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  1. Arachnophobia Should we fear the Spiders from Hampden as the new Championship season gets underway on Saturday with the visit of Queens Park. It's a 3:00pm kick off and a season of anticipation or maybe trepidation is almost upon us. TICKET PRICING Only form to go on for this season is the League Cup which saw Inverness qualify to face Motherwell in the knock out stages of group G. We ended our League Cup Group G games with a disappointing home draw against Cove Rangers despite Roddy MacGregor heading the opening goal. Megginson pinned us back but we took the bonus point in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. Queens Park failed to progress from their play-off Group H where Dundee and Hamilton Accies progressed. However they did manage a couple of wins thumping Stranraer and Forfar and drawing with Accies. They lost narrowly 1-2 against Dundee. Accies qualified a point ahead of the Spiders virtue of the penalty shoot-out win to pip Queens by a point. Queens Park, a club steeped in history, join us in the Championship this season along with Cove Rangers. They only finished fourth in the table behind Cove, Airdrie and Montrose, but came through the promotion play-offs to get into the Championship having beaten Dunfermline over two legs and then beating Airdrie in extra time to win promotion thanks to a Simon Murray penalty. Mind you, they have won the Scottish Cup ten times, albeit the last time was back in 1893. I remember it well. They have been playing out of Ochilview Park recently as they await Lesser Hampden to be upgraded. Here's one for you: They can boast a record attendance of 95,722 against Rangers in a Scottish Cup first round encounter on January 18th 1930 at their home ground of Hampden Park. That's a world record for an amateur side. They are now a professional outfit as of 2019 and on the up, consecutive promotions will see them ply their trade in this seasons Championship after years in the doldrums. Welcome to the Spiders Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens Park 3 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) Venue H2h v Queens Park Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 4 3 2 14 11 +3 Away 6 5 0 1 13 8 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 9 3 3 27 19 +8 League - (Div 3) Saturday, August 20th, 1994, 3:00 PM at Telford Street Park, Inverness Attendance: 1,500: Referee: M Pocock Ian Broadfoot reporting on our first ever competitive meeting against Queens Park. Caley Thistle's mid week efforts against Dundee had taken their toll and they went a goal down in 14 minutes - a McAllister header to McRitchie was short and Garry Orr took advantage with a goal from 15 yards. Four minutes later Maxwell made it two when he bundled in Edgar's corner. In 53 minutes McKenzie had rare chances for the home side but he hit the 'keeper twice. The match was over a few minutes later when a Garry Orr pass set up Graham who beat McRitchie with an angled drive. Two minutes later Maxwell headed a fourth. Full Time: 0-4 Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mike Andrew Mike Noble Mark McAllister John Scott Danny MacDonald Graeme Bennett Alan Hercher Paul McKenzie Wilson Robertson First Competitive Meeting Aug 20th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 0 - 4 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Jul 31st, 2010 League Cup (Rd 1) (H) 3 - 0 League Cup Match: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003, 7:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 968 This report comes from Ian Broadfoot back in 2003, the last time Queens Park beat Inverness in the Highlands. The Spiders gave Caley Thistle a dose of their own medicine when they produced a shock cup win away from home. Barry Wilson played for the first time following his return to the club. Queens belied their third division status with some lively play and they soaked up early pressure - a Steve Hislop drive was turned over the bar and Richie Hart hit the woodwork. It was not all one way as Ross Clark hit the bar at the other end. Caley Thistle scored in 26 minutes when Paul Ritchie turned in a Wilson cross but the lead only lasted two minutes. Bobby Mann brought down Clark and Steve Reilly converted the resultant penalty. Half Time: 1-1 Queens took the lead in 59 minutes when poor defending allowed a Reilly free kick to reach Ally Graham and he shot low past Mark Brown. With four minutes left Queens substitute Derek Carcary should have made it 3-1 but he shot wide with only Brown to beat. The drama was not over as the home side were awarded a penalty in injury time when Reilly handled in the box. Mann's kick came off the post. Full Time: 1-2 There was bitter disappointment in the home camp but no real complaints. Latest Team News Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are long term casualties. Wallace Duffy came off injured against Cove Rangers. Danny Devine has missed all the League Cup games and pre-season along with Sean Welsh. Eric's Queens Park roundup: Under new manager Owen Coyle, Queens Park have trimmed the Squad with more than 10 departures in the summer. Four players have arrived all on free transfer basis. Jason Naismith a right back signed from Kilmarnock Fc: Dom Thomas midfielder from Dunfermline FC: Pat Jarret an attacking midfield player, from Stoke City where he has gone from Youth teams to the U23 level: Grant Savoury who spent last season at Peterhead FC is a centre forward. Loan in: Josh McPake, forward (Rangers). Out: Jai Quitongo, forward (Greenock Morton); Grant Gillespie, midfielder (Greenock Morton); Michael Doyle, defender (Hamilton Academical); Stuart Morrison, defender (Queen of the South); Willie Muir, goalkeeper (Alloa Athletic); Peter Grant, defender (Clyde); Bob McHugh, forward (East Kilbride); Darren Lyon, midfielder; Will Baynham, forward. Loan ended: Luca Connell, midfielder (Celtic); Luis Longstaff, midfielder (Liverpool); Connor Smith, midfielder (Heart of Midlothian); Connor McBride, midfielder (Blackburn Rovers); Ronan Darcy, midfielder (Bolton Wanderers). Queens main threat will come from the now experienced Simon Murray. The thirty year old striker has previously been at Arbroath, Dundee United and Hibs. Dom Thomas will be an excellent asset and along with Louis Longridge will provide stability in the midfield. View full article
  2. Arachnophobia Should we fear the Spiders from Hampden as the new Championship season gets underway on Saturday with the visit of Queens Park. It's a 3:00pm kick off and a season of anticipation or maybe trepidation is almost upon us. TICKET PRICING Only form to go on for this season is the League Cup which saw Inverness qualify to face Motherwell in the knock out stages of group G. We ended our League Cup Group G games with a disappointing home draw against Cove Rangers despite Roddy MacGregor heading the opening goal. Megginson pinned us back but we took the bonus point in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. Queens Park failed to progress from their play-off Group H where Dundee and Hamilton Accies progressed. However they did manage a couple of wins thumping Stranraer and Forfar and drawing with Accies. They lost narrowly 1-2 against Dundee. Accies qualified a point ahead of the Spiders virtue of the penalty shoot-out win to pip Queens by a point. Queens Park, a club steeped in history, join us in the Championship this season along with Cove Rangers. They only finished fourth in the table behind Cove, Airdrie and Montrose, but came through the promotion play-offs to get into the Championship having beaten Dunfermline over two legs and then beating Airdrie in extra time to win promotion thanks to a Simon Murray penalty. Mind you, they have won the Scottish Cup ten times, albeit the last time was back in 1893. I remember it well. They have been playing out of Ochilview Park recently as they await Lesser Hampden to be upgraded. Here's one for you: They can boast a record attendance of 95,722 against Rangers in a Scottish Cup first round encounter on January 18th 1930 at their home ground of Hampden Park. That's a world record for an amateur side. They are now a professional outfit as of 2019 and on the up, consecutive promotions will see them ply their trade in this seasons Championship after years in the doldrums. Welcome to the Spiders Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens Park 3 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) Venue H2h v Queens Park Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 4 3 2 14 11 +3 Away 6 5 0 1 13 8 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 9 3 3 27 19 +8 League - (Div 3) Saturday, August 20th, 1994, 3:00 PM at Telford Street Park, Inverness Attendance: 1,500: Referee: M Pocock Ian Broadfoot reporting on our first ever competitive meeting against Queens Park. Caley Thistle's mid week efforts against Dundee had taken their toll and they went a goal down in 14 minutes - a McAllister header to McRitchie was short and Garry Orr took advantage with a goal from 15 yards. Four minutes later Maxwell made it two when he bundled in Edgar's corner. In 53 minutes McKenzie had rare chances for the home side but he hit the 'keeper twice. The match was over a few minutes later when a Garry Orr pass set up Graham who beat McRitchie with an angled drive. Two minutes later Maxwell headed a fourth. Full Time: 0-4 Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mike Andrew Mike Noble Mark McAllister John Scott Danny MacDonald Graeme Bennett Alan Hercher Paul McKenzie Wilson Robertson First Competitive Meeting Aug 20th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 0 - 4 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Jul 31st, 2010 League Cup (Rd 1) (H) 3 - 0 League Cup Match: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003, 7:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 968 This report comes from Ian Broadfoot back in 2003, the last time Queens Park beat Inverness in the Highlands. The Spiders gave Caley Thistle a dose of their own medicine when they produced a shock cup win away from home. Barry Wilson played for the first time following his return to the club. Queens belied their third division status with some lively play and they soaked up early pressure - a Steve Hislop drive was turned over the bar and Richie Hart hit the woodwork. It was not all one way as Ross Clark hit the bar at the other end. Caley Thistle scored in 26 minutes when Paul Ritchie turned in a Wilson cross but the lead only lasted two minutes. Bobby Mann brought down Clark and Steve Reilly converted the resultant penalty. Half Time: 1-1 Queens took the lead in 59 minutes when poor defending allowed a Reilly free kick to reach Ally Graham and he shot low past Mark Brown. With four minutes left Queens substitute Derek Carcary should have made it 3-1 but he shot wide with only Brown to beat. The drama was not over as the home side were awarded a penalty in injury time when Reilly handled in the box. Mann's kick came off the post. Full Time: 1-2 There was bitter disappointment in the home camp but no real complaints. Latest Team News Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are long term casualties. Wallace Duffy came off injured against Cove Rangers. Danny Devine has missed all the League Cup games and pre-season along with Sean Welsh. Eric's Queens Park roundup: Under new manager Owen Coyle, Queens Park have trimmed the Squad with more than 10 departures in the summer. Four players have arrived all on free transfer basis. Jason Naismith a right back signed from Kilmarnock Fc: Dom Thomas midfielder from Dunfermline FC: Pat Jarret an attacking midfield player, from Stoke City where he has gone from Youth teams to the U23 level: Grant Savoury who spent last season at Peterhead FC is a centre forward. Loan in: Josh McPake, forward (Rangers). Out: Jai Quitongo, forward (Greenock Morton); Grant Gillespie, midfielder (Greenock Morton); Michael Doyle, defender (Hamilton Academical); Stuart Morrison, defender (Queen of the South); Willie Muir, goalkeeper (Alloa Athletic); Peter Grant, defender (Clyde); Bob McHugh, forward (East Kilbride); Darren Lyon, midfielder; Will Baynham, forward. Loan ended: Luca Connell, midfielder (Celtic); Luis Longstaff, midfielder (Liverpool); Connor Smith, midfielder (Heart of Midlothian); Connor McBride, midfielder (Blackburn Rovers); Ronan Darcy, midfielder (Bolton Wanderers). Queens main threat will come from the now experienced Simon Murray. The thirty year old striker has previously been at Arbroath, Dundee United and Hibs. Dom Thomas will be an excellent asset and along with Louis Longridge will provide stability in the midfield.
