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At the Crossroads With our season gradually disintegrating, we head to Recreation Park Alloa to face The Wasps @ the Indodrill Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both sides lingering at the wrong end of the table, games in hand or not. Our games in hand are dwindling away and there's little improvement in our league position. Four wins from sixteen games is not the form of a team challenging for a play-off slot to the premiership. This is now a crucial game in our season which is at the crossroads. Which way do we turn? Crossroads We have found Alloa difficult to beat recently with no wins in our last four meetings, such is the demise of our club. Financial constraints have seen us unable to attract the quality of player required at this level to sustain a challenge at the top end of the table and we are having to blood youngsters in the Championship. The latest jumping ship is James Keatings who has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Raith Rovers. With little leadership on the park, it's difficult to get any consistency and Premiership football looks unlikely with the prospects of league 1 closer to the mark. It's a tough league to get out of at the right end and there's a fine line between challenging at the top to falling into a relegation battle and that is something we have to get used to pretty quick. We have eleven games left to save our season, which way will we turn? Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 18 12 3 3 44 20 24 39 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Dundee 16 6 6 4 30 30 0 24 5. Queen of the South 18 7 3 8 26 35 -9 24 6. Arbroath 18 5 6 7 15 20 -5 21 7. Inverness CT 16 4 7 5 24 21 3 19 8. Morton 17 4 7 6 16 22 -6 19 9. Ayr United 16 4 5 7 20 21 -1 17 10. Alloa Athletic 18 3 4 11 20 41 -21 13 All Championship games this weekend Raith v Dundee - Postponed - Covid Alloa v Inverness CT Arbroath v Queen of the South Hearts v Dundee Morton v Ayr United Only eleven games left and we need to start picking up points starting with Alloa away at the weekend, so get behind the guys, for better or for worse. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV STREAMING £12 FROM ALLOA TV +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Neil McCann pre-match with Alloa... ***Latest Team News*** Anthony McDonald has had an operation on his knee and with only a dozen games left in this season, it is unlikely we will see much, if anything at all from him this campaign. Roddy MacGregor is doubtful after the clattering he took against Hearts from Kingsley. The rest are back in training and will be needed as soon as they are ready for action before our season is beyond repair. It looks as though the best we can do this year is survive and get the youngsters some valuable game time ready for next season. This is not a drill! Alloa will make it difficult and for the first time ever we will probably be regarded as underdogs in this fixture. Their mix of experience, young loanees and dogged journeymen have been good enough to hold the Indian sign over us recently and I see little evidence that will change this weekend. Loan signing Innes Cameron seems to be prospering with game time and Innes Murray likes a free kick, both scoring against us in the last couple of meetings. Here's a wee reminder that not all left feet are just for standing on....

Too little too late. Dundee manager Jake McPake looked to have tightened his shoogely peg as first half goals from Max Anderson and Jason Cummings put Dundee in at the break two up. Inverness were out of sorts in a poor first forty-five. Nikolay Todorov pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes left heading home a Cammy Harper cross. Inverness mounted a mini-comeback but fell just short as Dundee held on for all three points. Neil McCann returned to Dens Park where he had mixed fortunes as a player and manager. Tonight he would be in the away dugout with John Robertson on compassionate leave. His first game in charge was a 1-1 draw with Hearts on Friday night. Four days later and here we are at Dens Park looking to keep in touch with the teams in the top four. David Carson was on the bench after two MotM performances and Roddy MacGregor was not in the squad, presumably injured. Daniel Mackay and Scott Allardice were in the starting XI. As expected, Dundee were without Charlie Adam due to the results of the positive covid testing at Dens Park. Here's RiG with his match report Grim, grim, grim. Dundee were well on top at the start and although we pushed them back a bit they quickly re-established their dominance. They knew a high press against our back line would work given McCann's preference to play out