrow)

[Table after these matches:

Forge            2    1    1    0    4    2    +2    4

Cavalry         2    1    1    0    4    2    +2    4

Wanderers    1    0    1    0    2    2      0    1

York9             1    0    1    0    2    2      0    1

Atlético          1    0    1    0    2    2      0    1

Pacific           1    0    1    0    2    2      0    1

Valour            1    0    0    1    0    2    -2    0

Edmonton     1    0    0    1    0    2     -2    0    ]

Other matches:

Ross County 2 - 2 Kilmarnock (August 12)

Kilmarnock [1 - 2] St Johnstone

Hibs are off to their best top tier start since 1974-75, when they won their first four league matches.

Faroes: Skála vs B36 (tomorrow) (postponed)

Allsvensken: Malmö 2 - 1 Örebro (August 12)

Mjällby [2 - 2] Malmö (tomorrow)

Iceland: Fram 4 - 4 ÍBV (yesterday)

Icelandic football is back after a two-week lockdown.

Jordan Halsman played for Fram the year after he played for Morton.

Ireland: Bray Wanderers 2 - 0 UCD (yesterday)

The first round of the 2020 FAI Cup was played midweek. This year only the League of Ireland clubs are invited, minus Shamrock Rovers II, for a total of 19 teams. UCD have a bye to the next round.

K League: Ulsan Hyundai [2 - 0] Pohang Steelers

J2: Kyoto Sanga 2 - 2 Mito HollyHock (August 12)

Mito HollyHock [0 - 2] Tokyo Verdy (tomorrow)

Finland: HIFK 2 - 0 TPS (August 10)

IFK Mariehamn [1 - 0] TPS (tomorrow)

2020-21 UEFA Champions League, preliminary round continued:

Drita vs Linfield (August 11) (cancelled)

This match was cancelled after two Drita players tested positive for Covid-19. Linfield, who won the first leg, advance to the next round.

Developments:

A Celtic player travelled to Spain, failed to self-quarantine on his return, and played in last week's Killie game. There was real fear that the Scottish government would cancel the season when this news came out but Nicola Sturgeon is content to "show the league a yellow card". But both of Celtic's matches and both of Aberdeen's this week are postponed. (That makes three games because one of them is Celtic versus Aberdeen.)

Non-Premiership clubs are barred from training until August 24th, with the exception of Glasgow City who are preparing for the UEFA Women's Champions League. But Hearts, who had started to train, must stop.

The SPFL is codifying a list of Covid penalties.

The 2020-21 UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues are starting up and teams are criss-crossing Europe. There could be instances in which the civil authorities of a country refuse entry to a team from another country because of coronavirus precautions. In such a case the fixture will be moved to a neutral site in Greece, Cyprus, Hungary or Poland. To limit travel the ties are one-legged.

Hearts have signed a player on loan from Livingston. Let that sink in.

Bolivia is looking to restart its top soccer league in October.

Portland Timbers won the "MLS is Back" tournament.

Mortonalia:

The 2020-21 Scottish League Cup groups were drawn Monday. Morton will be in the same group as St Mirren, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Queen's Park. Because there are so many easy groups this year Morton are pretty much obliged to win this group if they want to advance.

Kris Doolan has signed with Arbroath. Jack Iredale has signed with Cambridge United of England's League Two.

Kilmarnock stats:

What was Kilmarnock's biggest league win against Ross County?

2012/11/10    Kilmarnock 3 - 0 Ross County

What was Kilmarnock's biggest league loss against them?

2015/8/22      Kilmarnock 0 - 4 Ross County

Killie's biggest league win against St Johnstone:

1954/3/20      Kilmarnock 5 - 0 St Johnstone

Their biggest league loss to St Johnstone:

1928/2/11      Kilmarnock 1 - 7 St Johnstone

Historical matches:

Britain had been at war with Germany for eleven days when the 1914-15 SFL season kicked off on August 15th, 1914. This mid-August start does not represent a wartime delay; the 1913-14 season had begun on August 16th. The league proceeded as planned; in fact two clubs were added. But the Scottish Cup was cancelled.

Aug 15, 1914. Morton started the Division One season with a 3 - 1 win against Kilmarnock at Cappielow.

Aug 11, 1992. The League Cup was strictly a knockout tournament in 1992-93. Morton had a bye into Round Two and hosted Kilmarnock in a midweek game. Killie won 3 - 2, and Morton were out of the cup. Morton scorers were Alex Mathie and Rowan Alexander.