  3. Hello Cove! We welcome new Championship club Cove Rangers to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon for our final group G League Cup group stages encounter. It's a 3:00pm kick-off for this game and we should see some familiar faces in the Cove ranks. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Ex Aberdeen players Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Last Time Out Cove surprisingly lost out 3-2 at home to Kelty Hearts. McAllister and Vigurs featured in that game with Fraser Fyvie and Robbie Leitch scoring for them. Shay Logan also started but it was Kelty that took the points, and they even had the luxury of Nathan Austin missing a first half penalty. Leitch's late goal made the score closer, but Cove were well beaten. Other group G results: Cove 1-2 Livi, Albion Rovers 1-2 Cove. Inverness eventually cruised to a 4-0 win over Albion Rovers. An early goal for Billy Mckay and a stunning free kick from Cammy Harper gave us the cushion needed at the interval. Another quickie a minute after the restart from Wallace Duffy impersonating a striker and a steal from Harper with his head ended the scoring to put Inverness in a strong place to qualify from Group G. Three wins for the Caley Jags so far over Kelty, Livi and Albion Rovers. The last time we played Albion Rovers thirteen years ago we also ran out 4-0 winners. Even better, we went on to beat Dundee to the Championship title and got promotion to the Premier League for the second time. Sounds good, let's have another bash at that. Cove Catch-up by Eric A corresponding fixture last season saw Paul Hartley in charge, however after guiding Cove to promotions through the leagues to the Championship he has been lured south of the Border to manage Hartlepool United. Hartley and his assistant left this summer after a fee was negotiated. Incoming manager is Jim McIntyre whose coaching career has included Dunfermline, Bristol City (first team coach), Queen of the South then Ross County September 2014 to September 2017 when he was sacked alongside assistant Billy Dodds. Most recently managing Dundee season 2018/19 but was relieved of duties after only 4 wins in 31 games. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Former Don's Shay Logan Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Incoming players so far are Evan Towler a 17 year old left back on loan from Aberdeen FC B, and Gerry McDonagh a centre forward once of Nottingham Forest Youth to U23 set up but after being with a number of English clubs has arrived at Cove on a free transfer. Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term casualties Here's Dodds... View full article
  4. Hello Cove! We welcome new Championship club Cove Rangers to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon for our final group G League Cup group stages encounter. It's a 3:00pm kick-off for this game and we should see some familiar faces in the Cove ranks. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Ex Aberdeen players Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Last Time Out Cove surprisingly lost out 3-2 at home to Kelty Hearts. McAllister and Vigurs featured in that game with Fraser Fyvie and Robbie Leitch scoring for them. Shay Logan also started but it was Kelty that took the points, and they even had the luxury of Nathan Austin missing a first half penalty. Leitch's late goal made the score closer, but Cove were well beaten. Other group G results: Cove 1-2 Livi, Albion Rovers 1-2 Cove. Inverness eventually cruised to a 4-0 win over Albion Rovers. An early goal for Billy Mckay and a stunning free kick from Cammy Harper gave us the cushion needed at the interval. Another quickie a minute after the restart from Wallace Duffy impersonating a striker and a steal from Harper with his head ended the scoring to put Inverness in a strong place to qualify from Group G. Three wins for the Caley Jags so far over Kelty, Livi and Albion Rovers. The last time we played Albion Rovers thirteen years ago we also ran out 4-0 winners. Even better, we went on to beat Dundee to the Championship title and got promotion to the Premier League for the second time. Sounds good, let's have another bash at that. Cove Catch-up by Eric A corresponding fixture last season saw Paul Hartley in charge, however after guiding Cove to promotions through the leagues to the Championship he has been lured south of the Border to manage Hartlepool United. Hartley and his assistant left this summer after a fee was negotiated. Incoming manager is Jim McIntyre whose coaching career has included Dunfermline, Bristol City (first team coach), Queen of the South then Ross County September 2014 to September 2017 when he was sacked alongside assistant Billy Dodds. Most recently managing Dundee season 2018/19 but was relieved of duties after only 4 wins in 31 games. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Former Don's Shay Logan Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Incoming players so far are Evan Towler a 17 year old left back on loan from Aberdeen FC B, and Gerry McDonagh a centre forward once of Nottingham Forest Youth to U23 set up but after being with a number of English clubs has arrived at Cove on a free transfer. Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term casualties
  5. Rovers Return Albion Rovers, infrequent visitors to the Caledonian Stadium, head North on Tuesday for an evening kick off in Inverness. The third Group G game for the Caley Jags has a 7:45pm start against the League 2 side. Inverness top Group G after two wins on the road at Kelty and Livingston and have a game in hand over Livi who share top spot on six points. Rovers have one win from their three games played, an excellent 0-2 win at Kelty where late goals from Sonkur and Reilly were the difference. They also ran Livi close before going down 3-2 and a narrow 1-2 loss at home to Cove Rangers. They do like a late goal, and came back well against Livi. Maybe a word of warning not to take the foot off the pedal. Latest Team News Sutherland, Walsh, Devine, Welsh, Duffy and Ram were all missing at Livingston. Eric's Rovers Roundup As you would expect from a bottom tier club there are no big name additions to the Squad, all below added on free transfers. Jack Leighfield, goalkeeper from Edinburgh FC Ayrton Sonkur a centre back from Stranraer FC Lewis Kidd right back, previously spent a short spell with Albion in 2021, more recently with Edinburgh City which he left at the end of January 2022. Michael Paton midfield from Brechin FC Kyle Fleming another midfield player from Annan Athletic FC Amaury Testa a French born winger both left and right side, from Caledonian Braves. Blast from the past We have played Albion Rovers 14 times with 9 wins and 4 draws and a solitary defeat. The last time we met Rovers was in 2009 and that was also in the League Cup. Here's our line up from that game, a 4-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium. Esson Tokely - Bulvitus - Munro - Djebi Zadi Eagle - Cox - Stratford - Hayes Rooney - Foran Subs: Sutherland, Ross, Proctor Goals: (Eagle 8, Rooney 16 Bulvitus 41, Munro 57) Crowd: 681 That was the season we ended with a flourish. Fifteen games unbeaten to pip Dundee to the title. Feck you Dundee you'll never win the league. Same again this season would be much appreciated. Maybe a bit of Deja Vu.