from the back and players were often caught in possession. Meanwhile, our defence looked haphazard any time a cross or long throw came anywhere near it. McDaid turning Duffy inside out for a good chunk of the first half before he eventually realised he could nullify him by sending him towards the bye line was criminal in how long it took to be employed. By that time though the damage was largely done. McMullan was ripping Harper apart on the ICT left and he sent in a cross that found Max Anderson as he burst into the penalty area and although Ridgers did well to save his first effort the Dee player made no mistake at the second time of asking and put Dundee 1-0 up. We rallied a little to push the home side back a bit and had some half chances but Dundee took a deserved two goal lead when a high ball into the box was missed and it landed at the feet of Cummings who spun round and whipped the ball into the net. Prior to this Dundee had great chances falling the way of Mullen, Cummings and Anderson who all had goal bound efforts blocked by Deas or Ridgers. It was one way traffic in the first half and ICT could count themselves fortunate not to be further behind. Half Time: 2-0 Second half was less eventful overall compared to the first. A suspiciously offside looking Storey broke through the Dundee defence but shot straight at Hamilton as the angle narrowed whilst Sow blazed over after good work by Cummings on a Dundee counter attack. We did get one goal back when Harper sent over a delicious cross from the left touchline to find Toddy at the back post and he thumped a header past the flailing Hamilton. Great goal from the big striker and one wonders what he needs to do to get a start. A similar move almost lead to an ill deserved equaliser but this time the header went wide. Grim performance from us. As has been the case at times this season we are poor for about 75% of the game then improve markedly for the final 15 to 20 minutes or look like we might do something. I know we have important creative players like Doran and McDonald out but we should be still be doing better than we are. We created precious little for most of that game it is extremely concerning going into a very tough game on Saturday against Alloa. Go behind in that and I don't fancy our chances of turning it around into a much needed 3 points. Neil McCann post match Date: 02/03/2021 Venue: Dens park, Dundee Attendance: 0000 Referee: Steven Kirkland Dundee FC: 2 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Hamilton; Fontaine, Elliot, Ashcroft, Marshall, McGowan, McMullan, Mullen (Sow 53), Anderson (Byrne 87), McDaid, Cummings (Aflabi 91) Subs (not used): Legzdins; Kerr, Fagan-Walcott, Robertson Scorers: Anderson (10), Cummings (45) Booked: McGowan (60) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine (B Mckay 77), Harper, D Mackay (Todorov 61) Welsh, Allardice (Carson 46), Keatings, Sutherland, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Fyffe, Vincent Scorers: Todorov (75) Booked: Deas (63), Welsh (65) Sent Off: none a

Inverness CT -V- Arbroath Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Saturday 27th March 2021 @ 3:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans

Inverness CT -V- Raith Rovers Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Friday 12th March 2021 @ 7:45pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans

Inverness CT -V- Morton Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Tuesday 9th March 2021 @ 7:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans

Alloa Athletic -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Recreation Park, Alloa Saturday 6th March @ 3:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans

Dundee -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Dens Park 2nd March, 2021 - Kick-Off 7:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans

Virtual game ends all square Neil McCann's 'tenure' got off to a tremendous start when Miles Storey made amends for his penalty miss in midweek. He opened the scoring after muscling Michael Smith off the ball to drive it behind Gordon after ten minutes. Hearts were on the slow burner but got back on level terms after half an hour when the defence parted to allow Liam Boyce space and time to knock the ball into the net from six yards. The second half was relatively quiet until a late surge from Hearts saw Boyce hit the bar then Ridgers make a good stop from Walker. Neil McCann's first team selection was a 4-4-2ish which saw Nikolay Todorov, Daniel Mackay and Scott Allardice drop to the bench with Miles Storey, Sean Welsh and James Keatings on from the start in the virtual ticket derby. Robbie Neilson has a wealth of talent with the likes of Jamie Walker, Peter Haring