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  1. Six Pointers are here Big game at the sharp end of the Table as rudderless Inverness travel to Rugby Park to take on 'all their eggs in one basket' Kilmarnock. Saturday 3:00pm is the scheduled kick off time which I'm certain that Killie fans will be looking forward to this with more optimism than the trepidated nail biting Caley Jags fans. Could be a long day... How we are still in the mix after an alarming run of games without a win is a mystery in itself. It seems to get worse when we struggle against teams in the chasing pack, yet we have beaten Killie twice this season already. OFFICIAL PREVIEW WHICH INCLUDES MATCH/STREAMING/TICKET INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 CaleyClub at 9.15 and stadium at 9.30 Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 11 9 4 44 32 +12 Away 25 8 6 11 36 44 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 19 15 15 80 76 +4 Last two Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Inverness won the first encounter at Rugby Park this season When a late Mich*** Gar**** goal stunned the hosts. The return fixture in Inverness was a tight affair and it was a spectacular goal from Sean Welsh that won the points for Inverness. That result put us top of the league and two points ahead of Killie after sixteen games. Arbroath were fifth, four points behind Inverness. Surely they would fall away... Click on the links above to read the reports and see the goals, both stunning strikes. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 22 11 8 3 35 16 41 2. Inverness CT 22 10 8 4 30 18 38 3. Kilmarnock 21 11 4 6 27 15 37 4. Raith Rovers 22 9 8 5 29 22 35 5. Partick Thistle 20 9 6 5 33 19 33 6. Hamilton Ac. 22 6 6 10 24 37 24 7. Ayr United 21 5 6 10 19 34 21 8. Morton 21 4 8 9 24 31 20 9. Dunfermline 22 3 10 9 20 37 19 10. Q.O.S. 21 4 6 11 21 33 18 Fixtures this weekend Friday 7:45 Morton v Rovers Saturday 3:00 Arbroath v Partick Accies v Ayr Utd Kilmarnock v Inverness CT Queens v Dunfermline Much has changed since our first encounter in September. Tommy Wright was binned in favour of the well respected Derek McInnes, seen as the man to lead them back into the promised land. Kyle Lafferty is the latest big signing along with the experienced Ash Taylor, the former Aberdeen defender. The slap in the face comes with the loan signing of Daniel Mackay from Hibernian. That one hurt somewhat. Another Hibee Dylan Tait is also a good bit of business for the Rugby Park side. Now here's the disparity... Not a club renowned for playing our hand early, we have loaned in three inexperienced forwards in Sam Pearson, Logan Chalmers and Joe Hardy. Hardy is the latest recruit and he comes in from Accrington Stanley until the end of the season. Going the opposite direction out the door are the disruptive Michael Gardyne, mostly injured Anthony McDonald and rarely seen loan signing Lewis Jamieson, who has been farmed back out to Clyde where I'm sure he will be well received and get some game time. Latest Team News Inverness have been dealt a couple of hammer blows on top of our already wafer thin squad frailties. Scott Allardice is out for the season and Danny Devine suffered a possible season ending injury last week against Dunfermline. Add those to current crocks Aaron Doran, Roddy MacGregor, and Billy Mckay, then we are down to the bare bones. More injury updates in official preview link at top of page. Even Later than the Latest News Inverness Caledonian Thistle can confirm the signing of striker Austin Samuels from Wolves on a permanent 18-month deal, subject to international clearance. Austin, 21-years-old, is an Academy Graduate at Wolves, having been with the club since the age of 10. While at Wolves, Austin has had loan spells with Kidderminster Harriers, Bradford City and Aberdeen. Austin is also a former England youth International. Austin becomes the club’s fourth summer signing alongside Sam Pearson, Logan Chalmers and Joe Hardy. Killie have strength in depth, and with tried and trusted incomers, then they have little to worry about. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Friday night, there's an u18 Scottish Cup Quarter Final at the Caledonian Stadium Free Entry The ICT Under 18s have a massive Scottish Youth Cup Quarter Final against Auchinleck Talbot U18s this Friday at the Caledonian Stadium. Entry is FREE via Gate Four near the South Stand, with seating available in the Main Stand for this match. There will be a Kiosk open in the Main Stand Concourse. Come down and support the Young ICT Players as the look to each the Scottish Youth Cup Semi-Finals! View full article
  2. Six Pointers are here Big game at the sharp end of the Table as rudderless Inverness travel to Rugby Park to take on 'all their eggs in one basket' Kilmarnock. Saturday 3:00pm is the scheduled kick off time which I'm certain that Killie fans will be looking forward to this with more optimism than the trepidated nail biting Caley Jags fans. Could be a long day... How we are still in the mix after an alarming run of games without a win is a mystery in itself. It seems to get worse when we struggle against teams in the chasing pack, yet we have beaten Killie twice this season already. OFFICIAL PREVIEW WHICH INCLUDES MATCH/STREAMING/TICKET INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 CaleyClub at 9.15 and stadium at 9.30 Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 11 9 4 44 32 +12 Away 25 8 6 11 36 44 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 19 15 15 80 76 +4 Last two Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Inverness won the first encounter at Rugby Park this season when a late Mich*** Gar**** goal stunned the hosts. The return fixture in Inverness was a tight affair and it was a spectacular goal from Sean Welsh that won the points for Inverness. That result put us top of the league and two points ahead of Killie after sixteen games. Arbroath were fifth, four points behind Inverness. Surely they would fall away... Click on the links above to read the reports and see the goals, both stunning strikes. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 22 11 8 3 35 16 41 2. Inverness CT 22 10 8 4 30 18 38 3. Kilmarnock 21 11 4 6 27 15 37 4. Raith Rovers 22 9 8 5 29 22 35 5. Partick Thistle 20 9 6 5 33 19 33 6. Hamilton Ac. 22 6 6 10 24 37 24 7. Ayr United 21 5 6 10 19 34 21 8. Morton 21 4 8 9 24 31 20 9. Dunfermline 22 3 10 9 20 37 19 10. Q.O.S. 21 4 6 11 21 33 18 Fixtures this weekend Friday 7:45 Morton v Rovers Saturday 3:00 Arbroath v Partick Accies v Ayr Utd Kilmarnock v Inverness CT Queens v Dunfermline Much has changed since our first encounter in September. Tommy Wright was binned in favour of the well respected Derek McInnes, seen as the man to lead them back into the promised land. Kyle Lafferty is the latest big signing along with the experienced Ash Taylor, the former Aberdeen defender. The slap in the face comes with the loan signing of Daniel Mackay from Hibernian. That one hurt somewhat. Another Hibee Dylan Tait is also a good bit of business for the Rugby Park side. Now here's the disparity... Not a club renowned for playing our hand early, we have loaned in three inexperienced forwards in Sam Pearson, Logan Chalmers and Joe Hardy. Hardy is the latest recruit and he comes in from Accrington Stanley until the end of the season. Going the opposite direction out the door are the disruptive Michael Gardyne, mostly injured Anthony McDonald and rarely seen loan signing Lewis Jamieson, who has been farmed back out to Clyde where I'm sure he will be well received and get some game time. Latest Team News Inverness have been dealt a couple of hammer blows on top of our already wafer thin squad frailties. Scott Allardice is out for the season and Danny Devine suffered a possible season ending injury last week against Dunfermline. Add those to current crocks Aaron Doran, Roddy MacGregor, and Billy Mckay, then we are down to the bare bones. More injury updates in official preview link at top of page. Even Later than the Latest News Inverness Caledonian Thistle can confirm the signing of striker Austin Samuels from Wolves on a permanent 18-month deal, subject to international clearance. Austin, 21-years-old, is an Academy Graduate at Wolves, having been with the club since the age of 10. While at Wolves, Austin has had loan spells with Kidderminster Harriers, Bradford City and Aberdeen. Austin is also a former England youth International. Austin becomes the club’s fourth summer signing alongside Sam Pearson, Logan Chalmers and Joe Hardy. Killie have strength in depth, and with tried and trusted incomers, then they have little to worry about. One that sticks in the throat somewhat is Daniel Mackay and to a lesser extent, Liam Polworth. Both will likely feature at some point for the visitors. Interesting joust between Kyle Lafferty Kirk Broadfoot incoming... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Friday night, there's an u18 Scottish Cup Quarter Final at the Caledonian Stadium Free Entry The ICT Under 18s have a massive Scottish Youth Cup Quarter Final against Auchinleck Talbot U18s this Friday at the Caledonian Stadium. Entry is FREE via Gate Four near the South Stand, with seating available in the Main Stand for this match. There will be a Kiosk open in the Main Stand Concourse. Come down and support the Young ICT Players as the look to each the Scottish Youth Cup Semi-Finals!