  6. Rovers Return Albion Rovers, infrequent visitors to the Caledonian Stadium, head North on Tuesday for an evening kick off in Inverness. The third Group G game for the Caley Jags has a 7:45pm start against the League 2 side. Inverness top Group G after two wins on the road at Kelty and Livingston and have a game in hand over Livi who share top spot on six points. Rovers have one win from their three games played, an excellent 0-2 win at Kelty where late goals from Sonkur and Reilly were the difference. They also ran Livi close before going down 3-2 and a narrow 1-2 loss at home to Cove Rangers. They do like a late goal, and came back well against Livi. Maybe a word of warning not to take the foot off the pedal. Latest Team News Sutherland, Walsh, Devine, Welsh, Duffy and Ram were all missing at Livingston. Eric's Rovers Roundup As you would expect from a bottom tier club there are no big name additions to the Squad, all below added on free transfers. Jack Leighfield, goalkeeper from Edinburgh FC Ayrton Sonkur a centre back from Stranraer FC Lewis Kidd right back, previously spent a short spell with Albion in 2021, more recently with Edinburgh City which he left at the end of January 2022. Michael Paton midfield from Brechin FC Kyle Fleming another midfield player from Annan Athletic FC Amaury Testa a French born winger both left and right side, from Caledonian Braves. Blast from the past We have played Albion Rovers 14 times with 9 wins and 4 draws and a solitary defeat. The last time we met Rovers was in 2009 and that was also in the League Cup. Here's our line up from that game, a 4-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium. Esson Tokely - Bulvitus - Munro - Djebi Zadi Eagle - Cox - Stratford - Hayes Rooney - Foran Subs: Sutherland, Ross, Proctor Goals: (Eagle 8, Rooney 16 Bulvitus 41, Munro 57) Crowd: 681 That was the season we ended with a flourish. Fifteen games unbeaten to pip Dundee to the title. Feck you Dundee you'll never win the league. Same again this season would be much appreciated. Maybe a bit of Deja Vu. View full article
  7. Olde Rivalries Resumed Inverness and Livingston meet up again with both clubs having previous as they made their way to the top divisions. This time it's a Group G League Cup encounter, or Premier Sports Cup for all you anorak's out there. Game is at Livingston on Tuesday night with a 7:45pm kick-off. The teams are level at the top of group G and this game could go a long way to decide who progresses into the knockout stages of the competition, something we have failed to do in recent years. However, let's not forget we are still warming up for the main task ahead. Tickets and Transport Info The Future of ICT Both clubs recorded away wins on Saturday as the season got underway: Inverness left it late before seeing off Kelty Hearts in a testing fixture at New Central Park. With six new faces getting game time for the Caley Jags it was an old head on familiar shoulders that scored the only goal in a highly competitive match. Substitute George Oakley scored on his second debut for Inverness in the last minute of the ninety to break Kelty hearts (see what i did there) Livingston were 3-0 up just after the break at Albion Rovers through Scott Pittman, Josh Mullin and Bruce Anderson. However, Rovers staged a fightback after Livi made a spate of substitutions and counters from Ayrton Sonkur and Michael Paton left them twenty minutes to get an equaliser. Alas for the wee Rovers, Livi held on to get the win. Venue H2H v Livi Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 9 4 6 32 25 +7 Away 20 7 6 7 30 31 -1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 16 10 13 62 56 +6 Decent record overall against Livingston. The last encounter saw Inverness knock Livi out of the Scottish cup on a landmark day for this club. A Sean Welsh strike was the difference between the sides. Most Recent Competitive Meeting - Click on score to show more stats and Highlights Feb 8th, 2020 Scottish Cup (5th round) (H) 1 - 0 Both clubs have come a long way since this first competitive meeting between the sides in August 1995. First Competitive Meeting - Cick on score and peer through your fingers... Aug 12th, 1995 League (H) 0 - 3 Latest Team News Billy Dodds used all six of his Summer signings at some stage of the game on Saturday. Unfortunately Max Ram was injured early on and Zak Delaney stood in for him. Danny Devine Wallace Duffy and Sean Welsh were not on duty and Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are out longer term. From Barry's coy interview, sounds like Welsh will miss out. Barry holding back.... Eric's Livi squad checker shows this: Manager David Martindale has added to his defensive options with signings Philip Cancar a centre back from Western Sydney Wanderers, Jamie Brandon ex Hearts right back and a defensive midfield player in Scott Bitsindou who came through the Anderlecht youth system and recently at Belgian second tier club KSK Lierse Kempenzonen. Up front Esmael Goncalves joins on a free, has previously popped up in Scotland with St Mirrren and Hearts. Dylan Bahamboula having been a Republic of Congo International player, once of AS Monaco and more recently at Oldham Athletic added to the attacking options. There's a couple we know plenty about. Andrew Shinnie, Josh Mullin and Joel Nouble. Shinnie left Inverness to join Birmingham City in July 2013. Josh Mullin was at Hamilton Accies last term and scored a screamer against us. Nouble was an important striker for Arbroath last season on loan and they missed him when he returned to Livi in January.
  8. Hey big spenders We're back! The season begins on Saturday with the group stages of the League Cup. This season it's known as the Premier Sports Cup and Inverness travel to the artificial surface of New Central Park, Bath Street, to take on newly promoted Kelty Hearts in a Group G encounter. The 'Maroons' have a good mix of seasoned professionals and some exciting emerging talent and that saw them promoted to League One last season as Champions with five games of the season still to play. Tempted by the generous wage income were seasoned campaigners like Kallum Higginbotham, Joe Cardle, Michael Tidser Thomas O'Ware and of course former Inverness striker Nathan Austin. All players who could perform at a higher level. The usual merry-go-round of players saw many leave Inverness for pastures new, with some new faces coming in to bulk out the squad. Out went loan players Reece McAlear, Logan Chalmers, Joe Hardy with Kirk Broadfoot returning to the central belt. Former Inverness and Clach defender Harry Nicolson has joined League of Ireland club Finn Harps. In come Stephen Boyd, Nathan Shaw, Zak Delaney and the man with the cool name, Max Ram. George Oakley has returned to Inverness after a three year hiatus. They will meet up with those still on contracts which will be the core of our squad. Shane Sutherland is out long term after his knee injury during the play-offs. Tom Walsh is another who will miss the start of the season. We also have an excellent youth academy with a number of players ready to break into the first team squad. Eric has been doing his homework: Kelty Hearts open the season with newly appointed manager John Potter, a one time Dunfermline, Clyde and St Mirren player who since retiring has been in a coaching role under Jack Ross at St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibs. He replaces Kevin Thomson, who resigned after Kelty lifted the Scottish League 2 title. The 42-year-old Potter had 20 games in charge of Dunfermline in season 2014-15 and later assisted Jack Ross at Sunderland and Hibernian. More recently, he coached at Queen's Park, who won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. They have added to the defence with the signing of Lewis Martin from Dunfermline on a free transfer. Up front ex ICT player Nathan Austin is in the squad, Nathan joined ICT Jan 2018 until summer of 2019 but had limited appearances due to injury. Experience in the forward line include Joe Cardle (35) of numerous clubs including rivals County season 2014/15. Also 33 year old Kallum Higginbotham who spent last season with Real Kashmir in India, and previously with Dunfermline. Latest Team News Daniel Mackay is the latest player to do the olde Peters & Lee as he has returned North on a season long loan from Hibs. That will be a welcome addition to the squad along with George Oakley, two players that we know will fit in with our work ethics and already know the routine up here. With Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh missing the start of the season, these will be ready made replacements to add to the other new summer signings. Scott Allardice will be like a new signing after he made his comeback in the play-off games at the end of last season. We still have the core of our defence with Duffy, Devine, Deas and Harper all available. Welcome home, welcome Come on in, and close the door You've been gone, too long Welcome, you're home once more TICKET INFO Tickets available now in advance via Fanbase and Pay at the Gate will be available from Central Park on Saturday. Kelty have said that there is no segregation in place for these matches Adults: £12 Concessions: £8 Under 16s: £4
  9. One Game Shootout Well well, after the drama of Friday night, it all comes down to this game in a winner takes all final. It's another blank canvas after a 2-2 draw at the Caledonian Stadium for the final game at McDiarmid Park Perth on Monday night at 7:45pm. We can thank Reece McAlear for that after his two stunning second half goals cancelled out two first half goals for the Perth side. We should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy free from suspension after the Willie Collum debacle. (I notice he was also rubbish in the Showpiece Scottish Cup Final as well. Seriously useless. Maybe VAR will make our refs pull their socks up). Unfortunately, Nick Walsh is allegedly the man in the middle on Monday. That also gives me the fear more than St Johnstone. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm. Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Here's our summary from CTO: An understrength Inverness struggled badly for an hour against a solid St Johnstone who took a two goal lead into the interval. Shaun Rooney and Melker Hallberg put the Saints in the driving seat. However, step forward Reece McAlear and take a massive bow. A thumping strike off the underside of the bar and an exquisite curling free kick levelled matters and gives us something to play for in the return leg at Perth, where we should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy back after suspension. It was great to see Scott Allardice back on the park on Friday. Along with the tricky Logan Chalmers and the rapid Austin Samuels he helped to get us back on track in the second half after a torrid first forty five where our tactics were a bit pear shaped as Dodds tried to match Saints 3-5-2 formation. Fortunately Billy realised by the interval that we needed to go back to a more standard 4-4-2. After an hour the momentum swung in our direction and up stepped Reece McAlear to thunderblast us on our way to Perth still in the tie. Who to look out for Glen Middleton caught the eye on Friday with his pace, willing running and workrate. Shaun Rooney is as powerful as ever as he bounced a few bodies off him. Melker Hallberg showed quick feet when scoring. In fact with St Johnstone seasoned campaigners in the top division, thirteen seasons now, that gap in stature was massive until we got to grips with the game. Once the belief was there, we turned the tide. All hands to the pumps on Monday, good luck guys.
