Month: January 2026

Port Glasgow Juniors

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Port Glasgow Juniors play at Parklea in the West of Scotland League Third Division. Source.

Ross County visit Cappielow. Morton hold seventh place with 23 points, and Ross County are ninth with 19. Morton have a win and a draw against the Staggies so far this season.

Stewart Kettlewell has been Ross County manager for a month. This is his second spell at the job, the first time having been from 2018 to 2020.

Ross County managed to climb out of automatic relegation last weekend. They have not been in tier III since 2007-08.

The last Morton player to score against Ross County was Michael Garrity, November 15th.

Half of Morton’s league matches have ended in draws, which puts them on track for 18 in 2025-26. The club record for draws in a season is 17, but that was in a 44-game schedule (1993-94).

[Morton win 2 – 1 on goals by Brophy and O’Halloran.]

The other Championship matches:
St Johnstone (1st) 2 – 2 Partick Thistle (2nd) (yesterday)
Ayr United (5th) [2 – 1] Raith Rovers (6th)
Dunfermline Athletic (4th) [0 – 2] Airdrieonians (8th)
Queen’s Park (10th) [2 – 1] Arbroath (3rd)

Other matches:
[Unia Swarzędz 1 – 1 KS Lipno Stęszew (sparring match)]
Fortuna Düsseldorf [2 – 1] SC Paderborn [tomorrow]
Rothes [1 – 1] Wick Academy
Largs Thistle [2 – 1] Shotts Bon Accord
Port Glasgow [8 – 1] St Anthony’s
Inverness CT [7 – 3] Morton Women (tomorrow)

A US consortium has bought Kelty Hearts. Story.

UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 8 (January 29):
Celtic 4 – 2 Utrecht
Porto 3 – 1 Rangers
Celtic advance. Rangers are out.

Scottish Challenge Cup, QF (January 27):
Arbroath vs Airdrieonians (postponed)
Inverness CT 1 – 0 Stenhousemuir
Queen’s Park 1 – 1 Raith Rovers (Raith win on PK)
St Johnstone vs Ayr United (postponed)

Scottish Junior Cup, R5:
Dundee Violet vs Johnstone Burgh (postponed)

South Challenge Cup, QF:
Muirkirk (W1) [3 – 0] Haddington Athletic (EP) Upset
Tranent (LL) [0 – 1] Cumnock (WP) Upset
Vale of Clyde (W1) [5 – 4] Greenock (W2)
University of Stirling (LL) [2 – 2] Cumbernauld United (W1) [U of Stirling win on PK] (tomorrow)

Lowland League Cup, R1:
East Stirlingshire 1 – 3 Clydebank (yesterday)
Berwick Rangers vs Bonnyrigg Rose [postponed]
Caledonian Braves [1 – 1] Civil Service Strollers [CSS win on PK]
Cumbernauld Colts [1 – 0] Albion Rovers
Gala Fairydean Rovers [2 – 1] Gretna 2008
Linlithgow Rose [4 – 0] Cowdenbeath

Football Times Cup, QF:
Clachnacuddin “A” [5 – 4] Golspie Sutherland

Video: Port Glasgow versus Greenock.

HFX Wanderers have signed 18-year-old fullback Francesco Troisi, and also 28-year-old defender Marcus Godinho formerly of Toronto FC II, Heart of Midlothian, FSV Zwickau, Vancouver Whitecaps, Korona Kielce in Poland and Degerfors IF in Sweden.

Historical matches:
1891/1/31 Ayr FC 2 – 2 Morton
1931/1/26 Morton 2 – 0 Raith Rovers (Sc Cup R1 2nd replay)
1931/1/31 Queen’s Park 0 – 1 Morton (Sc Cup R2)
1953/1/31 Morton 1 – 4 Kilmarnock
1981/1/28 Hearts 1 – 3 Morton (Sc Cup R3 replay)
1981/1/31 Morton 1 – 0 Kilmarnock

Cup games of the 1890-91 SFL clubs:
Third Lanark 1 – 4 Hearts (Sc Cup SF)

Frumpy Kamakura

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A Kamakura lady. Source.

Eiga Monogatari is an account of Heian court life written during the Kamakura period a century or two later. Fashions had changed enough for the author to remark:

When one hears tales of earlier days, one can scarcely believe that ladies went about in public dressed in so few layers of clothing and with so little padding in their garments. One wonders how they managed to keep warm even at home, since ladies nowadays are always suffering from ailments caused by the weather, though they pile on so many layers that they are in danger of looking like frumps. But that was the fashion, and we must suppose that even a Junior Consort or Empress wore only a fraction of what we would consider an adequate costume.