Aug 15, 1992. Morton travelled to Boghead to play Dumbarton and won 0 - 1. Alex Mathie scored.

JFL 1999: Mito HollyHock 4 - 0 Otsuka Pharmaceutical

ÍBV in the 1960s:

1969    12    3    6    3    20    20      0    12    4th (I)

1968    10    4    1    5    16    21     -5      9    5th (I)

1967      6    3    2    1    13    10    +3      8    1st, Group B (II)

1966      8    5    0    3    25    15   +10   10    2nd, Group A (II)

1965      8    6    0    2    26    12   +14   12    1st, Group A (II)

1964      8    8    0    0    31    16   +15   16    1st, South (II)

1963      2    0    1    1      2      6     -4      0    2nd, Group A (II)

1962

1961

1960      3    1    0    2    11    12     -1      2    2nd, Group B (II)

Source. Source.

Division Three

The SFL Division Three existed for only three seasons in the 1920s. Let's follow it through its middle year, 1924-25, and see what there is to learn about this collection of (mostly) defunct clubs, some of which I've written about before.

SFL Division Three results, August 16, 1924:

Clackmannan 1 - 0 Beith

Solway Star 4 - 1 Brechin City

Galston 5 - 0 Dumbarton Harp

Dykehead 1 - 1 Peebles Rovers

Helensburgh 1 - 4 Vale of Leven

Nithsdale Wanderers 3 - 2 Leith Athletic

Queen of the South 3 - 1 Lochgelly United

Montrose 0 - 3 Royal Albert

Source: Glasgow Herald, August 18, 1925.

"Island of Dreams" by the Seekers.

Maggie's Well

Maggie's Well is situated at the top of the hill on the Old Largs Road and is named after either a shepherdess or a horse. Source.

Kilmarnock vs Celtic (tomorrow)

Kilmarnock's all-time record against Celtic is not good: 38 wins, 54 draws, 175 losses. Celtic won all three meetings last season by an identical 3 - 1 score. Killie's last win against them came on September 23rd, 2018.

Celtic are shooting for their tenth consecutive title, which would be a Scottish record. Teams that have won nine in a row:

Celtic        1965-66 to 1973-74

Rangers    1988-89 to 1996-97

Celtic        2011-12 to 2019-20

What was Killie's biggest league win against Celtic?

1963/3/27      Kilmarnock 6 - 0 Celtic

What was Killie's biggest league loss to Celtic?

1937/12/25    Celtic 8 - 0 Kilmarnock

And a Merry Christmas! But there's also:

1938/8/13      Celtic 9 -  1 Kilmarnock

[Killie 1 - 1 Celtic! This draw leaves Killie in 8th place, Celtic in 4th, and Hibs in first.]

Mortonalia:

Wednesday Morton renewed the contracts of McAllister, McLean, Millar, Nesbitt, Muirhead, McGinty, Hynes, McGrattan and Rodgers. The club also signed Gary Oliver, who previously played for the club from 2016 to 2019, and Rabin Omar who has played for Elgin and Annan.

There are presently no plans to sign Reserve or Development players, as those leagues are not slated to be played.

Reghan Tumilty has signed with Raith Rovers. Henk van Schaik has joined Eintracht Trier. He appeared in one game for Morton in August 2019.

Reghan Tumilty's goals for Morton:

2018/7/17      74'    Partick          Firhill           Bell          League Cup

2019/8/3        73'    Ayr United    Somerset    Doohan    league

Developments:

Hearts and Partick have each been fined £2500 by the SFA for taking the SPFL to court.

Two Aberdeen players have Covid-19 and six others are in quarantine after a night out at the pub. Nicola Sturgeon is not pleased. Today's match between St Johnstone and Aberdeen has been postponed to August 20th.

Queen of the South have made no signings.

League One and Two clubs have voted in a salary cap.

The Canadian Premier League starts Thursday, but still no schedule.

Other games:

2019-20 Europa League, Round of 16, second leg (August 6):

Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 0 Rangers

Rangers lasted longer than Celtic.

Iceland: ÍBV vs Keflavik (August 4) (postponed)

ÍBV vs Leiknir F. (postponed)

All football in Iceland has been postponed since July 31 due to Covid-19. At the time of the stoppage ÍBV were in second place with 5 wins and 3 draws.