  10. Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. ***Latest News*** Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he get's one, let's make it a Lionel Messi mask. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. View full article
  11. Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm . Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Buses are filling up fast MERRY XMAS DICK FROM THE WYNESS SHUFFLE We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here..... The Caley Jags way Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, Although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he gets a mask, let's make it a Lionel Messi one. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or ***Unfortunately, it's a complete whitewash*** There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road having fielded four seventeen year old debutants. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on when the push comes to the shove. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. 3 days to go until our Premiership Play-Off Final 1st Leg v St Johnstone We strongly recommend getting your tickets in advance for this game as it will be a busy fixture. Tickets on sale now from ICT FC Club Shop open until 4pm today Tickets available over the phone on 01463 222880 AWAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE St Johnstone v ICT FC cinch Premiership Play-Off Final 2nd Leg Monday 23rd May 2022 19:45pm kick-off McDiarmid Park AWAY FANS TICKETS FULL INFO ON ICTFC
  12. Friday the 13th looms... Not quite as drastic as the original Friday the 13th, but expect plenty of blood and guts on display as these teams battle it out for a Premiership showdown with St Johnstone after it was confirmed in midweek that Dundee are officially relegated. A goalless draw in the first leg means that it's a blank canvas for both sides in their quest to get to the promised land. A land of milk and honey, a land where riches, trophies and big crowds are mythical, but bottom six, relegation and empty seats a reality. The first leg was fraught with tension and anxiety in abundance, the first half especially. Logan Chalmers and Austin Samuels came close, but Dick Campbell's game plan of snapping at our ankles reduced us to making hurried decisions. Unfortunately these were mostly the wrong ones, and along with poorly executed passes, worked in the Smokies favour. They played to their strengths and we went along with it. There's a lot of hard work to be done on Friday, this time we need to be prepared to muck in right from the first whistle. CTO 1st leg summary: 0-0 Arbroath were up for this one shutting Inverness down high up the pitch in a poor first half. Logan Chalmers was nearest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the bar with a rasping shot from close to thirty yards. Inverness upped the pace after the break but it was too little too late. Sleeves will need to be rolled up on Friday from the start if we are to get through. The whole of the first half passed Inverness by as Arbroath were in our faces. That needs to change on Friday and it might work in our favour if Arbroath decide to have a go which will give us more space to exploit. So, who will prevail? Arbroath are the media darlings, and rightly so this season. The Caley Jags had their time, but that's consigned to the history books now. Beating Arbroath 5-2 with a hat-trick from the legend that is Alan Hercher in our first League game with the big boys on August 13th 1994. Feb 8th 2000, Scottish Cup glory in 2015. We've had our share. Arbroath can point to a 36-0 win over Bon Accord on 12th September 1885. As there was no TV, mobiles, WhatsApp or Messenger back then, not even teletext, the result never filtered through until the next day. So we'll take that as the 13th as well. 15-0 at half time, the game was over as a spectacle but they went on to score a further 21 goals. Bloody bullies if you ask me. We have never played Arbroath on the 13th since that opening day 5-2 win at Telford Street that set the club on their way. Bring on the 13th!!!
  13. First Leg v Smokies After an edgy quarter final play off win over Partick Thistle, we face Championship team of the season Arbroath on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Dick Campbell takes his team North as favourites to progress to the final, with St Johnstone being the likely candidates for the opposition. The game will also be screened live on the BBC Scotland channel. Arbroath have had a fantastic season falling just two points short of automatic promotion and finishing second in the Championship, six points ahead of third placed Inverness, and with a superior goal difference of seven, and losing only five Championship games all season. The one thing in our favour is that we beat them twice, the most recent a slightly flattering 3-0 win a couple of months ago. TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue H2H all comps Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 16 2 3 56 18 +38 Away 19 9 4 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 25 6 9 82 40 +42 This seasons meetings with the Smokies 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Interestingly, over the final six games of the Championship, Inverness were the team on form, finishing with a flourish ahead of the Play-Offs Overall Home Away Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 6 4 1 1 12 5 3 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 4 4 +7 13 2. Arbroath 6 3 2 1 13 6 2 1 0 11 4 1 1 1 2 2 +7 11 3. Kilmarnock 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 0 0 6 2 0 2 1 3 4 +3 11 Last time we faced Arbroath we were on an eleven game run of no wins since we thumped Morton 6-1 at Cappielow on December 11th CTO Report March 12th: 3-0: The spell is broken: A blistering start by Inverness put them on their way to a first win in 12 starts. Goals from Shane Sutherland and Reece McAlear set them on their way inside eleven minutes. Billy Mckay sclaffed in a third with twenty minutes to go and there was no way back for Arbroath who lost ground at the top of the table with Dick Campbell sent to the stands. As Partick Thistle lost to Morton, we closed the gap to two points behind them with Raith still one point behind us. Away to Rovers next week. That's a massive game now as both sides chase a play-off spot. I said to my grandkid's at the game "that was an emphatic win" At only seven years old, Ava said "granda, what does win mean?" Yes, it's been a long time coming... Well done Mark, great stuff. 68 clean sheets, that's some size of linen cupboard pal! TEAM NEWS Roddy MacGregor has cracked a bone in his jaw and could be out for the next few games. Tom Walsh is likewise after being injured inside twenty minutes at Firhill. Wallace Duffy missed the last couple after being injured against Accies on matchday 36. Scott Allardice made it onto the pitch as an injury time sub for the first time in months, so that's a positive and here's another one, Aaron Doran came on as a sub for the last half hour after taking a knock at Cappielow on matchday 35. A well deserved April's Player of the Month award for Logan Chalmers who has chipped in with some massively important stunning goals recently in our drive for promotion. He scored five goals in a five game purple patch starting with a match winning fiercely struck brace over Raith Rovers. He followed that up with a belter against Ayr United, a sweet winner against Killie and a wonderful solo thumper against Queen of the South. After a somewhat slow start, Logan has benefitted from more game time and you can see why he is highly rated by parent club Dundee United That's some left peg lad. View full article
  14. First Leg v Smokies After an edgy quarter final play off win over Partick Thistle, we face Championship team of the season Arbroath on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Dick Campbell takes his team North as favourites to progress to the final, with St Johnstone being the likely candidates for the opposition. The game will also be screened live on the BBC Scotland channel. Arbroath have had a fantastic season falling just two points short of automatic promotion and finishing second in the Championship, six points ahead of third placed Inverness, and with a superior goal difference of seven, and losing only five Championship games all season. The one thing in our favour is that we beat them twice, the most recent a slightly flattering 3-0 win a couple of months ago. TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue H2H all comps Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 16 2 3 56 18 +38 Away 19 9 4 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 25 6 9 82 40 +42 This seasons meetings with the Smokies 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Interestingly, over the final six games of the Championship, Inverness were the team on form, finishing with a flourish ahead of the Play-Offs Overall Home Away Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 6 4 1 1 12 5 3 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 4 4 +7 13 2. Arbroath 6 3 2 1 13 6 2 1 0 11 4 1 1 1 2 2 +7 11 3. Kilmarnock 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 0 0 6 2 0 2 1 3 4 +3 11 Last time we faced Arbroath we were on an eleven game run of no wins since we thumped Morton 6-1 at Cappielow on December 11th CTO Report March 12th: 3-0: The spell is broken: A blistering start by Inverness put them on their way to a first win in 12 starts. Goals from Shane Sutherland and Reece McAlear set them on their way inside eleven minutes. Billy Mckay sclaffed in a third with twenty minutes to go and there was no way back for Arbroath who lost ground at the top of the table with Dick Campbell sent to the stands. As Partick Thistle lost to Morton, we closed the gap to two points behind them with Raith still one point behind us. Away to Rovers next week. That's a massive game now as both sides chase a play-off spot. I said to my grandkid's at the game "that was an emphatic win" At only seven years old, Ava said "granda, what does win mean?" Yes, it's been a long time coming... Well done Mark, great stuff. 68 clean sheets, that's some size of linen cupboard pal! TEAM NEWS Roddy MacGregor has cracked a bone in his jaw and could be out for the next few games. Tom Walsh is likewise after being injured inside twenty minutes at Firhill. Wallace Duffy missed the last couple after being injured against Accies on matchday 36. Scott Allardice made it onto the pitch as an injury time sub for the first time in months, so that's a positive and here's another one, Aaron Doran came on as a sub for the last half hour after taking a knock at Cappielow on matchday 35. Well deserved April's Player of the Month award for Logan Chalmers who has chipped in with some massively important stunning goals recently in our drive for promotion. He scored five goals in a five game purple patch starting with a match winning fiercely struck brace over Raith Rovers. He followed that up with a belter against Ayr United, a sweet winner against Killie a a wonderful solo thumper against Queen of the South. That's some left peg lad.