  3. 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. Tommy Wright was without Chris Stokes but had former Inverness midfielder Liam Polworth in his starting XI and his counterpart Billy Dodds fielded former Killie defender Kirk Broadfoot. Roddy MacGregor continued in midfield, with captain Sean Welsh on the bench amongst other strong attacking options. A bright afternoon and a healthy crowd greeted the teams as the game kicked off and it was only five minutes old when Michael Gardyne lashed the ball into the net via the keepers palms from the left side of the box around twelve yards out, Shane Sutherland with the assist. Immortal Howden Ender is back From CTO: When was the last time that we led a league after 4 matches? That was as good a vocal support at Killie as I have certainly witnessed. RIG sums the action up well but I have been busting to do a Smileymometer. Killie really did not look like scoring and we did look dangerous on the break. The only two negatives were that our final pass was abysmal and we could have racked up 4 or 5 otherwise. And I think that we could have employed swapping Gardyne and |Walsh on a regular basis (or was Gardyne played there because of Burke ?)Gawd do we look solid defensively. A structured back four and three or four making a second line in front and everybody pressing. Killie tried to play football at the back but let themselves down with hoof tactics when they ran out of ideas. It was also a good idea to tag team Burke (WWE style) early doors. And what a bunch of whingers the Killie fans are. It was as if they were expecting a non contact sporting event. RIDGERS * * * Did not really have that much to do but you can sense that his confidence is high and the players in front of him know that he will be there as a practical and reliable sweeper. Commanding is the word. CARSON * * * Still not convinced that he is a wing back. Gives 100% and gets stuck in but needs to learn the role. BROADFOOT * * * * Uses his head and experience to good use. The Killie hoof played to his strengths, DEVINE * * * * Pleasantly surprised as I was unsure about his return but he and Broadfoot complimented each other. DEAS * * * Had the task of shackling Burke. That did not come to fruition in the first 10-15 minutes but Gardyne gave him the support he needed thereafter WALSH * * * Played his role but wasted on the right. Killie evidently sussed that he is very left footed. ALLARDICE * * * Did not notice him at the start but he grew into the game and filled in a few gaps later on and added to the defensive structure playing in the hole in front of B & D. MacGREGOR * * * * * Thought that he was SUPERB, especially in the second half when he played further up. Some of his touches were SUBLIME. MOTM by a country mile GARDYNE * * * * Very impressed. Took goal well. Spent most of the match covering the danger of Burke. Ran his socks off and he an McGregor evidently are on the same wavelength. SUTHERLAND * * * * What he lacks in finesse he makes up for in effort and running, May well soon be a choice between him or Duku to partner Mckay. DUKU * * First time that I have watched him so I presume that he had a bad day at the office. I felt that he did not deal with the physicality. To be able to bring Welsh, Doran and Mckay off the bench - well enuff said Date: 28/08/2021 Venue: Rugby Park (BBSP) Attendance: 5004 Referee: Euan Anderson Kilmarnock: 0 Manager: Tommy Wright Lineup: Hemming; Naismith, E Murray, McGowan, Haunstrup, Alston, McGinn, Polworth (Armstrong 79), McKenzie (F Murray 63), Burke, Robinson (Cameron 30) Subs (not used): Walker; Sanders, Waters, Lyon Scorers: none Booked: Alston (75) McGowan (81) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Broadfoot, Deas, Gardyne, Allardice, MacGregor, Walsh Doran (69), Sutherland (B Mckay 86), Duku (Welsh 61) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Jamieson, McAlear Scorers: Gardyne (5) Booked: Devine (24), Sutherland (42), Allardice (88) Sent Off: none a
  4. The Killie Pie is back Top of the table clash this weekend as second placed Inverness travel to Rugby Park to take on Kilmarnock. The game kicks off at 3:00pm and away fans will be in attendance with the game also being streamed live by Kilmarnock TV for those unable to attend. Both sides have won their opening three fixtures with Killie having the better goal difference. Both sides have yet to concede a goal; somethings going to give... STREAMING £9.99 TICKETS MATCHDAY INFO FROM KILLIE Mark Ridgers contract extension Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Killie 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Biggest Victories Nov 5th, 2011 League (A) 6 - 3 Apr 19th, 2008 League (H) 3 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Feb 6th, 2010 Scottish Cup (Rd 5) (A) 0 - 3 Mar 22nd, 2008 League (A) 1 - 4 Highest Attendance Mar 10th, 2007 League (A) 7,630 Highest Home Attendance Feb 17th, 2001 Scottish Cup (Round 4) (H) 5,294 Venue - Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 9 4 43 32 +11 Away 24 7 6 11 35 44 -9 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 47 17 15 15 78 76 +2 Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Kilmarnock 3 3 0 0 5 0 5 9 2. Inverness CT 3 3 0 0 3 0 3 9 3. Partick Thistle 3 2 0 1 7 5 2 6 4. Arbroath 3 1 1 1 5 4 1 4 5. Morton 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 6. Queen of the South 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3 7. Raith Rovers 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1 8. Hamilton Academical 3 0 1 2 4 7 -3 1 9. Dunfermline 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 1 10. Ayr United 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1 Championship Fixtures this weekend Ayr United -P- Raith Rovers Dunfermline -V- Arbroath FC Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT Partick Thistle -V- Greenock Morton Queen of the South -V- Hamilton Academical Keepers gloves in safe hands. Mark Ridgers has penned a contract extension that will keep him at the club until May 2024. Mr consistency has been a top performer for Inverness since joining in 2017. His first appearance was in a League Cup group A game against Brechin City and he started with a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. 58 clean sheets later, he will make his 163rd appearance at Rugby Park on Saturday. Safe Hands Mark Billy Mckay is our top scorer of all time against Kilmarnock with nine goals. He does like a goal against Killie. Two goals last season for County in March against them went a long way to help keep County up and send Kilmarnock to the relegation zone. His thanks for helping to keep County up was a message telling him he was no longer required. Their loss is our gain. Latest Team News Captain Sean Welsh returned to action last week as a substitute and along with Billy Mckay got some much needed game time. Wallace Duffy and Anthony McDonald were longer term injuries and missed out last week. Roddy MacGregor kept his place in the team after a couple of great performances with Reece McAlear having to settle for a place on the bench. Kirk Broadfoot will be in line to face his old club. Killie offloaded around fourteen players after relegation, Kyle Lafferty possibly the biggest name to fall. However, many Killie fans believe this season's squad is better than the one that took the club down. Step forward Liam Polworth. He swapped the amber and claret for the blue and white stripes at Rugby Park and is bedding in nicely according to various reports. This will be the most stringent test so far in the Billy Dodds era. Killie have wins over Ayr United, Queen of the South and Hamilton Accies under their belt whilst we have taken out Arbroath, Raith Rovers and Ayr United all by the same score of 1-0. This post has been promoted to an article
  5. The Killie Pie is back Top of the table clash this weekend as second placed Inverness travel to Rugby Park to take on Kilmarnock. The game kicks off at 3:00pm and away fans will be in attendance with the game also being streamed live by Kilmarnock TV for those unable to attend. Both sides have won their opening three fixtures with Killie having the better goal difference. Both sides have yet to concede a goal; somethings going to give... STREAMING £9.99 TICKETS MATCHDAY INFO FROM KILLIE Mark Ridgers contract extension Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Killie 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Biggest Victories Nov 5th, 2011 League (A) 6 - 3 Apr 19th, 2008 League (H) 3 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Feb 6th, 2010 Scottish Cup (Rd 5) (A) 0 - 3 Mar 22nd, 2008 League (A) 1 - 4 Highest Attendance Mar 10th, 2007 League (A) 7,630 Highest Home Attendance Feb 17th, 2001 Scottish Cup (Round 4) (H) 5,294 Venue - Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 9 4 43 32 +11 Away 24 7 6 11 35 44 -9 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 47 17 15 15 78 76 +2 Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Kilmarnock 3 3 0 0 5 0 5 9 2. Inverness CT 3 3 0 0 3 0 3 9 3. Partick Thistle 3 2 0 1 7 5 2 6 4. Arbroath 3 1 1 1 5 4 1 4 5. Morton 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 6. Queen of the South 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3 7. Raith Rovers 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1 8. Hamilton Academical 3 0 1 2 4 7 -3 1 9. Dunfermline 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 1 10. Ayr United 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1 Championship Fixtures this weekend Ayr United -P- Raith Rovers Dunfermline -V- Arbroath FC Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT Partick Thistle -V- Greenock Morton Queen of the South -V- Hamilton Academical Keepers gloves in safe hands. Mark Ridgers has penned a contract extension that will keep him at the club until May 2024. Mr consistency has been a top performer for Inverness since joining in 2017. His first appearance was in a League Cup group A game against Brechin City and he started with a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. 58 clean sheets later, he will make his 163rd appearance at Rugby Park on Saturday. Safe Hands Mark Billy Mckay is our top scorer of all time against Kilmarnock with nine goals. He does like a goal against Killie. Two goals last season for County in March against them went a long way to help keep County up and send Kilmarnock to the relegation zone. His thanks for helping to keep County up was a message telling him he was no longer required. Their loss is our gain. Latest Team News Captain Sean Welsh returned to action last week as a substitute and along with Billy Mckay got some much needed game time. Wallace Duffy and Anthony McDonald were longer term injuries and missed out last week. Roddy MacGregor kept his place in the team after a couple of great performances with Reece McAlear having to settle for a place on the bench. Kirk Broadfoot will be in line to face his old club. Killie offloaded around fourteen players after relegation, Kyle Lafferty possibly the biggest name to fall. However, many Killie fans believe this season's squad is better than the one that took the club down. Step forward Liam Polworth. He swapped the amber and claret for the blue and white stripes at Rugby Park and is bedding in nicely according to various reports. This will be the most stringent test so far in the Billy Dodds era. Killie have wins over Ayr United, Queen of the South and Hamilton Accies under their belt whilst we have taken out Arbroath, Raith Rovers and Ayr United all by the same score of 1-0.
