Cup Warm Up

Inverness gave starts to Danny Williams and Edward Ofere as they looked to halt their alarming dip in form. Dean Brill also started but he has unfortunately dislocated his knee cap in a nasty injury early in the game.

Celtic opened the scoring after only three minutes. A long ball from Brown saw Griffiths get there ahead of Gary Warren, and as Warren never got close enough, Griffiths fired across Brill from the edge of the box and in off the base of the post.

Inverness had looked lively though and an equaliser soon came along. A cross from the left reached Raven. His shot back into the mix eventually found Christie and his close range shot was cleared on the line by Denayer but Ofere knocked home the rebound.

Dean Brill was stretchered from the park after less than 15 minutes when Gary Mackay-Steven collided with him as he cleared a pass back. The extra touch from Brill invited the challenge and unfortunately Brill came off worst. It looked as though he has twisted his knee again. Tough on Brill on his first game back after injury and the cup semi-final looks to be gone. Ryan Esson took over between the sticks.

Josh Meekings earned a booking with a late tackle on Johansen, Josh carded after play was eventually halted. Edward Ofere was harshly booked as Scott Brown had the ball nicked off him as the game went into a midfield battle with Celtic holding the upper hand without threatening substitute Ryan Esson too much.

With half an hour gone, play had deteriorated to a scrappy level, but Graeme Shinnie broke well on the left, however his cross found no takers. Shinnie involved again with another burst down the wing but the Celtic defence cleared for a throw in.

Ross Draper joined the list of yellow cards for taking down GMS unnecessarily with another defender about to take the ball away. From the resultant free kick Esson made a fantastic tip over save from a close range header by Ambrose.

Ryan Christie almost guided a ball through on the break but a defender blocked it as the game opened up again. It was the visitors who were now having the better of the possession, but openings were hard to come by.

Watkins took the next booking as Isaguirre sprinted towards the edge of the box. Tansey took Brown out in the next attack and half a dozen Celtic players lined up to take it, however Griffiths won the battle but he floated his free kick high over to bring the first fifty minutes to an end.

Half Time 1-1

Stuart Armstrong became the sixth player carded for catching Christie as he skipped past him on the halfway line as the second period began.

Great pressure from Inverness resulted in a Tansey cross being cleared for a corner with Watkins lurking and from the corner too many players got in the way as Meeking mistimed his header.

It was a better start to the half from Inverness as they kept Celtic on the back foot for spells, but Esson made another spectacular save from a Denayer header, replicating his tip over in the first half.

Great back tracking by Watkins denied Izaguirre as Celtic began to press the game and biggest cheer of the day came when Scott Brown was yellow carded trying to win a penalty after 66 minutes. Moments later Celtic did get a free kick in a dangerous position but van Dijk smacked it off the wall for a corner. Another followed in quick succession, but Meekings ushered the ball out comfortably.

Esson had a Brill moment but got away with it after a bobbly pass back saw him take an extra touch but the clearance was charged down for a goal kick.

Inverness were by now defending too deep and there was no outlet for them whenever the ball was cleared from defence, Ofere cutting a lone dash up front.

A throw out from Esson saw Shinnie release Williams on the left but he was blocked at the expense of a corner. From that, David Raven blasted the loose ball just over Gordon's bar.

Celtic's scorer Leigh Griffiths was replaced by John Guidetti for the last fifteen minutes. John Hughes was keeping everyone guessing when he might make a change as the game entered the final ten minutes.

Commons' determination saw him eventually get a volley away but it was too high. Inverness went up the other end and Watkins got the better of Denayer. When the ball arrived at Tansey, he swivelled and liffted a shot just over the bar.

Celtic were trying to draw the home side out of their defensive shell but the hosts were having none of it. Aaron Doran and James Vincent entered the fray as Christie and Williams exited the battle.

Commons did some fancy footwork but his thirty-yard drive flew well over the bar. The few chances that Inverness had to make any headway were quickly thwarted by poor passing from the back and it was mainly Celtic advancing as the game entered time added on. Every free kick was now crucial as two minutes of stoppage time was added, Inverness content to hack the ball anywhere and Esson crouched to gather an Armstrong effort comfortably.

Last chance for Inverness as Doran fed Shinnie on the corner of the box but he was easily eased off the ball. One last chance for Celtic but a woeful cross went behind and that was it.

Full Time 1-1

One win in nine now for Inverness, but a gritty performance will be forgiven by the fans and sent out a semi-final warning to the Hoops that we will be turning up next week, whatever the weather, whoever the opposition.

Not for the first time this season Graeme Shinnie put in a MotM performance willing to drive forward on the left and still able to get back and defend when required. Great engine Graeme has and we will miss him next season. Esson did well when he came on for the unfortunate Brill and Watkins put in a busy shift tracking back to hold up the eager Celtic forwards. Ofere did well for an hour until he wilted. Good to have Doran on the bench to spice things up over the vital last few minutes when teams like Celtic surge forward. We were under the cosh for long periods, but stood firm and could have scored more, but it was a hard earned point.

Date: 11/04/15  Venue: Caledonian Stadium    Attendance: 6059
Referee: Craig Thomson
 
Inverness CT: 1
Lineup: Brill (Esson 20), Raven, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Ofere, Draper, Watkins, Tansey, Williams (Vincent 84), Christie (Doran 84)
Subs (not used): Ross, Devine, Tremarco, Kink
Scorers: Ofere (4)
Booked: Meekings (21), Ofere (28), Draper (39), Watkins (45⁺¹)
Sent Off: none
 
Celtic: 1
Lineup: Gordon; Ambrose (Matthews 62), Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton; Mackay-Steven (Commons 62), Johansen, Armstrong; Griffiths (Guidetti 78)
Subs (not used): Zaluska, Stokes, McGregor, Tierney
Scorers: Griffiths (3)
Booked: van Dijk (31), Armstrong (47), Brown (67)
Sent Off: none