  15. Time to Complete Job With only one goal between the sides, these two teams come to the Caledonian Stadium on Friday night (7:45pm) for the return leg of the Premiership play-off quarter final. The first game at Firhill on Tuesday night saw Inverness come from behind to take a slight advantage back up the A9. With away goals not counting double the tie is still in the balance. At Firhill Neither side were able to dominate on the tattie field and they went in goalless at the break although Logan Chalmers looked to be impeded in the box as he tried to get a shot away midway through the half. Robbie Crawford opened the scoring when he got onto a reverse ball from Brian Graham to shoot high into the net from inside the box to put Partick in the driving seat. Inverness turned it round in the second half with goals from Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels. So here we are back to the Highlands on Friday night to conclude this tie. The downside of playing on that pitch in such a fiercely competitive match saw Tom Walsh injured inside twenty minutes which is a great pity as he was starting to get back to his former self. We were without Aaron Doran, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor in the first leg, hopefully precautionary in Doran and Duffy's case. Roddy MacGregor might be out for the season. Scott Allardice managed a place on the bench but was rightly not risked on that pitch. Arbroath await the victor. Ahead of Partick game Highlights from 1st Leg The better surface at the Caledonian Stadium will benefit both sides. Scott Tiffoney is a tricky customer although David Carson stuck to the task well at Firhill, but he can be a handful. Brian Graham is always a threat in the air with his physical style and Danny Devine and Kirk Broadfoot need to watch him closely as he will try anything to gain an advantage, including diving in the box. We have our own players to look out for and Logan Chalmers has come on leaps and bounds since joining on loan, and he also has a lethal left foot. Players Player of the Year Shane Sutherland was MotM on Tuesday and is looking good value for his award. Austin Samuels has the pace to trouble defenders and our defence is normally solid. OFFICIAL PREVIEW & TICKET INFO Billy talking after win at Firhill
  16. No Hiding Place   It's Play-Off time:  There's no hiding place now as we enter the first leg of the Premiership Play-Offs at Firhill to take on fourth place Championship finishers Partick Thistle. After a Championship campaign that saw more ups and downs than fair fortnight on the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it's now crunch time for all the Premiership contenders. Arbroath await the winners of this two-leg tie after they fell just two points short of automatic promotion with Killie making the step up. What a season for Dick Campbell and his Smokies though. However, it's one game at a time and let's see how far that will take us. TUESDAY - MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 FRIDAY - MATCH/TICKET/HOSPITALITY INFO We come into the play-offs on the back of a resounding 4-0 win over Hamilton Accies in the final game of the regular campaign. With one or two rested, it was a great opportunity for others to stake a claim for a start in this important finale to the season. Not much was anticipated ahead of that game with Accies also a bit understrength, but Inverness blew Accies away with a four goal first half blitz. Gone were the long hopeful punts forward to be replaced by slick interplay and incisive passing and clinical finishing. A joy to behold at times as we bemused hapless Hamilton. Tremendous team goals from Walsh (2), Sutherland and a first for wee Joe Hardy enabled us to cruise through the second half without getting out of second gear.  Partick also rested players ahead of this one but they were turned over 3-1 by Ayr United. Expect them to be at full strength though when we visit as thorns in our side Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed out at Somerset Park. Venue H2H v Partick (all) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 9 6 7 36 33 +3 Away 21 5 6 10 21 29 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 14 12 17 57 62 -5   One win apiece and two draws is the tale of the tape this season. CTO Sep11th 3-1: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on... CTO Oct30th: Caley Jags pay the penalty 0-0:  Partick Thistle survived to earn a point after the woodwork saved them twice and keeper Jamie Sneddon denied Sean Welsh from the spot after guessing the right way. Inverness were well on top but it's only a point which means Killie pull further away at the top. Performance of the day was from Arbroath who came from two down to beat Dunfermline Athletic 4-2. CTO Feb9th: Late Leveller 3-3:  Partick Thistle struck early to add to our gloom through Brian Graham but Billy Mckay squared the game after twenty minutes with a close range finish from a Carson cross. Graham scored his second with a header soon after, Scott Tiffoney once again the provider and he almost scored one for himself but for a fine save from Ridgers. Shane Sutherland equalised just on the interval with a header from a McAlear corner. With twenty minutes left Deas conceded a stone wall penalty and Graham notched his hat-trick. Substitute Cammy Harper drove into the box but Sneddon blocked his shot and moments later Pearson appeared to hit the bar with an angled drive from twelve yards and Mckay rolled one past the post. We got the draw with the last head of the ball deep into stoppage time when Broadfoot headed in a cross from McAlear. CTO Mar4th: The slide goes on: 1-0  On a pitch resembling the aftermath of the battle of the Somme, Inverness blew any lingering hopes of promotion with another unacceptable performance at Firhill. Billy Dodds keeps telling us that training is going well. Stats will show something like nineteen shots with only one on target. What the hell do we actually practice? On the plus side, a cut and paste of his post match report will suffice as it's been the same story for almost three months now. Absolutely abysmal, the lifeblood seems to have been sucked right out of the whole team, management and long suffering support. Kevin Holt scored the only goal in the 85th minute after a low corner was driven through a ruck of bodies in the penalty box into the centre of the goal. Game over, season over and surely Dodds over and out! Apologies to Dodds and the team  we have managed to turn it round again and here we are, ready for the play-offs, but that 11 match run was a nightmare. ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg  Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Latest Team News Scott Allardice is the one long term casualty and Wallace Duffy took a knock in midweek against Hamilton. Some legs were spared in midweek but I would be expecting them to feature in the play-off games.  Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed the loss to Ayr United but will be important players for Partick in these games. Fans Player of the Year David Carson    Some of these would be much appreciated     View full article
  17. No Hiding Place It's Play-Off time: There's no hiding place now as we enter the first leg of the Premiership Play-Offs at Firhill to take on fourth place Championship finishers Partick Thistle. After a Championship campaign that saw more ups and downs than fair fortnight on the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it's now crunch time for all the Premiership contenders. Arbroath await the winners of this two-leg tie after they fell just two points short of automatic promotion with Killie making the step up. What a season for Dick Campbell and his Smokies though. However, it's one game at a time and let's see how far that will take us. TUESDAY - MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 FRIDAY - MATCH/TICKET/HOSPITALITY INFO We come into the play-offs on the back of a resounding 4-0 win over Hamilton Accies in the final game of the regular campaign. With one or two rested, it was a great opportunity for others to stake a claim for a start in this important finale to the season. Not much was anticipated ahead of that game with Accies also a bit understrength, but Inverness blew Accies away with a four goal first half blitz. Gone were the long hopeful punts forward to be replaced by slick interplay and incisive passing and clinical finishing. A joy to behold at times as we bemused hapless Hamilton. Tremendous team goals from Walsh (2), Sutherland and a first for wee Joe Hardy enabled us to cruise through the second half without getting out of second gear. Partick also rested players ahead of this one but they were turned over 3-1 by Ayr United. Expect them to be at full strength though when we visit as thorns in our side Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed out at Somerset Park. Venue H2H v Partick (all) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 9 6 7 36 33 +3 Away 21 5 6 10 21 29 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 14 12 17 57 62 -5 One win apiece and two draws is the tale of the tape this season. CTO Sep11th 3-1: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on... CTO Oct30th: Caley Jags pay the penalty 0-0: Partick Thistle survived to earn a point after the woodwork saved them twice and keeper Jamie Sneddon denied Sean Welsh from the spot after guessing the right way. Inverness were well on top but it's only a point which means Killie pull further away at the top. Performance of the day was from Arbroath who came from two down to beat Dunfermline Athletic 4-2. CTO Feb9th: Late Leveller 3-3: Partick Thistle struck early to add to our gloom through Brian Graham but Billy Mckay squared the game after twenty minutes with a close range finish from a Carson cross. Graham scored his second with a header soon after, Scott Tiffoney once again the provider and he almost scored one for himself but for a fine save from Ridgers. Shane Sutherland equalised just on the interval with a header from a McAlear corner. With twenty minutes left Deas conceded a stone wall penalty and Graham notched his hat-trick. Substitute Cammy Harper drove into the box but Sneddon blocked his shot and moments later Pearson appeared to hit the bar with an angled drive from twelve yards and Mckay rolled one past the post. We got the draw with the last head of the ball deep into stoppage time when Broadfoot headed in a cross from McAlear. CTO Mar4th: The slide goes on: 1-0 On a pitch resembling the aftermath of the battle of the Somme, Inverness blew any lingering hopes of promotion with another unacceptable performance at Firhill. Billy Dodds keeps telling us that training is going well. Stats will show something like nineteen shots with only one on target. What the hell do we actually practice? On the plus side, a cut and paste of his post match report will suffice as it's been the same story for almost three months now. Absolutely abysmal, the lifeblood seems to have been sucked right out of the whole team, management and long suffering support. Kevin Holt scored the only goal in the 85th minute after a low corner was driven through a ruck of bodies in the penalty box into the centre of the goal. Game over, season over and surely Dodds over and out! Apologies to Dodds and the team we have managed to turn it round again and here we are, ready for the play-offs, but that 11 match run was a nightmare. ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Latest Team News Scott Allardice is the one long term casualty and Wallace Duffy took a knock in midweek against Hamilton. Some legs were spared in midweek but I would be expecting them to feature in the play-off games. Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed the loss to Ayr United but will be important players for Partick in these games. Fans Player of the Year David Carson Some of these would be much appreciated