Faroes: B36 4 - 1 TB (August 6)

Allsvenskan: Malmö 4 - 1 Helsingborgs IF (August 5)

Falkenbergs FF [0 - 1] Malmö (tomorrow)

K League: Pohang Steelers [1 - 1] Gwangju FC

J2: Fagiano Okayama [3 - 1] Mito HollyHock

2020-21 UEFA Champions League, preliminary round semi-final:

Tre Fiori [0 - 2] Linfield (at Nyon, Switzerland)

What a comedown for Northern Ireland, to be one of the four bottom European associations, with San Marino, Kosovo and Andorra.

The game is at Stade Colovray, home of third-tier FC Stade Nyonnais. August is the close season this year in Switzerland, so there could be a lot of UEFA matches there this month.

Ireland: UCD 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers II (yesterday)

Finland: TPS 0 - 2 FC Honka (August 6)

Vaduz and Thun are in a two-legged playoff for a place in the coming 2020-21 Swiss Super League season.

Vaduz 2 - 0 Thun (yesterday)

Thun [4 - 3] Vaduz (August 10)

[Vaduz go up. Thun will play in Winterthur's division in the upcoming season.]

Historical matches:

Aug 8, 1992. Morton travelled to Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh to play Meadowbank Thistle. Morton won 3 - 0. Goalscorers were Alex Mathie, Alan Mahood and Rowan Alexander.

JFL 1999: Sony Sendai 0 - 1 Mito HollyHock

ÍBV in the 1970s:

1979    18    10    4    4    26    13    +13    24    1st (I)

1978    18      8    3    7    29    24      +5    19    4th (I)

1977    18      9    3    6    27    18      +9    21    3rd (I)

1976    16    13    2    1    63    13    +50    28    1st (II)

1975    14      2    5    7    11    22      -11     9     8th (I)

1974    14      3    7    4    20    20        0    13    4th (I)

1973    14      8    1    5    27    19      +8    17    3rd (I)

1972    14      7    4    3    37    22    +15    18    2nd (I)    Icelandic Cup

1971    14      9    2    3    37    19    +18    20    2nd (I)

1970    14      6    1    7    20    25       -5    13    7th (I)

Source. Source.

Kilmarnock's last ten loses to non-Premiership sides:

2017/7/14      Ayr United 1 - 0 Kilmarnock    League Cup group stage

2016/7/30      Kilmarnock 0 - 0 Albion Rovers (Rovers won on PK)    League Cup group stage

2016/7/23      Kilmarnock 0 - 2 Morton    League Cup group stage

2013/8/27      Kilmarnock 0 - 1 Hamilton        League Cup

2012/8/28      Kilmarnock 1 - 2 Stenhousemuir    League Cup

2007/9/25      Hamilton 2 - 0 Kilmarnock        League Cup

2007/1/6        Morton 3 - 1 Kilmarnock        Scottish Cup

2003/9/23      Brechin 1 - 0 Kilmarnock        League Cup

2002/9/24      Kilmarnock 0 - 0 Airdrie United (Airdrie won on PK)    League Cup

2001/10/9      Ayr United 0 - 0 Kilmarnock (Ayr won on PK)    League Cup

1992-93

Morton's 1992-93 away costume. Source.

The 2020-21 SPFL begins. The Championship won't get going until October, so in the meantime let's follow Kilmarnock FC. Today's featured match is Hibs versus Kilmarnock.

This is the sixth time these two have met on opening day. Killie have won three times, Hibs never, with two draws. But Hibs have the better all-time record, with 110 wins to 86 for Killie, and 55 draws. Hibs finished (or "finished") last season seventh with 37 points. Kilmarnock were eighth with 33.

What was Killie's best league match against Hibs?

1918/9/7        Kilmarnock 7 - 1 Hibs

What was Hibernian's best league match against Killie?

1925/8/22      Hibs 8 - 0 Kilmarnock

Hibs' top scorer last season was Christian Doidge with 12 goals in league play, 2 in the League Cup and 4 in the Scottish Cup. Killie's top goalscorer last year was Eamonn Brophy, with 9 in the league, 1 in the Scottish Cup, and 1 in the Europa League against Connah's Quay Nomads.

[Hibs 2 - 1 Killie.]

Developments:

UEFA's deadline for member leagues to finish the 2019-20 season is August 3rd.

An arbitration panel has rejected Hearts' and Partick's complaint against the SPFL.

Scottish Women's Football has declared the 2020 season null and void and will play a 2020-21 season from October 18th to May 2nd. See below for a summary of Morton's 2020 results and the 2020 table.

The 2020-21 fixtures for the Championship and Leagues One and Two were released Wednesday. Morton will have Alloa, Ayr United, Hearts, Queen of the South and Inverness CT at Cappielow twice.