  6. Rugby Park firsts This first-ever win against Kilmarnock pushed ICT up to a new high of seventh in the SPL. After the disappointment of last week against Aberdeen this was a victory to relish. With Juanjo out injured for the rest of the season some reorganisation was required. Ian Black replaced Russell Duncan in midfield and Graham Bayne partnered Craig Brewster in the striking role. Ross Tokely overtook Charlie Christie's record with his 315th appearance. In the end just one goal separated the sides but chances were missed at both ends. Alan Combe tipped over a Brewster shot in only two minutes and seven minutes later Mark Brown pushed a Peter Leven curling free kick onto the bar. In 13 minutes Combe stopped a Stuart Golabek shot and watched as Graham Bayne's follow-up hit the post. Just after the half-hour mark ICT scored what proved to be the only goal of the match. Freddy Dindeleux hesitated, Brewster stepped in and found Barry Wilson in the clear. He rounded Combe and slotted home his tenth goal of the season from an acute angle. Kilmarnock fought back immediately but Brown saved from Gary Wales and Steven Naismith's angled drive from long range went just wide. Killie pushed hard through to the break but could not find a way through the ICT defence. Half Time: 0-1 The pattern continued into the second half and Brown did well to block a Gary McDonald effort in 50 minutes. Wales should have done better in 57 minutes when he failed to connect properly with a Naismith cross despite being well placed close to goal. Bayne had a chance to double the lead in 78 minutes after being sent through by Brewster but his shot had no power and Combe collected easily. Despite a late surge from Kilmarnock the ICT defence held firm and it ended 1-0. Full Time: 0-1 Caley Thistle continue to look upwards in the league with seven games left as the spectre of relegation continues to recede. There is now a 14 point gap over basement club Dundee United and an outside chance of a top six finish. Motherwell are six points ahead with two games left before the split and have a six-goal advantage. All this adds some spice to Tuesday's visit of the Steelmen to Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kilmarnock: 0 Team: Combe; Fowler, Hay, Lilley, Dindeleux, McDonald, Murray, Leven, Naismith (Johnston 65), Boyd, Wales (Nish 62) Subs not used: Smith, Dodds, Greer, Johnstone McGregor - Booked: Lilley Inverness CT: 1 (Wilson 32) Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Wilson (Duncan 79), Hart (Fetai 75), Black (Proctor), McBain, Bayne, Brewster Subs not used: Fraser; McCaffrey, Hastings, Prunty - Booked: Brewster (60), Black (70) Attendance: 4862 - Referee: Ian Fyfe
  7. Fox rescue's a point for 10 man Caley Jags A pulsating 90 minutes of football with four goals, a sending off and much controversy - the main one being Stuart McCaffrey's red card early in the second half. John Robertson re-instated Juanjo Carricondo into the starting line-up at the expense of Bryan Prunty who moved down to the bench. The home side began well and swarmed about the ICT defence. They were rewarded with a goal four minutes into the game. Stevie Murray picked up Craig Dargo’s pass and his left foot shot went into the net at the near post with Mark Brown seeming to get his foot stuck on the wet surface. The home side continued to press but ICT began to push more into the game and their perseverance was rewarded on the quarter of an hour mark when a short corner from Roy McBain found Barry Wilson and he fired home from the edge of the box. A slight deflection gave Alan Combe no chance. Ross Tokely had a drive well saved and Wilson also had an effort but missed the target by a good distance. The home side regained the lead just before the half hour and once again it was a defensive error that cost ICT dear. Grant Munro should have knocked the ball out for a corner kick but he allowed Danny Invincible to cross to Craig Dargo - his shot was cleared but Gordon Greer knocked the ball home from 14 yards. Half Time: 2-1 The second half got off to a sensational start with the ordering off of Stuart McCaffrey . A through ball was fed to Craig Dargo and he went down after minimal contact from McCaffrey. It looked accidental but the referee disagreed. Juanjo was eventually sacrificed as Richard Hastings was brought in to bolster the defence. ICT continued to push for an equaliser and the next substitutions certainly went a long way to making sure that Caley Thistle would take something from this game. The speed of Liam Keogh and the finesse of Liam Fox were introduced into the game with 15 minutes remaining and they made a massive impact. With eight minutes remaining in the game Liam Fox, making his second substitute appearance for the club, scored a tremendous equalising goal. He moved on to a Barry Wilson through pass inside the box and from a very acute angle fired the ball under Alan Combe for a stunning goal. Full Time 2-2 This gave ICT a share of the spoils and a vital away point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kilmarnock: 2 (Murray 5, Greer 27) Team: Combe, Greer, Lilley, Leven, Dindeleux, Locke (Joly 63), Invincibile, McDonald, Murray (Hay 76), Dargo (Naismith 82), Boyd. Subs Not Used: Smith, Fowler, Nish, Ford - Booked: None Inverness CT: 2 (Wilson 16, Fox 83) Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, Hart (Fox 75), Duncan, McBain (Keogh 76), Juanjo (Hastings 57), Bayne. Subs Not Used: Fraser, Prunty, Black, Thomson - Booked: None - Sent Off: McCaffrey (51). Attendance: 4,721 Referee: Craig MacKay
  8. A humiliating 4-1 defeat today against Kilmarnock makes it 6 defeats in a row and 10 games without a win. The solitary win in 2008 came against freefalling Gretna in early January. Its time for changes at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium but will anyone have the balls to step up and make them...... 22/03/08 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK 4 Wright (38), Bryson (50, 56), Flannigan (64) Team: Combe, Lilley, Hay, Wright, Clancy, Fowler, Bryson, Flannigan, Taouil, Invincible, Fernandez SUBS: Di Giacamo, Wales, Hamill, Morgan, Johnston, O'Leary, Harpur INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 1 Black (14pen) Team: Fraser, Tokely, McGuire, Munro, Proctor, Vigurs (Hart 62), Black, Duncan, McBain (Imrie 73), Bayne, Niculae (McAllister 77) SUBS: Cowie, Kerr, Hastings, Malkowski Referee Stephen Finnie Attendance 5100 tm4tj said: I did some hoovering, washed some dishes, picked the wife up from the shops, sat down and we had gone from 0-1 to 4-1. I almost left early, then I realised I was already at home.... From CTO: That long trip up the M77/A9 in the snow seems an awful lot harder when your team has just had a 4-1 pasting! I can't fault the team for effort. They tried but there was a big hole in front of the defenders which allowed Killie to run riot in the second half. Also, there seems to be an understandable lack of confidence with all the recent defeats and this was obvious in the last third of the field. Bursting forward from the halfway line didn't seem a problem but as soon as there was any pressure from the Killie defence, ideas would run out and the ball would be given away cheaply - again and again. My usual moan is that they are afraid to have a shot from distance but I couldn't fault them for that on this occasion (not that it happened often). There was a clear lack of cohesion today, set-pieces were wasted, second-half passing was atrocious and our team look like a mid-table First Division outfit struggling against better quality players in a genuine SPL team. As someone said above, we have made a habit of signing lower league players who will never be SPL standard. Can't fault the effort - just the quality is not there with a number of them. Our first half performance was reasonable though and I thought David Proctor had a very good first 45 minutes. We were doing fine before Christmas but I genuinely think all this contract signing hoo-haa has seriously affected team spirit and individual performances and has allowed certain players to think they are an awful lot better than they actually are. When these players have 26 caps for their country then I will understand why they should be holding out for a similar deal to the one Marius Niculae has. On the positive side - I was really impressed with the Rugby Park stadium (my first visit there). I thought the Killie folk (including the stewards) were really friendly. And the Killie pies ARE indeed as good as they are hyped up to be. I also had a chat with Jim Jeffries when he stopped to give my wee fella an autograph. He most definitely rates as one of the nicest and most pleasant guys I have ever met in football - a real gentleman!! Resident analyst Alternative Maryhill said: Amazed A96 managed to draw any positives out of that at all. It was deeply humiliating. We were just about passable in the first half, but having said that, we looked like we were playing a team even lower in confidence than us. Killie looked tentative whenever they had the ball. There was a bit of luck about their equaliser, but the moment their second went in it just felt like that they, their fans and our fans knew we were there for the taking. After 4 it looked like it was going to be 6 or 7. I have to disagree with the comment about not being able to fault the players for effort too - I didn't see too many throwing themselves into tackles, chasing every 50-50 and looking determined to rescue the game. McBain seemed to be hiding and I don't recall Bayne, surprisingly, doing much chasing back. Duncan set himself new standards for the ineptitude of his passing. Niculae and Black, as usual, started brightly and looked inventive but by half time had been dragged into the mediocrity of it all. Still wouldn't have subbed Niculae, but as the whole occasion was characterised by tactical idiocy from Mr Brewster, at least he was being consistent when he hooked Marius. Just three examples of Brewster's cretinous tactics: 1. If anyone can explain to me the wisdom of dropping Cowie and forcing Tokely, in effect, to have to run the entire length of the touchline for the whole game, I'd be happy to listen. Tokely did fight for the shirt yesterday, but he's too one-dimensional going forward to bring any real invention, and we did look exposed at the back. This 3-5-2 thing stops working when you're behind and both having to defend and trying to get goals back - all you end up with is knackered wide players who are neither fish nor fowl. 2. Why put Vigurs into a team which is already so low on confidence? There's no way he was going to make a significant difference. At times yesterday he looked quite classy on the ball and certainly looked like he was trying to make passes, but there didn't seem to be anyone really looking for it. Hiding, as I said earlier. If we had to change things, and we did, yesterday was surely a day for players with some experience but something to prove - Hart (who at least showed the right attitude when he did get on), Markus, Dennis. 3. Can anyone point to an occasion when the Bayne - Niculae partnership has been an unqualified success? I've not been to any home games this season so I may have missed occasions when they looked good together, but I've never seen it and it certainly isn't working now. The best performances I've seen this season have all, to my recollecton, had Marius partnering Wyness up front and Rankin wide left. So why not go back to tha... oh, I forgot. We can't. Because you sold Rankin and you've effectively pushed Wyness out of the club. Nice one. The second half was, I think, in 12 or 13 years of attending games, the most spineless and depressing performance I've witnessed from a Caley side, and that includes the Morton and Airdrie circuses mentioned by Arbroath Awayday. That bad. Don't know if there's any point in getting shot of CB now, purely because I don't see a replacement and it would be folly to panic and stick any old applicant in, but the thought of him still being here next season makes me shudder and relegation, on yesterday's evidence and given the recent travesties in man-management, would be highly likely.