  18. Time to Prepare The last game of the season ahead of the play-offs has Hamilton Accies coming North looking to secure sixth place in the Championship. For Inverness it's all about game management and preparation for the play-offs to come, starting with an away tie at Partick on Tuesday 3rd May. Don't expect too much from the team as this result counts for nothing other than pride. MATCH/TICKET/STREAMING INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW It's a bit of a dead rubber as far as we are concerned with bigger fish to fry as the promotion play-offs begin on 3rd May at Firhill with the return leg at the Caledonian Stadium on Friday 6th May. However, we will have to go through the motions and hopefully get through this game unscathed. Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 14 4 4 6 21 19 +2 Away 11 6 2 3 17 13 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 25 10 6 9 38 32 +6 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) CTO Oct2nd - Academicals teach us a lesson: Accies did inflict the first reverse for Inverness, as the Caley Jags drowned at the fountain of youth, and they did it with ten men for over an hour after Reegan Mimnaugh was sent off for a second bookable offence. They opened the scoring when Lewis Smith thumped the ball into the net after only five minutes. Andy Ryan added a second as Inverness crumbled and failed to trouble the home keeper. 2-0 at the break and Inverness bossed possession after the interval but never made Fulton work for his money. Harper hit the bar as the pressure mounted and Michael Gardyne scored a late consolation in injury time, but it was too little too late. With Raith beating Killie and Arbroath drawing, no major damage was done with Raith and Partick the big winners this weekend. CTO Dec18th - Hyde: After an uneventful first half, Inverness slumped to their second defeat of the season to a rank rotten Accies when they surrendered a second half lead after Cammy Harper netted. However two goals in the space of three minutes from David Moyo and Andrew Winter ruined our day and knocked us off our perch at the top. I suppose it was only a Winter's tale, but it doesn't make good reading. That's our Jekyll and Hyde season in all its sorry glory... CTO Feb25th - Entertaining draw: Accies took an early lead through Josh Mullin after a defensive blunder by Reece McAlear. Great finish from the Accies player though as he arrowed the ball high into the net from twenty yards. We levelled when Sam Pearson scored his first goal for the club on the half hour and that's how it stayed at the break, although David Moyo almost got a touch on a low ball fizzed into the box just on the whistle. No further scoring after the break despite plenty of opportunities at both ends and Joe Hardy almost snatched it at the end with the last kick of the ball. Good point, but ten games without a win now. The season has been littered with some tremendous goals and here are the ones which made the shortlist for Goal of the Season. The voting closes at 10:00am on Friday morning, the winners of all awards will be announced at Accies game on Friday night. It's been a season of 'what could have been' after a miserable run of eleven games with no wins starting in December and picking up only six points from a possible thirty-three. However, we are where we are and it's the play-offs for us. Good luck to the Caley Jags when they come along! Who knew that a 6-1 thrashing of Morton would start it all off. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Kilmarnock 35 20 6 9 49 26 66 2. Arbroath 35 16 14 5 51 28 62 3. Inverness CT 35 15 11 9 49 34 56 4. Partick Thistle 35 14 10 11 45 37 52 5. Raith Rovers 35 12 13 10 43 43 49 6. Hamilton Ac. 35 10 12 13 38 49 42 7. Morton 35 9 13 13 36 44 40 8. Ayr United 35 8 12 15 36 51 36 9. Dunfermline 35 7 14 14 35 51 35 10. Q.O.S. 35 7 9 19 34 53 30 Last time Out Inverness secured third place in the Championship after a relatively comfortable win over Morton despite the narrow scoreline. We had an objective prior to the game and that was achieved when comeback kid Roddy MacGregor scored the only goal of the game with a tidy low strike from outside of the box as the defenders backed off. Accies failed to wrap up sixth place after a slow start to the campaign which will leave them with something to aim for in this match as they strive to keep Morton below them in the table. They lost 0-2 to Raith Rovers who are still chasing fourth although goal difference is heavily stacked in favour of Partick Thistle Latest Team News Please, no more injuries before play-offs View full article
  19. Time to Prepare The last game of the season ahead of the play-offs has Hamilton Accies coming North looking to secure sixth place in the Championship. For Inverness it's all about game management and preparation for the play-offs to come, starting with an away tie at Partick on Tuesday 3rd May. Don't expect too much from the team as this result counts for nothing other than pride. MATCH/TICKET/STREAMING INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW It's a bit of a dead rubber as far as we are concerned with bigger fish to fry as the promotion play-offs begin on 3rd May at Firhill with the return leg at the Caledonian Stadium on Friday 6th May. However, we will have to go through the motions and hopefully get through this game unscathed. Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 14 4 4 6 21 19 +2 Away 11 6 2 3 17 13 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 25 10 6 9 38 32 +6 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) CTO Oct2nd - Academicals teach us a lesson: Accies did inflict the first reverse for Inverness, as the Caley Jags drowned at the fountain of youth, and they did it with ten men for over an hour after Reegan Mimnaugh was sent off for a second bookable offence. They opened the scoring when Lewis Smith thumped the ball into the net after only five minutes. Andy Ryan added a second as Inverness crumbled and failed to trouble the home keeper. 2-0 at the break and Inverness bossed possession after the interval but never made Fulton work for his money. Harper hit the bar as the pressure mounted and Michael Gardyne scored a late consolation in injury time, but it was too little too late. With Raith beating Killie and Arbroath drawing, no major damage was done with Raith and Partick the big winners this weekend. CTO Dec18th - Hyde: After an uneventful first half, Inverness slumped to their second defeat of the season to a rank rotten Accies when they surrendered a second half lead after Cammy Harper netted. However two goals in the space of three minutes from David Moyo and Andrew Winter ruined our day and knocked us off our perch at the top. I suppose it was only a Winter's tale, but it doesn't make good reading. That's our Jekyll and Hyde season in all its sorry glory... CTO Feb25th - Entertaining draw: Accies took an early lead through Josh Mullin after a defensive blunder by Reece McAlear. Great finish from the Accies player though as he arrowed the ball high into the net from twenty yards. We levelled when Sam Pearson scored his first goal for the club on the half hour and that's how it stayed at the break, although David Moyo almost got a touch on a low ball fizzed into the box just on the whistle. No further scoring after the break despite plenty of opportunities at both ends and Joe Hardy almost snatched it at the end with the last kick of the ball. Good point, but ten games without a win now. The season has been littered with some tremendous goals and here are the ones which made the shortlist for Goal of the Season. The voting closes at 10:00am on Friday morning, the winners of all awards will be announced at Accies game on Friday night. It's been a season of 'what could have been' after a miserable run of eleven games with no wins starting in December and picking up only six points from a possible thirty-three. However, we are where we are and it's the play-offs for us. Good luck to the Caley Jags when they come along! Who knew that a 6-1 thrashing of Morton would start it all off. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Kilmarnock 35 20 6 9 49 26 66 2. Arbroath 35 16 14 5 51 28 62 3. Inverness CT 35 15 11 9 49 34 56 4. Partick Thistle 35 14 10 11 45 37 52 5. Raith Rovers 35 12 13 10 43 43 49 6. Hamilton Ac. 35 10 12 13 38 49 42 7. Morton 35 9 13 13 36 44 40 8. Ayr United 35 8 12 15 36 51 36 9. Dunfermline 35 7 14 14 35 51 35 10. Q.O.S. 35 7 9 19 34 53 30 Last time Out Inverness secured third place in the Championship after a relatively comfortable win over Morton despite the narrow scoreline. We had an objective prior to the game and that was achieved when comeback kid Roddy MacGregor scored the only goal of the game with a tidy low strike from outside of the box as the defenders backed off. Accies failed to wrap up sixth place after a slow start to the campaign which will leave them with something to aim for in this match as they strive to keep Morton below them in the table. They lost 0-2 to Raith Rovers who are still chasing fourth although goal difference is heavily stacked in favour of Partick Thistle Latest Team News Please, no more injuries before play-offs Here's what the club are saying in the OFFICIAL PREVIEW
  20. Job Done Inverness opened the scoring half an hour in through Roddy MacGregor with a low shot into the bottom corner from twenty-two yards. It was a half of few chances. The second half was similar to the first with chances at a premium, Tom Walsh maybe could have done better on the break but overall Inverness did enough to secure third place with both Partick and Raith also winning. Partick should remain fourth with a superior goal difference to Raith. Morton find themselves safe but Queen of the South are officially relegated with Ayr and Dunfermline battling for the drop zone play-off place. Congratulations to Cove Rangers who will be in the Championship next season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who would get the job done today? We fluffed our lines in midweek once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. Kilmarnock are now confirmed as Champions and Arbroath await the winners of third/fourth place play-off. Billy Dodds was without recent scoring sensation Logan Chalmers (five in five), Shane Sutherland and Danny Devine who took a head knock at Palmerston. Long throw specialist and tenacious left back Lewis Strapp returned to the Morton starting XI after injury with Gozi Ugwu and Gavin Reilly the big dangers up front. Billy Mckay got the game underway and with less than sixty seconds on the clock, captain Sean Welsh gave away a free kick in a dangerous position and was yellow carded. Cameron Blues free kick was on target but gathered comfortably low down by Mark Ridgers. Both teams probed for an opening in the first ten minutes and Aaron Doran almost got a good connection with his head on a curling ball into the box from David Carson, the ball bouncing wide for a goal kick. Doran then fed Austin Samuels into the box with a perfectly weighted ball but the striker wasted a great opportunity with an extra touch that ruined his prospects. Ridgers pushed away a ball that bounced through on goal with Ugwu almost getting his head on it. An excellent deep corner from Doran caused some concern in the Morton box but the hosts were able to clear their lines midway through the first half. A long ball forward saw Robbie Deas lash a left foot shot wide from the left side of the box. From a throw in on the right Inverness opened the scoring. Roddy MacGregor was given all the space he needed to stroll across the front edge of the box before drilling a low shot into the bottom right corner of Hamilton's net from twenty-two yards. Great curling strike! Morton responded with a couple of corners and Ridgers punched clear under pressure. A great burst forward by David Carson ended with Billy Mckay lobbing the keeper. Unfortunately he lobbed it over the bar as well onto the roof of the net. Morton fashioned their third fourth and fifth corner of the game after some sloppy defending but were unable to capitalise as the interval arrived. Half Time: 0-1 Morton wasted an early free kick opportunity and from that Inverness broke forward through substitute Tom Walsh, but he ended up toe poking the ball goalwards and Wilson blocked as Walsh ran out of steam. Morton were awarded yet another free kick approaching thirty yards from goal and Muirhead just missed the target with a dipping effort. One hour gone and Morton were starting to apply a bit of pressure as Dougie Imrie was carded, presumably for some naughty vocals. Tom Walsh volleyed into the arms of Jack Hamilton with the Inverness player slightly off balance and at the other end some last ditch defending cleared the visitors lines. A scrappy period of play with twenty minutes left littered with loose passes and petty fouls ended with Hamilton having to make a good save from a Robbie Deas header off Reece McAlear's curling free kick. Lewis Strapp's long throw-ins were a constant menace to the visiting defence but with ten minutes left they were still coping well with that threat. Mckay saw a shot deflected just over as Inverness saw out the game comfortably to secure third place. A needless late free kick for Morton saw Mark Ridgers save an Ugwu header and that was the last action as the game ground to a halt. Full Time: 0-1 Highlights from TON TV Welcome back Roddy Here's a bonus roundup from Johndo, the Chorley One Well as has been stated in other posts this was not exactly in the spectacle category but it was a grand day out as the sun beamed down on Costa Del Greenock and the vociferous band of Invernessian's congregated in the beach bar known as the Norseman and did not stop carousing until getting back on their transportation back to the big City. That bunch outsung the locals whereas the team only prospered by a single goal victory although the final margin really should have been more. Played some pretty patterns at times but slightly spoiled by the final ball or the final attempt on goal. The possession ratio of 54 / 46 % in our