Wednesday the Canadian Premier League announced the location, dates and format of its hub tournament. It'll be called The Island Games and be played in Charlottetown at UPEI's Alumni Field in August and September. Winner will be 2020 league champion and go on to the 2021 Concacaf League.

The CPL away strips are out and they're all black. Any visiting team would literally be invisible at Cavalry's park.

HFX Wanderers have signed Jake Ruby and Luke Green.

Mortonalia:

Season tickets went on sale Monday.

Goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom has been released. Kris Doolan is also departing.

Denny Johnstone has signed with Dumbarton. He was with Morton in 2015-16 and 2018-19.

Goalkeeper Danny Rogers has signed with Kilmarnock.

[Conor Pepper has signed with Linfield. He was with Morton from 2014 to 2017.]

Big Premiership clubs in the Championship, a seven-year trend:

2014-15    Hearts, Hibs, Rangers

2015-16    Hibs, Rangers

2016-17    Hibs, Dundee United

2017-18    Dundee United

2018-19    Dundee United

2019-20    Dundee United

2020-21    Hearts

Other matches:

J2: Mito HollyHock 2 - 2 Ventforet Kofu (July 29)

Mito HollyHock [3 - 2] Zweigen Kanazawa (tomorrow)

[After 9 games Mito have 3 wins, three draws and 3 losses and hold 11th place out of 22.]

Faroes: B36 4 - 2 Víkingur (July 29)

B36 [2 - 0] ÍF (tomorrow)

Iceland: ÍBV 3 - 0 Þróttur (July 27)

K League: Jeonbuk Motors [2 - 1] Pohang Steelers

Korean FA Cup, quarter-finals (July 29):

FC Seoul 1 - 5 Pohang Steelers

Svenska Cupen final (July 30):

IFK Göteborg 2 - 1 Malmö

Allsvenskan: IFK Göteborg [0 - 3] Malmö (tomorrow)

Winterthur 4 - 0 Kriens (July 30)

Grasshoppers [0 - 6] Winterthur (tomorrow) [Wow.]

That ends the 2019-20 Swiss Challenge League. The new season will start on the weekend of September 11th.

[Winterthur finish fourth, which in this league is not good enough to get into the promotion playoffs.]

The League of Ireland 2020 season resumes this weekend. Let's follow UCD who are newly relegated to the First Division. After 3 matches played in February and March they have a win, a loss and a draw, and occupy fourth place.

UCD 0 - 0 Longford (yesterday)

RoPS [2 - 3] TPS

RoPS played Aberdeen in the Europa League last year. The PS in TPS and RoPS stands for palloseura, meaning ball club.

Matches not being played:

The Concacaf League was to have begun July 28th.

Morton Women's results in the 2020 season:

SWF Championship South:

Morton 5 - 0 Stenhousemuir (Feb 9)

Renfrew 2 - 0 Morton (Feb 23)

Morton 4 - 2 St Mirren (Feb 26)

SWF Championship Cup:

R1    bye

R2    Ayr United 1 - 2 Morton (March 1)

2020 SWF Championship South Table

Livingston                      3    2    0    1  18     4  +14    6

Airdrie                            2    2    0    0    9     2    +7    6

Morton                           3    2    0    1    9     4    +5    6

United Glasgow             2    2    0    0    6     1    +5    6

Gartcairn                       2    2    0    0    4      4      0    6

Edinburgh Caledonia    2    1    0    1    7      3    +4    3

Renfrew                        1    1    0    0    2      0    +2    3

St Mirren                       3    1    0    2    8    11     -3    3

Ayr United                     2    1    0    1    3     7      -4    3

Clyde                            3    0    1    2    6    11      -5    1

Stenhousemuir             3    0    1    2    3    11      -8    1

BSC Glasgow               1    0    0    1    3      4      -1    0

Falkirk                           1    0    0    1    1      4      -3    0

Edinburgh City              2    0    0    2    0    17    -17    0

Historical matches:

August 1st, 1992 fell on a Saturday, so the 1992-93 season synchs up with 2020-21. Our guys Morton were playing in the First Division, which in those days was the middle division of three. The schedule that season called for a demanding 44 games, plus three cups. Let's follow Morton through 1992-93 and see how they handled it.

Aug 1, 1992. Morton opened the season by hosting Kilmarnock at Cappielow. Killie won 0 - 2. This is still Morton's most recent opening day match against Kilmarnock. The two have not played in the same division since 1992-93.

John Wilson, who was Morton chairman during 1992-93, died in May of this year.

JFL 1999: Mito HollyHock 4 - 3 Kokushikan University