  9. Its always worrying when you hear your opponents are struggling to field a full strength side, that the bookies have made you favourites and that a lot of money has been placed on your team to win. These things are often a recipe for disaster as the understrength side go on to play well and defy the bookies odds, and the so-called favourites seem blasé that they just have to turn up to win. With the benefit of hindsight, the statisticians or the more cautious amongst us would perhaps have looked to previous results and know that 5 of the previous 10 SPL fixtures between the sides had ended in score draws. 05/10/07 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK 2 Koudou (1), Nish (56) Team: Combe, Fowler, Wright, Lilley, Ford, Flannigan (Locke 87), Gibson, Bryson, Hammill, Koudou (Jarvis 70), Nish Subs: Noble, Murray, Rascle INVERNESS CT 2 Ford (22 og), Cowie (61) Team: Fraser, Tokely, McGuire, Munro, McBain, Wilson (Hastings 80), Black, Duncan, Cowie, Niculae (Bayne 63), Wyness (D McDonald 86) Subs: Proctor, Vigurs, Kerr, Malkowski Referee Iain Brines Attendance 4456 Its always worrying when you hear your opponents are struggling to field a full strength side, that the bookies have made you favourites and that a lot of money has been placed on your team to win. These things are often a recipe for disaster as the understrength side go on to play well and defy the bookies odds, and the so-called favourites seem blasé that they just have to turn up to win. With the benefit of hindsight, the statisticians or the more cautious amongst us would perhaps have looked to previous results and know that 5 of the previous 10 SPL fixtures between the sides had ended in score draws. And so it was on Saturday …. Kilmarnock fielded a side that was certainly not ‘first choice’, naming only 5 substitutes, and conceding that only one of those could last more than 10-15 minutes if called upon. Caley Thistle on the other hand, with an unchanged starting 11 from the one that beat Falkirk 4-2 the previous week, underperformed and the end result was a 2-2 draw. Within a minute of the kick-off, Mike Fraser had conceded a horrendous goal. Craig Bryson hit an effort from 20 yards and Fraser judged it to be going out. Unfortunately his judgement was wrong and he could only push it onto the post where it bounced out into the path of Aime Koudou who had the easiest of tap-ins to make it 1-0. Barry Wilson shot wide in 10 minutes and then in 18 minutes a neat one-two between Wyness and Niculae ended with a fierce shot from Wyness that was well saved by Combe. The 21st minute equaliser was equally strange. Fraser Wright sliced a clearance on the edge of the box under no real pressure from Wyness and there seemed to be a mix-up between Simon Ford and Alan Combe. Combe was coming for the ball, but Ford tried to head it back to where he had been seconds earlier and despite Combe scrambling back he couldn’t stop it as it rolled into the net to make it 1-1. Further chances fell to both sides in the first half with both Lilley and Bryson coming close for the home side and Don Cowie coming close for ICT but it ended all square. Half Time: 1-1 If the first half goals were weird, the second half goals seemed a little more orthodox in nature ! Marius Niculae had the first real chance of the second half and forced a good save out of Combe in 48 minutes but it was Colin Nish who would put Killie in front again after 55 minutes with a route one goal. A long kickout from Combe bounced deep inside the ICT half and Fraser opted to come out for it. Unfortunately for Ike, it was met by the head of Nish at the edge of the box and he headed it over him to make it 2-1. Five minutes later, Caley Thistle got back on level terms through Don Cowie. The close season signing from Ross County who has been in sensational form since his move to ICT blasted a 25-yard free kick round the wall and into the top right corner past the helpless Combe. A goal of real quality that later had manager Brewster proclaiming it as “top drawer”. As the game drew to a close both sides had chances to win it with Ryan Jarvis having a good chance for Killie and Graham Bayne coming the closest for ICT. Full Time: 2-2
  10. Killie and the Caley Jags served up another game with a load of goals but unfortunately - like the last game between the sides - it was Killie who got the higher tally. Club Historian Ian Broadfoot supplies the official report from Rugby Park. KILMARNOCK 3-2 ICT 10th March 2007 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK 3 (Di Giacamo 17, 27, Naismith 40) Team: Smith, Murray (Locke 79), Greer, Wright, Hay, Di Giacamo, Fowler, Johnston, Leven (Wales 85), Nish, Naismith Subs: Koudou, Gibson, Quinn, O'Leary & Harpur INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC 2 (Paatelainen 10, Dods 47) Team: Fraser, Tokely, McCaffrey, Dods, Hastings, Wilson (Hart 76), Black (Sutherland 76), Duncan, Paatelainen, Bayne, McSwegan (McAllister 79) Subs: Morgan, Rankin, Soane & Ridgers Referee Alan Freeland Attendance 7630 With Celtic cemented at the top of the SPL this was the day that the top six was determined and the relegation spot assigned to Dunfermline. Barring mathematical miracles Caley Thistle cannot now catch Kilmarnock and must be content with a lower-level but safe position. Dunfermline could only draw with St Mirren so will go down – again barring an extraordinary sequence of results. At the start of the day, seventh placed ICT faced sixth placed Kilmarnock with six points between them. The visitors had Grant Munro suspended and Roy McBain still injured so Charlie Christie had to ring the changes. "I thought we deserved to take something out of the game" said Charlie Christie. "In the second half I thought we pinned Kilmarnock back for the vast majority of it". As expected Stuart McCaffrey came into central defence but there were surprises with first starts for Gary McSwegan and Markus Paatelainen. All three acquitted themselves well but it was the young Finn who particularly caught the eye as he grabbed his first goal for the club in the tenth minute. It was not to prove enough and by half time Killie held a 3-1 lead. This was pulled back to 3-2 but despite great efforts it stayed that way. CIS Cup finalists Kilmarnock attracted a large crowd for this crunch game but it was the small knot of ICT supporters that celebrated first in ten minutes. Richard Hastings powered down the left wing, crossed into the centre and Markus Paatelainen’s looping header from 12 yards defeated Graeme Smith for 1-0. The lead lasted just seven minutes when a Peter Leven long throw bounced high over the defence and Paul Di Giacomo touched it for 1-1. In 27 minutes Killie took the lead when Mike Fraser pushed away a Steven Naismith volley and Di Giacomo hit home the rebound via the bar. Five minutes from the break a Grant Murray cross was partly cleared, returned into the box by Di Giacomo and Naismith spectacularly sent an overhead kick low into the corner for 3-1 to the home side. Half Time: 3-1 That could have been it but Caley Thistle came out fighting in the second half and took just three minutes to make it 3-2. A McSwegan 30 yard shot was tipped over by Graeme Smith and Barry Wilson’s corner from the right was headed in by Darren Dods via a touch off a defender. On the hour mark Dods had a chance but hooked wide of the post then Di Giacomo did the same at the other end. Paatelainen cleared a Gordon Greer header off the ICT line in 72 minutes then the visitors made two substitutions. Zander Sutherland replaced the booked Ian Black and Richie Hart came on for Barry Wilson. Rory McAllister, just named in the Scotland under 20 squad, replaced Gary McSwegan and Killie club captain Gary Locke took the field with Grant Murray departing. Despite these moves a strong ICT finish came to nothing. A Paatelainen shot was saved by the foot of Graeme Smith, Ross Tokely hit over from 25 yards, a Richie Hart corner was headed on by Dods but cleared then another Hart corner went harmlessly for a goal kick. Alan Johnston shot wide at the other end in the closing seconds of the regulation 90 minutes. This took pressure off the Killie defence then there were three added minutes which stretched to four. A long Mike Fraser free kick was taken by Graeme Smith and time was nearly up. After 94 minutes a Richard Hastings free kick was knocked on by Ross Tokely, cleared by the Killie defence and that was it. Full Time: 3-2 Kilmarnock now go into next week’s CIS Cup final with a top six SPL finish assured and Caley Thistle remain seventh.