favour would have been greater if we had not settled for the 1-0 win with 15 minutes to go. That is my only real criticism of Dodds, as I certainly cringed at the "defend at all costs" attitude when a second goal was clearly on the cards. Our defence who had looked solid and rarely tested looked nervous and that fed on to the following support. Taking the ball into the corner with 2-3 minutes to got was a tad embarrassing. Still all is well that ends well. RIDGERS **** Clearly our Numero Uno. He just appears to bring that extra confidence to those in front of him. CARSON *** Well I have said it before but I still do not think that he is a full back. Gives 100% but prone to mistakes although thankfully only a few minor flaws at Cappielow. DUFFY *** Did well in central defence although he did appear to be getting a fair amount of "help" from his more experienced partner. BROADFOOT **** I often feel that he does not get the credit that he deserves. He may amble and look "slow" at times but his reading of the game is considerably more developed that any other pinkster. DEAS *** Does the job at full back but always looks more settled as a centre back. Height also adds to our defensive prowess. WELSH *** Must have been looking to take over the leading position in regard to the timing of a yellow card. The tackle did not look over the top but the referee could have been swayed by the Morton appeals. Did his usual midfield maestro job thereafter. McAlear *** I have been impressed by him previously but I suppose that we all have bad days at the office. Made numerous mistakes, especially in the second half, thankfully most in an attacking sense. DORAN **** What a shame that he looks as if his season is over. Very impressive in the first 45 and looked the most likely to set up a goal. Looked like a groin strain unless he had an embarrassing itch. MCGREGOR **** I proudly joined into the "He's one of our own" chant that resounded around Cappielow. He understandably tired in the end but lasted the 90. He just brings that extra energy and fizz so Welcome Back Roddy. Mckay *** Always a threat and suffered by being the lone forward - although the hoof tactic was rarely utilised as Billy had the guile of a more football playing midfield providing the ammo. He was often left 2-1 or 3-1 although he will probably be the first to admit that he should have got himself on the score card. SAMUELS *** Again had a bad day at the office. I was not sure exactly what his role was and I suspect that he didn't either. As for the substitutions, WALSH evidently came on earlier than expected. Unfortunately he needs a "confidence transplant". There were times that the Walsh of old would have driven forward but lets hope that he is refreshed for the play-offs. HARPER impressed in his 25 minutes. He simply provided the width on the left that was sadly missing beforehand. So it was another lovely Away Day - from the refurbished Horseshoe to the dilapidated Norseman to the Paisley Piazza, enjoyed with Govan Jaggie and GJ junior. And nobody from the Greenock gangland came anywhere near the Senior Citizen Crew. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts TABLE WITH ONE GAME LEFT 1. Kilmarnock 35 20 6 9 49 26 66 2. Arbroath 35 16 14 5 51 28 62 3. Inverness CT 35 15 11 9 49 34 56 4. Partick Thistle 35 14 10 11 45 37 52 5. Raith Rovers 35 12 13 10 43 43 49 6. Hamilton Ac. 35 10 12 13 38 49 42 7. Morton 35 9 13 13 36 44 40 8. Ayr United (home to Partick) 35 8 12 15 36 51 36 9. Dunfermline (home to Queens) 35 7 14 14 35 51 35 10. Q.O.S. 35 7 9 19 34 53 30 ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Date: 23/04/2022 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1717 Referee: Alan Muir Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie (60) Lineup: Hamilton; Ledger (Hynes 59), McEntee, McLean, Strapp, Blues, Muirhead (McGrattan 81) Brandon (Lyon 59),Wilson (Easdale 81),Ugwu, Reilly (Oliver 85) Subs (not used): Bysouth; Jacobs, Russell, King Scorers: none Booked: Wilson (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Broadfoot, Deas, Samuels (Harper 66), Welsh, McAlear, MacGregor, Doran (Walsh 49), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Hardy Scorers: MacGregor (29) Booked: Welsh (1), Samuels (40), Duffy (59) Sent Off: none a
  21. Points still required. Penultimate game before the play offs and it's another away day as we head to Greenock to take on Morton this Saturday. 3:00pm kick off at Cappielow and we still need three points to ensure third place in the table unless Partick lose as well. Anything is possible in this league. In fairness to Dodds and his team, we are more than capable of getting to the final of the play-offs, but inconsistency could be our downfall. Depends what team turns up on the day. I won't be too despondent should we fail to win at Cappielow, but come the play-offs, we must be at our best. Attitude, aptitude and commitment will be crucial to the outcome of our season. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717 Morton bus now leaving Caley Club at 9.15, stadium 9.30 Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 16 9 3 4 34 19 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 35 21 7 7 80 36 +44 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) An out of character 6-1 humping of Morton has been the highlight of our season, apart from that, the other two league games against Morton have been rubbish. They also knocked us out of the Scottish Cup after two draws and a penalty shoot-out. CTO Oct16th: Caley Jags open up a gap: Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? CTO Dec11th: Gubbed, at last: Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener when his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! CTO Feb5th: Absolute dross: What a shitfest of a game. We were an absolute shambles from the start and Morton were all over us like a rash. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal of the game after Chalmers failed to cover in midfield. When the loose ball was knocked forward, defender Strapp got to it first and poked it through Mark Ridgers legs. Pathetic stuff from Inverness and we did nothing about trying to change the way the game was going. A shot from Pearson the only thing of note over ninety minutes of a stop start game that would not have looked out of place at the Bught Park. We were clueless for 95 minutes and deserved nothing. No surprise really given our recent performances, but totally depressing stuff to watch. Both cup games were dire 1-1 draws with Morton winning the shoot-out. Incidentally, that 6-1 win at Cappielow signalled the start of our dismal eleven game streak of no wins, gaining only six points from a possible thirty-three. Thankfully Raith Rovers went on a similar run at the same time and Partick blew hot and cold, mostly cold so that's why we are where we are today. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts ***KILLIE V ARBROATH - FRIDAY NIGHT*** 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 34 14 11 9 48 34 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 34 7 8 19 33 52 29 Apr 23rd 2022 Queens v Ayr United Partick v Dunfermline Morton v Caley J Accies v Rovers Last Time Out We fluffed our lines once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston against a Queen of the South side heading for a lower division unless you believe in miracles. Josh Todd gave Queens an early advantage before Logan Chalmers scored his fifth spectacular goal in as many games. However we looked weary and Queens regained the lead five minutes before the break through Euan East. That's how it ended as we struggled to rise above mediocrity with Queens having the greater desire. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. They blew that opportunity after going down 1-0 at home to nearest rivals Hamilton Accies last time out who now find themselves safe. It was an early David Moyo goal that did the damage and left Morton still needing a couple of points. Latest Team News We rested some in midweek although you could have been excused for thinking that all were having a break. Allardice is a long term casualty and Broadfoot was rested completely after feeling an olde war wound. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine were in the wars, Devine cutting his head in a clash with the woodwork. I believe the post is ok and Danny was patched up. We have never been great at resting players, our squad is too thin to do that comfortably, so maybe we should just go for it and put this to bed. Read more in the OFFICIAL PREVIEW Morton have no new alterations since we last played them with Dougie Imrie at the helm. View full article
  22. Points still required. Penultimate game before the play offs and it's another away day as we head to Greenock to take on Morton this Saturday. 3:00pm kick off at Cappielow and we still need three points to ensure third place in the table unless Partick lose as well. Anything is possible in this league. In fairness to Dodds and his team, we are more than capable of getting to the final of the play-offs, but inconsistency could be our downfall. Depends what team turns up on the day. I won't be too despondent should we fail to win at Cappielow, but come the play-offs, we must be at our best. Attitude, aptitude and commitment will be crucial to the outcome of our season. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717 Morton bus now leaving Caley Club at 9.15, stadium 9.30 Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 16 9 3 4 34 19 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 35 21 7 7 80 36 +44 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) An out of character 6-1 humping of Morton has been the highlight of our season, apart from that, the other two league games against Morton have been rubbish. They also knocked us out of the Scottish Cup after two draws and a penalty shoot-out. CTO Oct16th: Caley Jags open up a gap: Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? CTO Dec11th: Gubbed, at last: Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener when his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! CTO Feb5th: Absolute dross: What a shitfest of a game. We were an absolute shambles from the start and Morton were all over us like a rash. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal of the game after Chalmers failed to cover in midfield. When the loose ball was knocked forward, defender Strapp got to it first and poked it through Mark Ridgers legs. Pathetic stuff from Inverness and we did nothing about trying to change the way the game was going. A shot from Pearson the only thing of note over ninety minutes of a stop start game that would not have looked out of place at the Bught Park. We were clueless for 95 minutes and deserved nothing. No surprise really given our recent performances, but totally depressing stuff to watch. Both cup games were dire 1-1 draws with Morton winning the shoot-out. Incidentally, that 6-1 win at Cappielow signalled the start of our dismal eleven game streak of no wins, gaining only six points from a possible thirty-three. Thankfully Raith Rovers went on a similar run at the same time and Partick blew hot and cold, mostly cold so that's why we are where we are today. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts ***KILLIE V ARBROATH - FRIDAY NIGHT*** 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 34 14 11 9 48 34 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 34 7 8 19 33 52 29 Apr 23rd 2022 Queens v Ayr United Partick v Dunfermline Morton v Caley J Accies v Rovers Last Time Out We fluffed our lines once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston against a Queen of the South side heading for a lower division unless you believe in miracles. Josh Todd gave Queens an early advantage before Logan Chalmers scored his fifth spectacular goal in as many games. However we looked weary and Queens regained the lead five minutes before the break through Euan East. That's how it ended as we struggled to rise above mediocrity with Queens having the greater desire. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. They blew that opportunity after going down 1-0 at home to nearest rivals Hamilton Accies last time out who now find themselves safe. It was an early David Moyo goal that did the damage and left Morton still needing a couple of points. Latest Team News We rested some in midweek although you could have been excused for thinking that all were having a break. Allardice is a long term casualty and Broadfoot was rested completely after feeling an olde war wound. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine were in the wars, Devine cutting his head in a clash with the woodwork. I believe the post is ok and Danny was patched up. We have never been great at resting players, our squad is too thin to do that comfortably, so maybe we should just go for it and put this to bed. Read more in the OFFICIAL PREVIEW Morton have no new alterations since we last played them with Dougie Imrie at the helm.
