Time to Regroup



Last weeks result showed that nothing is certain in football, and with an away trip to Perth on the cards this weekend then it would take a brave man, or woman, to be confident about predicting the outcome of this one. This encounter is traditionally a tight affair, although last October St Johnstone did what Partick did to us, hammered us 4-0.

It was a game to forget in the Highlands as Partick did their homework and pressed us so hard they squeezed the ball into the net four times in what turned out to be a disastrous afternoon for Inverness where nothing went right. It might have been different had Marley Watkins been able to take full advantage when he muscled into the box early on, but he shot across the keeper and past the wrong side of the post. It went from bad to worse and Dean Brill will have better days. In fairness to him, his defenders let him down badly and the retention passing game was non existent as we handed possession over to Partick. They needed no second prompting and deservedly cuffed us.

However, that was last week and Yogi has been busy trying to address the issues. Partick had our cards marked and their pressing game forced us to make errors. Maybe this week we might make one back pass less and that could help to raise the tempo. Whatever was the problem, I hope it's fixed before we take on St Johnstone with half the league bunching up a point or two below us.

Ryan Christie and Aaron Doran could make the starting eleven this week. They have been playing great wee cameo's recently coming on late in the games. We were crying out for some creativity and tenacity against Partick but by the time they entered the fray the game was lost. Carl Tremarco is another who could be pushing for a start.

Since that 4-0 defeat at Perth, we have won the last four encounters, scoring six and conceding only once in the process. We sit second in the table on 32 points, 9 points above St Johnstone in sixth place. Our goal difference is 10 better than Perth's, but another heavy defeat will eat into that quickly.

LAM, that's life after May, has seen the Perth Saints struggle to get into their stride at the start of the season. However, they are unbeaten in their last six league games, and three wins on the bounce has seen them clamber into the top six. They see this as a springboard to challenge for a European place with winnable games coming up over the festive period. Michael O'Halloran and Brian Graham are men on form right now scoring seven times over the last six games and will be looking to add to their tallies for the season. Murray Davidson is getting back into the swing of it after being out injured and St Johnstone will be looking to consolidate their place in the top-six.

Inverness are smarting after the Partick debacle and Hughes is threatening to shuffle the pack a bit to freshen up the side. Christie and Doran spring to mind as well as Tremarco, but others like Polworth, Devine and Ross could play a part. Dean Brill will be looking over his shoulders after last weeks poor performance and Ryan Esson is another who is experienced enough to play without letting the standards of the team drop.

Not much team news from Inverness apart from that age old story about Richie Foran being in rehab. More interesting information coming from Perth and the news that James McFadden is out with a hamstring strain. That has to cheer up the Inverness camp surely. Tommy Wright has no squabbles over his replacement though as David Wotherspoon has filled the role effectively, but he is hoping to have Faddy back for their Tayside derby next week.

tm4tj prediction:- If we have gotten over last weeks mayhem, then we could get back on track with a win at Perth. It's not one of our favourite grounds to take points from but without McFadden, then that's one danger man eliminated. However, I'll err on the side of caution and settle for a share of the points in a scoring draw. 1-1 should see both camps happy enough for Xmas.