and Christophe Berra on the bench. Recent signing Gary Mackay-Steven, Gary Naismith and Liam Boyce, who loves to score against us, in the starting XI. That's the same line-up that drew against Morton last week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some fans made great sacrifices to ' virtually get to the game'. None moreso than our own Gringo and here's his tale: "Even though I was watching on the box it was as if I was there. During the day I'd been building up to the game by posting updates on Facebook of my virtual trip up from Coventry 0 on the motorcycle. I left home at 0800 and got to the stadium around 1720. One or two thought I was actually travelling and they pointed out that I shouldn't be travelling from England to Scotland due to it being non essential travel and dear Nicola said it's against the law" Anyway. I though we played well and deserved the point. The ref was whistle happy and stopped the flow of the game. Craig Gordon needs to grow a pair after his spat with Carson. And there really should have been an early red for whatshisface of Hearts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The game kicked off in front of a virtual crowd of over 11,000 and Mark Ridgers was the first keeper to pull a shot out of the air in the second minute from McEneff. The same player had another shot charged down in the fourth minute as Hearts pushed forward. Miles Storey had the first meaningful attempt for Inverness, his shot from distance saved comfortably by Craig Gordon after five minutes although the visitors were in control of possession in the early stages. The Caley Jags opened the scoring when Keatings chipped a great ball forward from the half way line for Storey to chase. He had enough pace and power to force the error from Michael Smith and Storey anticipated well to knock the ball into the middle of the empty net. Gervane Kastaneer was booked for a clumsy tackle on Sean Welsh who thankfully recovered after some treatment as we all held our breath. Inverness were denied what looked like a penalty when David Carson was sent to the turf unceremoniously after Propescu turned his back on him but Referee Nick Walsh didn't want to know. (sounds familiar). A couple of minutes later Shane Sutherland appeared to delay his shot allowing it to be blocked inside the six yard box, another hand looked to have been involved, again nothing given. Could easily have been number two. The goodwill from Tynecastle seemed to have gone completely with Storey next to be fouled heavily. From the resultant free kick another scramble in the box saw Carson go down again as the defence hoofed the ball away to safety. Duffy took a booking for halting Mackay-Stevens progress and from the free kick did well to head clear for a corner. The corner flashed across the box dangerously but nobody in maroon was on hand to attack the ball; goal kick. The free kicks were mounting for both sides as retribution seemed to be the order of the night. From one such free kick, Liam Boyce was left unmarked to drive the knockdown into the net from close range. Scorer Boyce knocked a header at the back post wide as Hearts upped the pace, the visitors more prominent for the last fifteen minutes. Heats looked the most likely to add to their tally as the interval drew closer but neither keeper was overworked and it was all square at the break with the visitors having slowly clawed their way back into contention. Half Time 1-1 Armand Gnanduillet was on from the start of the second half but it was Inverness that almost scored when Robbie Deas was just inches away from connecting properly with a back post header, but it went wide. Gnanduillet was looking like he was going to be a handful as he tried to latch onto a couple of balls around the box. Walsh, the clown referee, then booked David Carson for challenging Gordon who also picked up a card for his reaction. Sub Jamie Walker made a good run down the right after Smith set him free but the defence cleared at the expense of a corner. Walker was involved with a few attacking moves since his introduction as Hearts looked for a second goal with twenty minutes left. A bit of checkmate ensued as we entered the last fifteen minutes and Scott Allardice lashed an ambitious effort well over the bar. In truth most of the second half has been untidy as free kicks and tiredness took over. An odd moment from a ball into the Inverness box when Boyce headed onto the top of the bar with Ridgers spectating. He was still spectating when the ball bounced down at his feet and back up again before grabbing it as he faced his own net. Some late Hearts pressure put the home defence under pressure and a ball by the awkward Gnanduillet fizzed across the box but beat everyone and