  11. KILMARNOCK 1-1 ICT Last season there were 3 entertaining draws between the sides and it has started in a familiar fashion this season. Colin Nish scored for Kilmarnock in 7 minutes and Craig Dargo levelled it in the 19th. Although Dominating the second half, Caley Thistle had Mark Brown to thank for a world class save in the final minute that would have undeservedly won it for Killie. 23rd September 2006 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK 1 (Nish 7) Team: Smith, Fowler, Lilley, Hay, G Murray, F Wright, Invincible (S Murray 75), Nish, Johnston, Wales, Fernandez (Di Giacomo 83) Subs – O’Leary, Leven, I Campbell, Adams & Harpur INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC 1 (Dargo 19) Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson, Black (Hart 46), Rankin, McBain, Dargo (McAllister 90), Bayne Subs – McCaffrey, Duncan, Keogh, Sutherland & Fraser Referee Mike McCurry Attendance 4809 Man of the Match Colin Nish (Kilmarnock) With three league draws last season between these sides those of a betting persuasion could justifiably have put money on a share of the points – and they would have been right. After the midweek cup defeat to Falkirk Charlie Christie reinstated John Rankin and Ian Black to the starting line-up although Black was substituted at half time to avoid a possible second yellow card. Craig Dargo returned to haunt his old club with the equaliser and he came very close to scoring a winner. He was initially castigated for a bad miss 20 minutes from time but his claim of a fine Graeme Smith save was upheld by TV pictures. In the opening minutes Black hit just over the Killie bar then a Gary Wales strike at the other end was deflected for a corner. Killie took a seventh minute lead when Colin Nish pushed through a packed defence to head in a David Fernandez corner. Dargo’s goal came in nineteen minutes when a long throw from Grant Munro on the right was headed on by Darren Dods and Dargo netted from a difficult angle beyond the far post. In 37 minutes Graham Bayne appeared to be sandwiched in the Killie box but referee Mike McCurry did not agree. Half Time 1-0 Richie Hart replaced Black in the second half and the visitors pressed hard. Graham Bayne headed wide from 12 yards then Dargo headed over and hit the post. The Inverness side’s best chance of a winner came in 70 minutes when a low Richie Hart drive was spilled by Smith and Dargo nipped in to hopefully touch in the rebound – somehow Smith recovered enough to push the ball onto the post and the danger was averted. Hart then had a 12 yard shot deflected for a corner. The save of the season came in the final minute when Frazer Wright took an Alan Johnston cross and his downwards header seemed destined to bring the winner – Mark Brown dived to save with an impressed BBC radio commentator comparing it to Gordon Banks at his best. Full Time: 1-1 A good point on the road but a minor slip to ninth spot.
  12. Bayne and Dargo score as Caley Thistle draw 2-2 with Kilmarnock. This game also saw Juanjo make his first appearance of the season as a late second half substitute. Saturday 19th November 2005 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK FC 2 (Boyd 54, Naismith 56) Team: Combe, Fowler, Wright, Greer, Ford, Hay, Invincibile (Murray 81), Johnston, Dodds (Nish 46), Naismith (Wales 80), Boyd Subs: McDonald, Campbell, Pronevych, Smith INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC 2 (Bayne 30, Dargo 77) Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Proctor, Black (Fox 77), Duncan, Wilson, Bayne (Brewster 80), Dargo (83 Juanjo) Subs: Hart, Wyness, Morgan, Fraser Referee A Freeland Attendance 4708 Man of the Match Info Not Provided A good away point from a game that started well but nearly slipped away from Caley Thistle. The Graham Bayne/Craig Dargo strike partnership came up trumps with a goal each – Dargo came back to haunt his former club with a 77th minute equaliser after Caley Thistle had taken a first half lead then surrendered it to two goals early in the second half. Craig Brewster stayed with the starting line-up from the disappointing Livingston cup tie but gave himself a place on the bench. Kilmarnock created very little in the first half but Mark Brown did have to look lively in ten minutes to clear ahead of Kris Boyd. Two minutes later ex-Killie striker Dargo came close when he forced an excellent one-handed save from Alan Combe. Caley Thistle deservedly took a 1-0 lead through Bayne on the half hour mark. Ian Black’s pass reached Dargo but he chose to set up his strike partner – Bayne slid the ball home from 15 yards. Richard Hastings and Russell Duncan both had chances in a two minute spell before the break with Hastings putting a shot wide from 20 yards and Duncan putting a 25 yarder over the bar while Steven Naismith and Gordon Greer also had chances in first half injury time with Naismith’s being the better after being setup by Allan Johnston but marshalled well by Mark Brown. Half Time: 0-1 A half-time substitution by Jim Jefferies signalled the Kilmarnock intention to attack this game when he replaced defender Rhian Dodds with forward Colin Nish and although Barry Wilson did have a shot at goal in 48 minutes, it was Kilmarnock who now started to look likely to score. Allan Johnston seemed to have a free role and he was instrumental in setting up a quickfire double for the Rugby Park men. In 54 minutes, he fired over a cross from the left wing which found Kris Boyd 6 yards out and he hit it into the net for the equaliser. The dust had not settled when Killie made it 2-1 through either Colin Nish or Steven Naismith depending on who is telling the story. Naismith latched onto a clever chip from Alan Johnston with the visitors awaiting an offside decision that never came. Naismith curled the ball past Brown from a tight angle with Nish claiming a final touch. Naismith was given the credit but for Caley Thistle it did not really matter whose name went into the record books. Caley Thistle had to pick themselves up from these two shocks and slowly they did just that. Barry Wilson had an effort go wide in the 76th minute before setting up Craig Dargo for the equaliser a minute later. Barry crossed from the right and Craig Dargo bent low to head it home. Caley Thistle made three substitutions over the next few minutes with Fox replacing Black when he seemed to pick up a knock, Brewster replacing Bayne, and in 83 minutes, the player all fans wanted to see return to the fray made his season debut – albeit only for 7 minutes – when Juanjo came on to the cheers of the away support to replace Craig Dargo. The Spanish wizard didn’t have time to make much of an impact, but it was good to see him back on the park after a frustrating 7 month layoff. Killie too had made their other two substitutions in this frantic 5 minute substituting spell with Wales replacing Steven Naismith and Stephen Murray replacing Danny Invincible. With seven minutes left Killie did come close to a winner when Gary Wales drove from 20 yards and Brown dived to save well. As time ran out Brown tipped over a Johnston shot and Wilson shot over the bar at the other end. The Killie fans shouted for a penalty when Nish clashed with Darren Dods but Alan Freeland ignored the pleas. Full Time: 2-2 It ended 2-2 and the point pushed ICT up to seventh for a short time until Aberdeen took a point from Hearts 24 hours later.
  13. Disappointment at Rugby Park Inverness went down 2-1 at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock scored in each half to continue their resurgence and halt Inverness in their tracks. Greg Kiltie scored right on half time and Josh Magennis added a second as Inverness wilted, with Killie running out deserved winners in the end. Johndo will have a full report for us in due course...........and here it is Well that was my first venture since the trip to Romania. Have to admit that Kilmarnock ain't Bucharest and the Portmann ain't the Old City but at least I remembered the game this time. Another enjoyable Juanjo Awayday, only spoilt by a tepid performance and a very disappointing scoreline. It wasn't that we actually played that badly but it was a case of looking good but with no end product. That was Killie's first clean sheet of the season and no wonder Jamie McDonald had a wry smile at the final whistle as he applauded the away support who had been goading him most of the afternoon. "You won us the cup" ditty evidently fell on deaf ears. The possession stats were 50/50 and only eight shots with five on target throughout the game pretty much sums it up. But it really could have been so different if we had pressed home our domination of the first 20-25 minutes. There was a lot of possession but of the tippy-tappy, Ray Wilkins variety. Killie threw seven men across the pitch and limited us to chances from crosses or dead ball situations. Perhaps it might have been different if either Devine, Draper or Meekings had placed their headers in the back of the net - but as was the case throughout the game - our final touch or attempted pass was atrocious. I haven't really criticised Yogi too much but I felt that he was at fault this time. Why he allowed Draper to stay on the pitch until half-time baffles me. Sure Draper is determined and did not want to go off but he was a passenger for the last 20 minutes and all that was probably accomplished was to make his injury worst. Yogi should have hooked him and took Vigurs on earlier. And then Mutombo for Williams was a strange decision. I thought Williams was having a good day and his pace was worrying Killie. Mutombo to me is a forward version of Djebi-Zadi. And the introduction of Sutherland was also too late. To me the difference in the sides was Magennis. I have never really been impressed by him but his mere physical presence appeared to upset Devine and Meekings. The second half felt far longer than 45 minutes and we appeared to rely on big punts looking to capitalise on the pace of Storey who had little if any support. So perhaps it was just a bad day at the office. Perhaps the Tannadice farce left its mark. At least ours wasn't the only surprise scoreline. And I ended my time in Kilmarnock visiting a hostelry whose name resembled some of the players on show earlier. Fon Williams 6/10 - Never really had that much to do. Thought that he could have done better with the first goal, sadly in added on time. Raven 4/10 - Thought that he had a shocker - was he fit ? Watching trying to chase a ball down the wing in the second half reminded me of Marius Niculae at Motherwell. Tremarco 4/10 - He was fit so he has no excuse. Sooner we get Williams ensconsed in that position the better. Devine 6/10 - Actually looked the best of the defence which sadly was not too difficult to achieve. Meekings 5/10 - Bad day at the office. I always feel that he is not as good without Warren beside him. Polworth 6/10 - Didn't really do anything particularly wrong but did little to impress either. Draper 4/10 - Well you simply cannot perform with an injury but you can come off when you have one. Tansey 4/10 - Again 2-3 lovely touches but otherwise anonymous. Played far too deep Christie 7/10 - The only one who actually looked like changing the game. Williams 6/10 - Not sure why he was hooked as he was beginning to look like a danger, especially if we had pushed him forward. Storey 7/10 - Full of running and determination but he is simply not a target man or a centre forward. Let him play off somebody and we have a real winner. Vigurs 8/10 - My MOM for his 45 minute contribution. He may look lazy and he may not be all action but he has a head for the game and some of his passing was one touch and inspirational. Motombo 3/10 - Headless chicken impersonation Sutherland 4/10 - No time to make any type of impact Yogi 4/10 - Tactically his poorest selection and poorest tactics - 4-5-1 with what looked like 3 holding midfielders played right into Killie's hands. Date: 17/10/15 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3234 Referee: Stephen Finnie Kilmarnock: 2 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Balatoni, Findlay, Smith, Slater, McHattie, McKenzie, Kiltie, Higginbotham, Magennis Subs (not used): Ridgers, Hamill, Connolly, Boyd, Obadeyi, Ashcroft, Frizzell Scorers: Kiltie (45), Magennis (66) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven (Sutherland 81), Devine, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper (Vigurs 46), Williams (Mbuyi-Mutombo 53), Polworth, Christie, Tansey, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Miles Storey (69) Sent Off: none