  23. Qualified We make the long journey to Dumfries on Tuesday night safe in the knowledge that we have qualified for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Unfortunately for Queen of the South they are all but relegated, and only three wins from their final three games can offer them some hope of a miracle that will save them from the drop. Tuesday night at 7:45pm is the scheduled start for this re-arranged fixture. Our goal will be to get enough points to remain in third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING INFO NO SUPPORTERS BUS TO DUMFRIES DUE TO COVID! Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 3 6 38 26 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 20 10 10 71 46 +25 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The stats are heavily on our side although over the last five meetings queens have faired slightly better with a win and two draws. Last five Championship games Queens: LLLLL ICT FC: WWWDW CTO Report 25th Sept: Gardyne volleys us to the top... 2-1Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Report 19th Nov: He scores when he wants... 1-2The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. CTO Report 15th Jan: Comedy of Errors: 2-2 Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Queen of the South v Inverness CT - Tuesday Night 7:45pm 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 33 14 11 8 47 32 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 33 6 8 19 31 51 26 Friday Night 7:45pm could decide who gets promoted ***Killie v Arbroath*** Last Time Out Inverness secured a play-off place with a deserved 2-1 win over a disappointing Kilmarnock on Friday night. Killie had taken the lead through Ash Taylor with a deft finish from a Kirk Broadfoot assist, after he miscued a header. Billy Mckay levelled with fifteen minutes to go and Logan Chalmers completed the comeback with a clinical finish; a low drive from 10 yards, his fourth goal in four games. That's some left peg lad. Queens plunged themselves perilously close to relegation when they were crushed 5-1 at Palmerston after having taken an early lead through Ally Roy. Arbroath overturned that before half time before running away with the game. The game before that Queens were unfortunate to go down 1-0 to Partick Thistle after dominating the game. Difficult to tell which side was going for promotion and which was facing the drop. Let that be a warning to the Caley Jags. Latest Team News Fairly clean bill of health for Dodds with only Allardice out long term. Lee Connelly has scored in each of the three games against us this season. Goes without saying that we need to keep an eye on him. View full article
  24. Qualified We make the long journey to Dumfries on Tuesday night safe in the knowledge that we have qualified for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Unfortunately for Queen of the South they are all but relegated, and only three wins from their final three games can offer them some hope of a miracle that will save them from the drop. Tuesday night at 7:45pm is the scheduled start for this re-arranged fixture. Our goal will be to get enough points to remain in third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING INFO NO SUPPORTERS BUS TO DUMFRIES DUE TO COVID! Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 3 6 38 26 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 20 10 10 71 46 +25 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The stats are heavily on our side although over the last five meetings queens have faired slightly better with a win and two draws. Last five Championship games Queens: LLLLL ICT FC: WWWDW CTO Report 25th Sept: Gardyne volleys us to the top... 2-1Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Report 19th Nov: He scores when he wants... 1-2The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. CTO Report 15th Jan: Comedy of Errors: 2-2 Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Queen of the South v Inverness CT - Tuesday Night 7:45pm 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 33 14 11 8 47 32 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 33 6 8 19 31 51 26 Friday Night 7:45pm could decide who gets promoted ***Killie v Arbroath*** Last Time Out Inverness secured a play-off place with a deserved 2-1 win over a disappointing Kilmarnock on Friday night. Killie had taken the lead through Ash Taylor with a deft finish from a Kirk Broadfoot assist, after he miscued a header. Billy Mckay levelled with fifteen minutes to go and Logan Chalmers completed the comeback with a clinical finish; a low drive from 10 yards, his fourth goal in four games. That's some left peg lad. Queens plunged themselves perilously close to relegation when they were crushed 5-1 at Palmerston after having taken an early lead through Ally Roy. Arbroath overturned that before half time before running away with the game. The game before that Queens were unfortunate to go down 1-0 to Partick Thistle after dominating the game. Difficult to tell which side was going for promotion and which was facing the drop. Let that be a warning to the Caley Jags. Latest Team News Fairly clean bill of health for Dodds with only Allardice out long term. Lee Connelly has scored in each of the three games against us this season. Goes without saying that we need to keep an eye on him. C'mon the Caley Jags, do this for Big Stew
  25. Champions in waiting     Kilmarnock head North looking to wrap up their return to the Premiership as they visit the Caledonian Stadium on Friday night. The game is a 7:45pm kick off and can be seen on council TV. The crossing of the T's and dotting of the I's is all that prevents the trophy being handed over, but the real battle goes on for second, third and fourth. Killie will be taking a big crowd North looking to close out the title. MATCH/TICKET/STREAMING INFO SPORTS BAR OPEN AT STADIUM The stats lean towards Inverness in this fixture but it's usually a tight affair. Home advantage could be crucial but Killie are hitting fine form at the right moment. We sometimes appear clueless, let's see what hat we wear on Friday night. Venue Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 11 9 4 44 32 +12 Away 26 8 6 12 36 45 -9 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 19 15 16 80 77 +3 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Killie 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) This Season It's advantage Inverness so far in the three meetings. Never more than one goal between the sides this season but Killie look to be rounding their season off in emphatic style whilst we are still trying to ensure we make the play-offs with some erratic performances, self belief not high on our agenda. CTO Report August 28th -Table Toppers: Both sides had won their opening three fixtures with Killie having the better goal difference. Both sides had yet to concede a goal; something was going to give, and it did after five minutes. This game had the potential to be the toughest test so far in the Billy Dodds era and it was a tight affair but Inverness scored the only goal of the game when Michael Gardyne lashed the ball into the net via the keepers palms. That proved to be the winner. Blair Alston nicked one off the outside of the post before the interval and Mark Ridgers kept Killie out with his 4th clean sheet in a row in the Championship after denying Innes Cameron from point blank range to put the Caley Jags at the top of the table on their own. CTO Report December 3rd - Table Toppers again: League leaders Kilmarnock looked determined to spoil the game as a spectacle and it was a first half of few chances. Mckay having a shot blocked for a corner by Hemming and Ridgers denying McKenzie. However, chances were at a premium and the half ended goalless. The goal that settled the game was a stunning strike from captain Sean Welsh and no more than Inverness deserved with Killie void of attacking intent. This result put Inverness back on top of the table for now. CTO Report January 29th - Rugby Park Loss: Inverness made the long journey home with no points after Kyle Lafferty scored an early goal after good work by Daniel Mackay down the right wing. What a kick in the teeth that was. Very little to choose between the sides as neither side dominated and clear chances were at a premium with Killie probably having the better of them. Without five regulars, this was always going to be a difficult ask, and so it turned out, but our recent signings look like they could offer something once they are up to speed. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Inverness v Killie (Friday night) 1. Kilmarnock 33 19 6 8 46 23 63 2. Arbroath 33 15 14 4 45 25 59 3. Inverness CT 32 13 11 8 45 31 50 4. Partick Thistle 33 13 10 10 44 36 49 5. Raith Rovers 33 10 13 10 40 43 43 6. Morton 33 9 13 11 36 42 40 7. Hamilton Ac. 33 9 12 12 37 47 39 8. Ayr United 33 8 11 14 34 48 35 9. Dunfermline 33 6 14 13 33 49 32 10. Q.O.S. 32 6 8 18 30 46 26 SATURDAY 16TH APRIL Arbroath v Queens Dunfermline v Ayr United  Morton v Accies   Partick v Rovers Last Time Out Killie saw off Dunfermline with a goal in each half from Kyle Lafferty and Oli Shaw in a one sided affair. It might have been a cricket score had it not been for Pars keeper Jakub Stolarczyk pulling off a string of super saves. The Caley Jags threw away a two goal lead against Ayr United last week with a less than impressive second half performance. Shane Sutherland opened the scoring with his tenth goal this season and Logan Chalmers curled in a beauty from twenty two yards. Alas once Ayr changed their personnel at the interval we were second to every ball and got what we deserved. In fact we were left hanging on somewhat and were lucky to claim a point after goals from Fraser Bryden and Markus Fjortoft. A better point for Ayr than it was for us. Logan's super strike... Latest Team News Killie have the luxury of a strength of depth squad and should have no fresh worries ahead of this game. They will also have the luxury of a big away support for this one and that 12th man could prove decisive. Billy Dodds welcomed Roddy MacGregor back last weekend with a substitutes appearance for the talented midfielder. Scott Allardice was the only missing player last week but Aaron Doran was replaced at half-time, presumably injured. Here's Roddy talking about his time out     View full article
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