went out for a goal kick. Ridgers made a great block from Walker and his palmed clearance was met by Mackay-Stevens who headed wide under pressure. That was the last action of the game and a hard earned point for Neil McCann in his first game in the dugout. Full Time 1-1 Danny Devine was pleased enough with the point against a top side as he spoke on BBC Sport. Craig Gordon said Hearts were looking for three points but will settle for one. After an entertaining first half, the second was a bit of an anti-climax. Lot's of misplaced passes but plenty of effort. Neil McCann couldn't praise his side enough and thought we were deserving of our point. From BBC Sport Inverness CT interim manager Neil McCann: "I'm proud, I must admit. I'm delighted with the boys. We've only had one-and-a-half sessions. They gave me everything. "They were brilliant and limited Hearts to very little. We'd like to polish up our football, but I can't have any complaints." Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson: "We're disappointed, that's three draws on the bounce. People have got to realise it's very difficult to play in the Championship. You have to earn the right to play. "To be sitting 12 points clear is a fantastic achievement for the players. We have no given right to turn up and win football matches. We've got to take the positives from that." He wears a 'Magic Hat' Full Highlights from Caley Jags TV Date: 26/02/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Virtual Attendance: '11,356' Referee: Nick Walsh Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine, Harper, Carson (Allardice 66), Welsh, Keatings, (Todorov 78) Macgregor (D Mackay 57), Sutherland, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, B Mckay, Hyde, , Scorers: Storey (10) Booked: Duffy (30), Welsh (36), Carson (52) Sent Off: none Hearts: 1 Manager: Robbie Neilson Lineup: Gordon; Smith (Irving 80), Halkett, Popescu, Kingsley, Mackay-Steven, McEneff, Naismith (Walker 62), Kastaneer (Gnanduillet 45), Boyce Subs (not used): Stewart; Haring, Berra, Henderson Scorers: Boyce (36) Booked: Kastaneer (15), Kingsley (32), Gordon (52) Sent Off: none a

Virtual game time It's been a hectic week for the Caley Jags. An away day at Ayr, midweek game in the Highlands, a temporary manager installed, title favourites Hearts visiting the Caledonian Stadium and Neil McCann's first match in the Caley Jags dugout in front of a massive virtual crowd. Welcome Neil and haste ye back John Robertson and Scott Kellacher. Can we have a virtual score of 3-0 please. Thank you! Yes, it's been a massive success the virtual ticket sale and could add some much needed dosh to our accountants wee purse. Thanks to all who contributed and to all who made this possible. "A number of weeks ago, our club CEO Scot Gardiner was approached by Stevie Kilgour, the General Secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters, to discuss how Hearts fans could look to assist Caley Thistle during what has been an extremely onerous financial period for Scottish football." Buy Tickets Here Worrying news ahead of the Alloa fixture was manager John Robertson being given compassionate leave after a family bereavement. All this on top of Robbo's recent openness regarding the stress and strain the pandemic has put on all walks of life including his own during these unprecedented times. Add the serious illness Scott Kellacher has been dealing with and it was no surprise that the board felt the need to bring in someone who was prepared to help out and someone who has had previous experience in organising a football team. So here we are with Neil McCann offering his services to help out an old mate. Thank you Neil and good luck to all involved. After clawing Alloa back, going ahead then ending up drawing, it felt like a loss. It ended 2-2 but many felt we undid some of the good work we achieved at Ayr. Alloa benefitted from a couple of close calls, a missed penalty and some defensive naivety to earn their point. Wallace Duffy scored his first senior goal and what a goal it was. Possibly thirty yards into the roof of the net with his standing leg. Boom! James Keatings put us ahead after Miles Storey cut the ball across the box where Keatings hit a controlled volley into the bottom corner. A penalty award should have seen us take all three points but insistent penalty taker Storey shot weakly and keeper Parry saved easily. To then rub salt into the wound Trouten scored a late penalty to level the game and that's how it ended. Here's the goals against Alloa. Duffy..... Booooom! Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Hearts 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 3 (N) 0 - 5 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) Looking at the above statistics, our last win over Hearts was on September 11th, 2015, 7:45 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Incidentally, Miles Storey scored a last minute goal on that Friday night. James Vincent got the opener, let's hope he is fit for this game. Is that an omen? Hearts were held to draws in their last two outings where Morton and Queen of the South came away with a point as Hearts came from behind in both games to level the score. They left it very late at Palmerston where Liam Boyce scored a 90th minute penalty. Neil McCann will have been well versed on the capabilities of his acquired charges despite only getting to know them since after the Alloa game. I'm sure he would have been well impressed by the likes of David Carson and James Keatings and hopefully he can get the best out of the rest. Danny Mackay and Roddy MacGregor will be out to impress and Miles Storey would do well to listen to McCann's advice. I'm sure most of the squad will benefit from some time with the 'new' gaffer. Wallace Duffy was as shocked as anyone to score that spectacular goal. You could tell he was new to scoring judging by his awkward non celebration. What a belter though. I'll let Neil explain how he came to be here... ***Latest Team News*** Usual candidates missing for the Caley Jags; the long term four and as noticed against Alloa Sean Welsh and James Vincent were not on the team-sheets. It looked as though everyone else came through unscathed and there's little scope for change. Hearts have a depth of squad that only Dundee can get close to, so it matters little if they have one or two missing.

Wasps sting the Jags with late penalty With temporary gaffers Barry Wilson and Ryan Esson taking care of proceedings, it was an energetic start for the hosts. However that was disrupted after twenty minutes when Innes Cameron burst through the middle to stroke the ball into the net as Ridgers came off his line. Against the run of play, but the Wasps did not care and they held the advantage to go in at the break one ahead. Not much was happening until Wallace Duffy thundered a left footer from over twenty-five yards high into the net. What a strike for your first senior goal. One minute later and substitute James Keatings was stroking us up to fifth in the table before the late penalty from Alan Trouten brought us back down to earth. Disappointing to throw away the lead, but there's more to be worrying about than a game of football. ***It was announced after the game that Neil McCann will take over until Robbo is ready to return*** A difficult period for the club on and off the park has culminated in manager John Robertson being given compassionate leave by the club due to a family bereavement. I'm sure all who know Robbo will offer their sincere condolences. Assistant manager Scott Kellacher is also recovering from severe illness and he too will require some time to recover and our best wishes go out to our management pairing. With that in mind it was coaches Barry Wilson and Ryan Esson that were in the dugout for tonight's game against Alloa. The hosts were without Aaron Doran, Anthony McDonald, Sean Welsh and James Vincent as well as other long term absentees Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie. David Carson was the star man at Ayr and he was in the starting XI tonight. It had been a wet and windy day and but the weather was taking a break with the wind dropping and showers less frequent as the sides took to the field. A bright start to the game for the hosts produced three corners in quick succession for the Caley Jags but the Alloa defence dealt well with the threat and managed to clear their lines. Carson continued where he left off at Somerset Park and was driving forward with menace. Cammy Harper floated a ball towards the edge of the box where Roddy MacGregor knocked down for Daniel Mackay but he miscued and the half chance disappeared. The same pairing created another opportunity soon after but the shot lacked power to trouble Neil Parry. A free kick to Alloa from Innes Murray range saw Ridgers save easily as Alloa came more into the game and a couple of minutes later they took the lead against the run of play. Ray Grant intercepted the ball in midfield from Devene and fed Innes Cameron who burst clear from midway and ran through to neatly side step and slot the ball past Ridgers as the keeper came out. A blow to Inverness and they would need to work a bit harder with Alloa now only two points behind as it stands after twenty minutes. Todorov picked out the run of Carson on the right but his cross come shot drifted just over the bar with 25 minutes gone. Alloa almost doubled their lead but a Cameron shot from around the spot was charged down with