  14. Almost there. Inverness took a massive step towards the Championship with another defeat. This time it was Kilmarnock who inflicted the pain as we struggled to get back on level terms having gone two goals down through Longstaff and Jones. Alex Fisher grabbed a goal but despite a frantic finish to the game we failed to get a point and relegation looks to be imminent. Immortal Howden Ender witnessed this one and his report is here.............. Well I travelled with forlorn hope and a fair degree of trepidation. But that still did not stop me and my 146 compatriots from sitting in the away stand, cheer on the boys and hope for some salvation. My only negative thought at the start was the inclusion of Anier but otherwise I was quite happy with the first team choice. Fisher has deserved his chance and may have been a more polished player if he had been given a run early. He had a clear cut chance in the 2nd minute, through on goal, 1-1 with McDonald and he totally fecked it up. If he had kept his composure, as he did 69 minutes later then it may have been a different story. So we have a plastic pitch. We are playing in to the wind and the driving rain. Killie know the surface and they play tippy tappy at the back, use the width, take people on and are patient. Us we hoof at every opportunity. Billy Mckay must wonder what the feck is going on. Anier offers sod all and Mulraney has an off-day but rarely gets a ball at his feet or a pass to run on to. The clear tactic was to feckin hoof it. And for the second time away from home Esson makes the second big error (OK there were 2 errors) of his belated season and gifts the first goal to Longstaff. Just what we did not need. You could see some heads go down at that time. Have to say that I was really impressed by Frizell, Jones and Wilson. If we had that three playing for us we would have hammered them. But we have Foran and the hoof. So half time comes along and you think lets have a go. But God lets us down again. The wind dies down, the rain stops and some feckin sunshine comes out. And as if that wasn’t bad enuff we hook Mulraney for Vigurs. We put Draper up front and we switch Fisher to wide right midfield. Yes wide right midfield !! Foran complained about our defending for the second but I thought it was tidy lead up play and a very tidy finish by Jones who had tormented Brad all day long. And guess who had the two long range shots on target – of course – David Raven !! Anier goes off, 58 minutes too late, and gets replaced by Polworth who never got into the game. Not sure exactly where he was playing though. And then we hook Draper and take on Cole. BUT we put Cole on the left BUT keep Fisher on the wide right and put Mckay up front on his own. We pack feckin midfield with the lackadaisical Vigurs and Tansey with Polworth running around like a headless chicken. But as the chants against Foran begin to grow we put ourselves back in the game. Great pass from Vigurs and Fisher tucks it away very neatly, 69 minutes too late. Lee McCulloch summed it up nicely – “The last 10 minutes were a bit nervy but we got there in the end.” We began to show the desire and fight that we should have been showing for weeks, nay months. No player can be faulted for endeavour in the last 15 minutes. Killie looked shell shocked and took their feet off the pedal. And wee Billy could have got us that desperately needed point with a glorious lob which would have been a goal of the season contender if it went in. We actually started playing football as well. Alas too late. And Foran summed up the day – “I'm delighted with the players' performance, believe it or not. I told them they should be proud of themselves, how they handled the occasion.” Well he must have just been watching the last fifteen minutes and had forgotten the deplorable first 45. And then "Individual mistakes have cost us again. The only disappointing part is the second goal. Jones has so much space to run at us. It's a set-piece for us, they break and score - that's schoolboy defending but overall we were the far better team and had far better chances.” – DOH – wrong goal – and we deserved a point and that would have been a bit of a robbery. “We didn't get what we deserved and that was the three points, in my mind. We need to cut out the individual mistakes, it's been the story of the season.” – Yes agree about the individual mistakes and add it has been the story of MY season. Some players do NOT play for you. And then he concludes as a modern day Lazarus – “We need help from other clubs now, simple as that. We need to do our business on Wednesday and Saturday. There is still a chance. It is probably a small chance, but there is a chance." – WTF !! No Smileymometer but here are my conclusions. Esson did OK but that one mistake early doors killed us. Brad was taken apart by Jones, Raven was solid and full of endeavour. Warren was my MOM for clearly giving his all. Laing was quietly effective. Mulraney never got going and Anier never has got going. Draper looked OK in midfield but was lost up front against a very tall Killie central defence. Tansey looks pretty but he is keeping himself for Aberdire. Fisher gave his all but was a fish out of water wide right. Wee Billy never got used and was a waste in the hole role. He is best on the toes of the last defender. Vigurs actually started trying to play football but he is such a lazy *******. Polworth and Cole made no impact. Ah Well it looks like Dumfries will be my ”home” game next season. Killie v ICT Date: 13/05/17 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3137 Referee: John Beaton Kilmarnock: 2 Lineup: MacDonald; Hendrie, Dicker, Ajer, Taylor, Smith, Jones, Longstaff, Frizzell, Kiltie (McKenzie, 77), Sammon Subs (not used): Lyle, Osborne, Roberts, Hawkshaw, Graham, Cameron Scorers: Longstaff (17), Jones (57) Booked: Wilson (15), Smith (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Esson; Brad Mckay, Laing, Warren, Raven, Draper (Cole, 70), Tansey, Anier (Polworth, 58), Billy Mckay, Mulraney (Vigurs, 46), Fisher Subs (not used): Hoban, McNaughton, Ebbe, McCart Scorers: Fisher (71) Booked: Brad Mckay (15) Sent Off: none a
  15. Three games to save our season. Running out of games now and a tough task this weekend as we visit Ayrshire to take on Kilmarnock in the third last game of the season, unless we make the play-off place where we have to go head to head with a Championship contender. It's been a long hard season for Inverness as the wheels came off and a disastrous run of one win in twenty-three has taken us to the brink of relegation. There's only one way out of this and that is to win back to back games and look for favourable results from others around us. It's a long shot, but it is possible. We threw ourselves a lifeline last weekend with a narrow 2-1 win over Accies in Inverness. We should have won at a canter as we dominated the first half but had only two goals to show for our attacking intent. We nearly paid the price for not putting the game to bed as Accies made a fist of it in the second half but their late goal was the final kick of the game and the points stuck with Inverness. Killie lost out last week to Dundee and both clubs appear to be safe from relegation although not completely out of the running yet. I'm sure Killie would be happy enough to terminate us this weekend to save them the long hike up North. Results have been shared this term, all three previous games ending in 1-1 draws. However, Killie sit 10 points above Inverness in 8th place as we speak and can not get relegated automatically. On the plus side for us, we have scored more goals than Killie (38-32), but it's our defence that has let us down this season and Killie are superior in that department (50-67). It's a daunting task, but one that is not insurmountable, although our seasons stats say otherwise. Killie have been dealt a blow with news that in form keeper Freddie Woodman will not play for them again this season. He has been called up to the England u20 squad for their u20 world cup campaign which begins in South Korea on 20th May. It's recognition for some excellent performances at Rugby Park for the young keeper who has kept five clean sheets since January 21st. Had we played a keeper of the same quality, I doubt we would be in such a mess right now. With Woodman away, Killie have a decent replacement in Jamie MacDonald. Former County defender Scott Boyd is out for the rest of the season having injured his foot. Greg Kiltie played a part last week and could start. Interim gaffer Lee McCulloch added this on BBC Sport:- "Its going to be a tough match. Inverness are punching well below their weight with where they are in the league table, with the players they've got. So it's just up to us to go out and put on a positive performance in front of the crowd." Richie Foran has long term absentees in Josh Meekings, Aaron Doran and Carl Tremarco. Owain Fon Williams is still out and Ryan Esson will once again be between the sticks. Liam Polworth will return after suspension and Iain Vigurs has recovered from illness. Billy King will be departing for Tannadice next season, I wonder if he is up to the task. Scott Boden showed up well as a sub last week and could be worth a try along with Billy Mckay. Jake Mulraney was impressive in the first half against Accies but faded in the second as the visitors pushed further forward and Jake's supply was limited. It's Foran's shout, maybe Polworth will be added to midfield or Richie's favoured midfielder Iain Vigurs will return. Only one man knows, let's hope he makes the right call. I doubt you would get decent odds on Lewis Horner getting a game. Although the former Hibernian player has been out injured for most of the season, it seems that there is an underlying problem as he has been taken to task by the SFA for match betting. He's obviously not up to scratch on this as he is alleged to have bet on Caley Thistle, surely not for a win! tm4tj prediction:- It's a must not lose game, in fact it's more or less a must win game. We have not been very good at these crunch games this season apart from last weeks win against Accies. It seems that one win and some reckon we are going to escape relegation no problem. I have news for you. We struggled to beat Hamilton but thanks to a dubious 'no penalty' for Hamilton, we took the points and gave ourselves this last chance saloon opportunity. We certainly have the players to do it, but do the players have the leadership, belief and the heart to do it. It's the second of four cup finals for Inverness and defeat is unthinkable. I believe we can do it, but given this seasons heartless performances, then maybe another score draw is on the cards. Motherwell and Hamilton go head to head tomorrow and maybe a draw is the best result for our own slim chances of avoiding the drop. New strips were unveiled this week. Let's hope we get to use them in the Premiership.