From A Tale of Flowering Fortunes, volume 1, page 218, translated by McCullough and McCullough.

Seattle Torrent at Ottawa Charge

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Action from the December 17th game. Source.

The Torrent visit the Charge. Ottawa is sixth in the league with 19 points, Seattle eighth with 16. The December 17th game between these two teams in Seattle ended in favour of the Torrent by a score of 4 to 1.

Nearly everyone on the Seattle roster has played for some other PWHL club before. Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Lexie Adzija are both on their third PWHL club. The most travelled player must be Aneta Tejralová who has played for Ottawa in the PWHL, MoDo in the SDHL, Boston Pride of the old PHF, SKIF Nizhny Novgorod and Dinamo St Petersburg of the Russian league, and Slavia Prague of the Czech league. In all, Seattle have five former Ottawa Charge players on their roster: Adzija, Grant-Mentis, Tejralová, Danielle Serdachny, and Natalie Snodgrass.

The Torrent play at the Climate Pledge Arena, aka Seattle Center Coliseum, built in 1962, with seating for 17,000. It’s also the home rink for the Seattle Kraken. Their lowest attendance so far has been 8,622; highest 16,014. Seattle is one of the natural hometowns for pro hockey and it’s crazy that the NHL has only just moved in there. The 1919-20 Stanley Cup final was between Ottawa and Seattle.

[Ottawa 4, Seattle 2]

Montreal Victoire at Ottawa Charge

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Action from January 13th. Source.

Despite everything you might have heard on the CBC, the oldest and best hockey rivalry in the world is Ottawa versus Montreal. The Ottawa HC first played Montreal’s Crystals, Victorias, Wanderers and McGill at the 1884 Montreal Winter Carnival. Ottawa played Montreal for the Stanley Cup in 1894, 1897, 1903, 1904, 1906 and 1908. Montreal and Ottawa were both in the NHA from 1910 and the NHL until 1931. An Ottawa team played in the Quebec senior leagues from 1934 till 1963. The new Senators’ first game in 1992 was against Montreal, as was Ottawa’s first game in the PWHL. Until just recently both the men’s and women’s university teams from Ottawa played in the Quebec league. Ottawa and Montreal both came through the great ice storm of 1998, whereas Toronto called in the army in 1999 because there was snow.

Montreal Victoire visit the Ottawa Charge. Montreal is currently fourth in the PWHL with 21 points, Ottawa fifth with 19. They met on January 13th, and Montreal won 2 – 1.

Ottawa versus Montreal in the PWHL:
2024/1/2 Montreal 3 – 2 Ottawa (OT)
2024/1/27 Montreal 2 – 1 Ottawa (OT)
2024/2/24 Montreal 6 – 3 Ottawa
2024/3/10 Ottawa 4 – 2 Montreal
2024/4/27 Montreal 2 – 0 Ottawa
2024/11/22 Montreal 6 – 3 Ottawa (preseason)
2024/11/30 Montreal 4 – 3 Ottawa (SO)
2024/12/6 Montreal 2 – 1 Ottawa
2025/1/19 Montreal 2 – 1 Ottawa (in Quebec City)
2025/1/29 Montreal 4 – 1 Ottawa
2025/2/22 Ottawa 3 – 1 Montreal
2025/4/26 Ottawa 3 -2 Montreal
2025/5/8 Ottawa 3 – 2 Montreal (semi-finals)
2025/5/11 Montreal 3 – 2 Ottawa (semi-finals)
2025/5/13 Ottawa 1 – 0 Montreal (semi-finals)
2025/5/16 Ottawa 2 – 1 Montreal (semi-finals)
2026/1/13 Montreal 2 – 1 Ottawa
Home team in italics. Ottawa wins in bold.

Ottawa and Vancouver swapped six players earlier this week. Michaela Cava, Brooke McQuigge and Emma Greco went to Ottawa. Anna Shokhina, Mannon McMahon and Anna Meixner went to Vancouver.

Montreal has three ex-Ottawa players: Hayley Scamurra, Shiann Darkangelo and Amanda Boulier. No one on the Charge squad has played for the Victoire.

The Olympics are coming up. Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark, Jocelyne Larocque and Montreal’s Laura Stacey, Marie-Philip Poulin, Kati Tabin, Erin Ambrose and Ann-Renee Desbiens will play for Canada. Ottawa’s Rory Guilday and Gwyneth Philips and Montreal’s Hayley Scamurra will play for the USA.

Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová and Montreal’s Natálie Mlýnková have been called up to the Czech team. Carla MacLeodova will be head coach again. Ottawa’s Ronja Savolainen and Sanni Ahola will play for Finland. Montreal’s Sandra Abstreiter will play goal for Germany. Montreal’s Lina Ljungblom will play for Sweden. Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau will serve in that capacity for Italy.

[Montreal 3, Ottawa 1]

The Robert Burns National Monument

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The Burns Memorial at Mauchline, Ayrshire exudes a baronial self-satisfaction pretty far removed from the spirit of Burns’ poetry. Sunday is Robert Burns Day.

Morton visit Arbroath. This is a Friday-nighter for BBC Scotland. Arbroath are third in the Championship with 36 points. Morton are seventh with 22. Last weekend Arbroath were put out of the Scottish Cup by Airdrie, and Morton were blown out by Stenhousemuir.

Morton have not won a match since December 12th. But so far this season they have a win and a draw against Arbroath.

Josh McPake (Morton 2020-21) has signed a pre-contact with Hearts, which means he’ll remain with St Johnstone ’til the end of this season. He’s currently the Championship’s leading scorer.

[Morton have signed defender Fergus Owens, formerly of Hamilton Academical, Clydebank, Bo’ness Athletic, Blackburn United and Kelty Hearts.]

[Arbroath 1 – 1 Morton. Morton goal by Garrity.]

The other Championship matches (tomorrow):
Aidrieonians (8th) [0 – 1] Ross County (10th)
Airdrie are the only Championship side still alive in both the Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup. [Although it looks like Queen’s Park might get reinstated in the Challenge Cup.]
Raith Rovers (6th) [4 – 1] Queen’s Park (9th)
St Johnstone (1st) [0 – 1] Dunfermline Athletic (5th)
Partick Thistle (2nd) [2 – 1] Ayr United (4th)
This is a Plenty of Nothing Championship League Cup semi-final.

Other matches (mostly tomorrow):
Hannover 96 [2 – 1] Fortuna Düsseldorf
Clydebank [1 – 3] Cumbernauld Colts
Turriff United vs Wick Academy [postponed]
Largs Thistle [6 – 0] St Cadoc’s
Greenock [4 – 1] Larkhall Thistle
Easterhouse [2 – 3] Port Glasgow
Edinburgh College [0 – 5] Coldstream
Clachnacuddin “A” [0 – 2] Golspie Sutherland
Morton Women [2 – 3] Stenhousemuir (Sunday)

2025-26 UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 7 (January 22):
Bologna 2 – 2 Celtic
Rangers 1 – 0 Ludogorets Razgrad

Scottish Cup, R4 (January 20):
Stranraer 1 – 1 Queen’s Park (Stranraer win on PK)

Scottish Junior Cup, R4:
Fraserburgh United [2 – 0] Lochee United

West of Scotland Cup, R2:
Auchinleck Talbot (WP) [3 – 1] Thorniewood United (W1)

West of Scotland Cup, R3:
Benburb (W1) [2 – 1] Cambuslang Rangers (W2)
Petershill (W1) [0 – 3] Drumchapel United (WP)

West of Scotland Cup, R4:
Neilston (W1) [2 – 2] Hurlford United (WP) [Hurlford win on PK]
St Roch’s (W1) [1 – 2] Johnstone Burgh (WP)
Thorn Athletic (W2) [4 – 1] Lesmahagow (W2)

HFX Wanderers have drawn Forge FC in the first round of the Canadian Championship, again. Wanderers have signed Spaniard Miguel Arilla. Tiago Coimbra is to transfer to IFK Göteborg. [Also signed is Sven Zitman formerly of PEC Zwolle and TOP Oss.]

Historical matches:
1891/1/24 Morton 1 – 1 Clyde
1931/1/21 Raith Rovers 1 – 1 Morton (Sc Cup R1 replay)
1931/1/24 Morton 2 – 4 Hearts
1953/1/24 Morton 3 – 1 Dunfermline Athletic (Sc Cup R1)
1981/1/24 Morton 0 – 0 Hearts (ScCup R3)

SFL results 1890-91:
1891/1/24 Vale of Leven 3 – 1 Celtic
1891/1/24 Dumbarton 5 – 0 Cambuslang
1891/1/24 Hearts 0 – 1 Rangers
1891/1/24 Abercorn 5 – 1 St Mirren
1891/1/24 Queen’s Park 1 – 4 Third Lanark (Sc Cup R6 2nd replay)