the possibility of an arm hitting the ball but nothing given. A free kick offered a heading opportunity for the towering Todorov but his downward header just went the wrong side of the post with Parry beaten. All the pressure coming from the hosts but a couple of testing balls from Toddy and Mackay saw no takers in the box which is surprising considering we were one down. Despite some intricate play, Neil Parry has not had any serious work to do yet and there's only five minutes before the break as he stretches to pluck a deep cross out of the air with aplomb. Carson got the break of the ball on the right and his clipped cross found Todorov at the back post but his header went over junction of post and bar. MacGregor picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and drilled it home, unfortunately the whistle sounded just as he shot and play was taken back for a free kick to Alloa on the edge of the box Half Time 0-1 Like the first half, we forced a couple of quick corners but the pressure was relieved when a foul was given after the second one. Slack play was evident as a heavy shower lashed the park and Alloa introduced Innes Murray for Scougall five minutes into the half and Inverness racked up the corner count, Devine winning another corner. Parry had some work to do as he gathered a low shot from Allardice as the pressure continued. A rare break forward found substitute Innes Murray at the back post but he slashed his shot well wide of the mark, a let off for the Caley Jags. With half an hour left Miles Storey replaced Dan Mackay. Too many hapless long hanging balls into the box were collected by Parry with ease as we struggled to create decisive opportunities. James Keatings replaced MacGregor as we looked to create more but with less than twenty minutes left, nobody was holding their breath. Out of the blue after a couple of fresh air swipes at the ball inside the box, Wallace Duffy strode onto the ball some twenty five yards out and lashed a thumping left footer high behind Parry for his first goal for the Caley Jags and a much needed goal tonight. In dramatic fashion, moments later Keatings buried the ball into the bottom of the net to turn this game on it's head. It should have been three minutes later but Storey dollied a penalty into the keeper. Inverness were swarming all over the Wasps now and Keatings flashed a header just wide with Parry scrambling to get there, and again Alloa got the benefit of another 'goal' when a Storey header beat Parry once more. The craziness continued when Alloa got a stonewall penalty after Harper tripped Robertson in the box and Trouten did what Storey should have done, scored to make it 2-2. A frantic finish saw corners taken and defenders clearing their lines at the expense of more corners and Alloa still trying to break at pace, but alas for the Caley Jags it ended all square. Full Time 2-2 The second half exploded into life with Duffy's thunderous strike and then Keatings' goal. It all looked rosey when we were awarded a penalty but Why Storey took it only he will know. That could have taken the stuffing out of Alloa but they went up the park and got a penalty of their own, and well, Trouten just does not miss. A frenetic last twenty minutes livened up a dull game, but the joy of turning this game round was neutralised by Trouten's 12 yard dead ball death strike. At that point we had reached fifth in the table, unfortunately it was not to be and Alloa will be delighted with their point. Match reaction from BBC Sport Inverness Caley Thistle coach Barry Wilson: "The performance levels were really high tonight - we created chances and dominated the game. Even though we missed the penalty we should still see out the game. It's really frustrating." Alloa manager Peter Grant: "I thought we should have been more comfortable at half-time. This group have fantastic spirit and they showed that. I'm delighted to get the point at the end." Full highlights from Caley Jags TV Date: 23/02/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Barry Wilson/Ryan Esson (John Robertson on compassionate leave ) Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine, Harper, D Mackay (Storey 61), Carson, Allardice, MacGregor (Keatings 71), Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Harkness, Hyde, B Mckay. Scorers: Duffy(77), Keatings (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 2 Manager: Peter Grant Lineup: Parry; Taggart, Dick, Graham, Hetherington, Robertson, Cawley (Buchanan 83), Scougall (Murray 53), Grant, Trouten (Jameson 87), Cameron Subs (not used): Wright, Brown, Connelly, Thomson, Scorers: Cameron (20), Trouten (87 pen) Booked: Graham (73) Sent Off: none a

Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware!