  16. Injuries ruin our chances. Inverness came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock in a game marred by more injuries to our already creaking squad. Souleymane Coulibaly scored a superb individual goal, his eleventh of the season, but captain Gary Warren cancelled that out as he headed home with six minutes remaining. That result keeps us second bottom with Ross County the only bottom team to pick up three points, and that was enough for them to replace Killie in the top six. Gary Warren returned to the starting XI with injury ravaged Owain Fon Williams and Lewis Horner taking their places in defence. In an attempt to bolster the midfield, Brad Mckay played in front of the back four, and Foran started with Lonsana Doumbouya the lone target man. Larnell Cole kept his place after his fine performance last week. Wide players Jake Mulraney, Aaron Doran and Billy King all started on the bench alongside Liam Polworth who has returned sooner than anticipated from injury. Killie had injury worries of their own and youngster Ian Wilson was given a start at the back with Scott Boyd missing out. It was a pretty dour first half with the home side occasionally threatening. In one such attack Josh Meekings made a tremendous clearance off the line after Nathan Tyson had clipped the ball over Owain Fon Williams. He did enough to hook the ball away from the goal line and Brad Mckay completed the clearance to avert a certain goal. Nick Walsh was called into question when the ball came off an Inverness arm in a goalmouth scramble but that would have been harsh had he penalised it. He was asked again and this time it could easily have been given as a cross was blocked by an elbow on the edge of the box. We struggled to make much headway in the first half, not helped by injuries to Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay. Fisher replacing the big striker after twenty-one minutes. Polworth replaced the nose bloodied Brad Mckay at the break. Lewis Horner struggled on until the hour before leaving the field, replaced by Billy King. Gary Warren had our only effort of note in the first forty-five but his header went wide. He would do better late in the game. Half Time 0-0 Billy King entered the fray and flashed a shot wide soon after and it looked as though the pace of the game had changed as we ventured forward. However, clean sheets are difficult to come by and Kilmarnock took the lead through a piece of individual magic. Coulibaly scored his wonder goal in the second half, although there was an element of good fortune about it. When he gathered a long ball on the corner of our eighteen yard box, their seemed little danger. The ball bounced up and he controlled it with his arm. Undaunted and unpunished, he twisted and turned substitute Liam Polworth onto the ground before firing a high shot into the keepers near post as defenders closed on him. Chances were at a premium, but Inverness found a way back into the game through captain Gary Warren. Greg Tansey fired a free kick into the box and the Killie rearguard parted to allow Warren every opportunity to head the ball down into the corner past a diving Jamie MacDonald. Just what we needed to get us off the foot of the table again and the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 A draw was just about deserved as both sides had their moments on the ascendancy, but Killie will feel they might have nicked it with the one cleared off the line and a couple of penalty claims that were turned down. We came out stronger in the second half and did well to get back on level terms, so we won't complain about a share of the points. Rig saw it like this Really poor game overall. We lacked any attacking intent in the first half and seemed to have no plan for most of the game other than lump balls towards Doumbouya and Fisher. It was desperate stuff. Second half was a bit better but still we lacked an real incisive play in the final third. We seem to absolutely refuse to try and use our wingers and try and cross the ball into the box for the striker to attack. Looked like there was a hint of a handball when Coulibaly took the ball down when he scored the opener. Still, poor defending from Polworth to let him cut back inside and Fon Williams beaten again at his near post. Atrocious marking for our equaliser. Warren seemed to get in between two Kille players and still had a free header to plant the ball past MacDonald. Injuries really disrupted us today. Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay all taken off. Our reorganisation was a bit odd. Polworth at right back was strange. Far rather have Meekings there, drop Draper into defence and stick Polworth into midfield. He (Polworth) seemed to be one of the very few ICT players willing to carry the ball forward instead of battering it towards Fisher. Massively underwhelming first half performance, slightly improved second half but there's a lot of work to be done specifically in terms of our attacking play. We remain one dimensional, predictable and largely toothless. Think we deserved a draw but there's a lot of concerns there for me from an ICT point of view Immortal Howden Ender picked out different highlights in his summary. That was the best away day in years. The game was frenetic. It was highly entertaining and surprisingly competitive. I witnessed levels of skill and endeavour that I had never seen in certain individuals before. But then, unfortunately, the Hang The Man competition ended and we had to go to the game. How the feck did Mary Hill get Bahram Fetai !! The game itself was wholly forgettable. Up until the Coulibally goal BOTH teams served up dire stuff. The game only really heated up after they scored. We did show a lot of guts to recover but they went defensive and paid the price. Speaking to Killie fans afterwards they said that they had been doing the same all season. The goal was terrific and I had to celebrate with a piked, double somersault over the seats in front of me - ably abetted (feckin pushed) by King Beastie. And RedCard organised and won the goalscorer award and Warren could have had time to do a turn in the Hang the Man competition whilst he strolled in for the equaliser. The "spirit" certainly was there. Agree with what SuperFan posted earlier. Strange substitution but injuries are taking their toll. Strange to see the Walrus parading around with a huge ice pack on feckin freezing day and blood oozing from the two others. Tremarco was my clear MOM although Meekings was close. And we have no "teeth" up front. Date: 17/12/16 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3294 Referee: Nick Walsh Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, Hendrie, Boyle, Wilson, Taylor, McKenzie, Smith, Dicker, Jones, Tyson, Coulibaly Subs (not used): Mackay, Bojaj, Frizzell, Smith, Hawkshaw, Cameron, Adams Scorers: Coulibaly (73) Booked: Taylor (63), Smith (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, Horner (King 52), Mckay (Polworth 46), Doumbouya (Fisher 20), Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Mulraney, Boden Scorers: Warren (84) Booked: Draper (16), Polworth (90) Sent Off: none a
  17. Killie Challenge for Caley Jags It's the long haul this Saturday as we head for Rugby Park to take on sixth place Kilmarnock, a mere three points ahead of us in eleventh spot. With seven teams vying for the last top-six space and relegation at the same time, it's anyone's guess as to who is the favourites for these positions. Often a fruitful day out in previous years, but we have faltered in the last two fixtures at Rugby Park going down on both occasions. The first encounter of this season was in the Highlands and it ended with the points shared, but it took a very late goal from Lonsana Doumbouya to cancel out an early Coulibaly penalty. We had won the previous one at Inverness at the end of last season quite comfortably and many expected an easier ride than we got from a revamped Kilmarnock side, but they are proving to be a match for all in the top-six relegation battle. I know it's a bit early in the season to be calling it a relegation battle, but that's the nature of the beast. If you are not going for Europe, then it's a downhill struggle below that. Killie have clambered to sixth slot but like the rest are showing signs of fluctuating fortunes. A 2-0 win over Dundee was followed by a 5-1 thrashing at Pittodrie before steadying the ship last week with a goalless draw at Motherwell. We ended a run of four straight defeats by drawing at home to Hamilton in what turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining game. Still hit by injury and suspension, we managed to get a team on the park and despite going behind, we came back strongly to get a deserved draw. Either side will feel they could have nicked this one but a draw keeps the status quo. Larnell Cole was our star performer against the Accies and topped it off with a fine goal, his first for the club. Clean sheets are a problem for us this season with only one so far. A changing defence through injury and suspension is not helping and the midfield need to work harder to help out the defence when needed. Inverness will be able to call on the services of Gary Warren, back after his one match ban for his unnecessary sending off against St Johnstone. David Raven, will be offered a six month contract extension, but he is out injured for another couple of months. Liam Polworth has made great progress and has resumed full training, however this might be a game too early for the young midfielder, but a late fitness test will let us know if he is ready. Our keeper crisis is still ongoing although it looks as though Fon Williams will play through his back injury whilst Ryan Esson is still suffering with a groin injury. Better news up front is that Scott Boden looks to have shaken off his ankle knock and will be included in the squad. Other strike option Alex Fisher could also be included. Killie have two central defenders missing for this clash. Miles Addison is out for a couple of months after having foot surgery. Jonathan Burn is also out and that means that Scott Boyd and Will Boyle are Lee Clark's only recognised centre backs available. Others missing are Kris Boyd, Greg Kiltie and full back Dapo Kayode. tm4tj prediction:- Given that we were rubbish on the road at Dundee and Perth, I'm not filled with confidence going in to this one. On the other hand, Warren should take his place at the heart of the defence and Brad Mckay can revert to right back. Hopefully Owain Fon Williams will have less back spasms to deal with and a clean sheet will do his confidence no harm. Midfield is an area we are struggling. Ross Draper has been a constant, but Iain Vigurs leaves a lot to be desired, mainly due to his work rate although he was noticeably more active against Accies last week. Larnell Cole deserves another chance after his last performance which might mean attacking wide players Mulraney, King or Doran will be vying for the right to supply Lonsana Doumbouya with the ammunition he needs. Killie will rightly feel they have enough to be able to take all three points and we have to be wary of that. Coulibaly has proven to be a handful having scored ten times this campaign.They showed fleet of foot on the break when they came North and we will do well to match their pace going forward. Any team going on a two or three game winning streak will pull away from the rest. It's hard to see if that will be us, but a point would be a decent result. Richie looks ahead to the plastic pitch encounter and talks about our keeper crisis. and Dave the Rave has his say on where he is at just now................
  18. Rugby Park Test. Off to Ayrshire this weekend as we get back to league duties with a visit to Rugby Park to face an upbeat Kilmarnock who will provide a stern test for our top six side. Killie got a massive boost last weekend as they ousted St Johnstone from the Scottish Cup at Perth, having drawn 2-2 the previous week against Hearts. While Killie were marching on, we stumbled around Forthbank in a dirge of a game and left needing a replay to sort out our tie with Stirling Albion. It was the lack of creation that left most fans despondent, and we are thankful that we managed to avoid the big banana skin that Hamilton Accies stood on. That said, we are now six games unbeaten, although a much improved performance will be required if we are to take anything from Rugby Park. Since we last met on the 12th of December, we have remained unbeaten, winning two of our five games and drawing the others including the cup game at Forthbank. Kilmarnock have not fared as well, and their only other win apart from the cup tie was at Hamilton where they scored the only goal. They lost to Aberdeen and Ross County in that sequence as well as the draw against Hearts. Killie's last home win was in mid October when they beat none other than Inverness CT. We were rather sluggish that day and failed to take early chances and paid the full price as goals from Greg Kiltie and Josh Magennis won the game rather comfortably in the end. That should be enough of a warning for Yogi as he looks to keep his side above the relegation tussle. Inverness will be looking for new signing Alex Fisher to get up to speed and add some much needed backing for striker Miles Storey. Kilmarnock's defence could be just the tonic our new strike pairing will be looking for as they boast the most goals conceded in the league (41). Their strikers are not much better bagging just 24, giving them a goal difference of minus 17 compared to minus 1 for the Caley Jags. Kilmarnock will be minus three suspended players with the burly Josh Magennis, Steven Smith and Kevin McHattie all missing one game for accumulative bookings. Mark O'Hara, Scott Robinson and Chris Johnston are all sidelined, but Lee McCulloch will make himself available for selection. Inverness will also have to re-shuffle their back line with Josh Meekings still out injured and Danny Devine suspended for one game. Also out are Aaron Doran and Dean Brill. Richie Foran could make the bench but is unlikely to feature. With Alex Fisher now on the books, Spanish striker Dani Lopez has returned to Spain after failing to establish himself high enough up the pecking order. tm4tj Prediction:- We are a stronger unit than the one which lost back in October, despite being able to call on Ryan Christie for that one. With players back to full fitness we are better prepared and should be looking to take something from this game. However our negative approach at Stirling has riled some fans and maybe we need a bit more time before we can get back to some semblance of free flowing football. The tightness of the league dictates how we set our stall out, but sometimes you have to give it a go. The onus will be on Killie as the home team, I hope we don't offer them the same time on the ball that we donated to Stirling Albion, as that could be our downfall. We might have to settle for a point, but it will be better than none at all, so I expect Yogi to take the cautious approach. Go on, surprise me! Scoring draw, with us losing a goal deep into injury time. 2-2.
  19. Killie Pie Time Inverness head to Kilmarnock on Saturday after the international break for a game that could shape the seasons of both clubs after their poor starts to the season. International breaks are usually quiet affairs, but not so for fans of Inverness Caledonian Thistle as the vacant post at Tannadice was played out in the full glare of the media. This break was fraught with tension as John Hughes became the bookies favourite to take over at Tannadice after Tommy Wright's St Johnstone told the Arabs where to go. The Inverness board did likewise with Hughes, but the silence was deafening after that fuelling speculation that Yogi was gone. However, in stepped Mixu to save the day at the eleventh hour, and, after the dust had settled, John Hughes remains at Inverness and Mixu Paatelainen starts the task of getting Dundee United off the foot of the table. We like our International breaks to be gentle, a time for getting injured players up to speed and players relaxing with their families. Not this one as our gaffer played hard ball. However, it's mentally not the best way to prepare for your next League encounter. So, with all the guesswork and wind ups put to bed, let's get on with the season, a season that started slowly but is now building a head of steam as we take the Leagues longest current unbeaten run (six games since last defeat) down to Ayrshire to face a resurgent Kilmarnock. Killie finished 10th last term and would have fancied their chances to better that this season. Let's find out who are the in's and out's at Rugby Park that Gary Locke believes will see them climb the table. Well, the main man given the task of scoring the goals is former Rugby Park idol Kris Boyd. He has returned from the Rangers a few stone heavier, but the same man knows how to find the back of the net given half a chance. Add in a trio of signings from Tynecastle in the shape of Kevin McHattie (defender), Scott Robinson (midfielder) and forward Dale Carrick. Another striker, Kallum Higginbotham has joined from Partick Thistle and the experienced Lee McCulloch came in from Championship side the Rangers. Cup final clanger Jamie MacDonald has signed from Falkirk along with another keeper, Oliver Davies on loan from Swansea City, Stevie Smith has also gone up in the world coming from Ibrox as well, and a loan signing from Celtic in defender Stuart Findlay. To make way for the new guys, out went former Scotland striker Lee Miller, the experienced Manuel Pascali, Paul Cairney to Stranraer and keeper Craig Samson. Midfielder Sammy Clingan has gone, so no more Star Trek jokes and the luxury that was Alexei Eremenko, a tremendous player on his day, but has probably gone out to seed now. A raft of lesser mortals have also left the building and Gary Locke will be looking for these guys to blend with what he already has, although it's been a less than pleasing start for the Killie fans. Last season we did hold the upper hand in the three games played between the clubs. A 3-3 draw at Inverness was followed by a 2-1 victory at Rugby Park. The final game saw Inverness take all three points in a 2-0 win. Rugby Park was also the ground where we recorded our best ever away win with a 6-3 trouncing of Kilmarnock on Guy Fawkes day 2011. There were certainly plenty of fireworks that day as Inverness sparkled on the pitch whilst Killie were like damp squibs and old bangers. We scored a few crackers as well and a rocket from Jonny Hayes. Gregory Tade even managed a couple and Andy Shinnie went one better as he fired a hat-trick. Ahhh, those were the days. Killie's highlights this season have been a 2-2 draw with Celtic and their two wins against Dundee United and St Johnstone. Unfortunately for them, they have also suffered too many low points, a 4-0 hammering from Dundee was repeated by Ross County, both games played at Rugby Park. Just when it looked as though they had turned the corner with consecutive wins, they lost to Hamilton although they drew with Hearts last time out. A bit similar to us from the beginning and the stats show that we have scored only one goal more than Killie but our defence is less porous. There's a gap of four points between the clubs and Killie sit where they finished last season in 10th place with Inverness in 8th. Sick list has the usual suspects for Inverness. Dean Brill, Gary Warren, Jordan Roberts, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran and Tobi Sho-Silva. Ryan Christie will be available after missing the derby through suspension. Iain Vigurs scored from a free kick in the development game in midweek and Dani Lopez notched a goal as did Andrew MacRae, so these guys will be looking to push into the starting eleven. All that happened in a 3-1 win at Clach Park over Hearts. Gary Locke could have the option of fielding captain Mark Connolly who is returning after medial ligament damage and Lee Ashcroft will return after suspension. However, Scott Robinson, Darryl Westlake and Dale Carrick are unlikely to feature after resuming training following injuries. tm4tj prediction:- Things are looking up for Inverness after a dismal opening sequence and to be fair, Kilmarnock have perked up a bit as well. Great news on the managerial front with John Hughes staying put, but it remains to be seen if that will encourage the board to lash out with a new contract for Yogi. That aside, it is a boost to keep the status quo and the emergence of Miles Storey as a goal threat and James Vincent as a box to box predator has lifted the gloom around Inverness and gives the fans renewed hope for the rest of the season. Owain Fon-Williams has been performing well since the Europa games and the defence is more settled with Josh Meekings back. Kris Boyd will always be a threat, no matter what size he is and Gary Locke will be looking to push on after an erratic start to their campaign. Another man who will be useful is the human battering ram that is Josh Magennis who is returning on a high from international duty with Northern Ireland. Our season has transformed quicker than Killie's and I can see us extending our unbeaten run. Johndo, our regular soothesayer, will be at Rugby Park and will have a full report for us after the game once he returns to his present form.
  20. Kapital Kaley's Killie Komposition is a breath of freash air after the last few weeks hard hitting home truths. Optimism is a wonderful attribute and let's hope he is right. Take a look his encouraging preview on this link. http://caleythistleonline.com/page/index.html/_/previews-2011-12/kilmarnock-v-inverness-ct-preview-r941
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