Caley Jags beat Ayr and the weather. Wet and windy was the order of the day as Inverness beat Ayr United with a goal in each half. After half an hour, Daniel Mackay finished off a swift break forward after getting on the end of some neat one touch football. Ten minutes after the break Shane Sutherland did well to control, turn, and fire the ball into the net after Todorov drove the ball goalwards. Both keepers pulled off some excellent saves but Inverness were deserved winners to lift them up above Ayr in the league. Andre Wright missed out for Ayr having picked up a groin strain with Michael Moffat starting up front. Former Caley Jags Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers were both in the starting XI. Inverness shook their squad a bit after failing to hit the target against Queen of the South in midweek. Miles Storey, James Keatings, Brad Mckay and Sean Welsh found themselves on the bench. There were starts for Roddy MacGregor, David Carson, and Nikolay Todorov with Robbie Deas and Danny Devine back in the heart of the defence. A wet and windy afternoon greeted the players at Somerset Park. At least it's football of sorts I hear you say. A wind assisted Ayr came flying out of the blocks and forced a couple of corners in the first minutes and had Mark Ridgers grasping the ball before Ayr players got on the end of it at one point. It took the visitors fully five minutes before we got our foot on the ball. Dan Mackay did put the ball in the net with a lovely bending finish but the whistle had already gone. An early clearance from Ayr keeper Sinisalo bounced menacingly over Ridgers' bar, the keeper watching it anxiously. Ayr were buzzing around the Inverness defensive zone but neither side were able to test the keepers yet. First test for Sinisalo came after a tidy break forward on the right side. Carson drilled a low ball into the box and a turn and shot from Sutherland saw the keeper save comfortably. Ayr also had the ball in the net when Tom Walsh crossed into the box, but Miller climbed all over the defence to head home. Foul given though. Another turn and shot at the other end, this time from Todorov, another comfortable save for the keeper. Had either of these efforts been struck better we might have troubled the keeper, but both efforts were smothered when striking making it easy for the young keeper. After half an hour the visitors opened the scoring with a swift break and excellent low finish from Daniel Mackay. Danny Devine started it with a ball forward and three or four passes later Danny finished superbly with assists from Toddy and Sutherland. Five minutes before the break McCowan had a snapshot saved at his near post by Ridgers. Two minutes later he produced a brilliant save from the same player as his header bounced down to the keepers left, Ridgers diving full length to turn the ball round the post. Joe Chalmers fired a wind assisted effort from distance that had Ridgers scampering across his line but it flew just wide minutes before the break. Half Time: 0-1 Mackay latched onto the ball some distance out at the start of the second half but shot high over the bar, in fact almost over the stand. The Caley Jags doubled their lead ten minutes into the second forty-five when Shane Sutherland shot home from inside the box after controlling a Todorov drive for goal before turning and drilling behind the keeper. Soon after, Todorov found the angle too tight when through on the keeper who made an important block and moments later Ayr did well to scramble an Allardice free kick from the edge of the box away to safety. A free kick to Ayr was charged down when Chalmers tried for goal from the touch sideways as Ayr struggled to make progress and as the weather worsened Miles Storey replaced Nikolay Todorov. Almost immediately Sinisalo pulled off a tremendous save to deny Robbie Deas who had the goal at his mercy after a pinpoint cross from Cameron Harper. Ridgers did have an important block to make as a powerful shot from close range was pushed away for a corner, Walsh with the strike. Up the other end a Storey surge forward ended with Carson firing over the bar. Ayr were running out of ideas and the pitch was starting to look the worse for wear as we entered the final ten minutes, but Inverness were resolute in defence and restricted Ayr to fleeting glimpses of goal whilst always looking dangerous on the break. Time ran away from the hosts as they searched for a way through the visitors defence, but Danny Devine was calm under pressure and most Ayr raids floundered on the big defender back from injury. A deserving away win for Inverness after a frustrating few weeks and nobody was better than David Carson who was my MotM. Highlights from Ayr TV Here's a more detailed report from RIG An excellent result against potentially very difficult opposition in far from ideal weather conditions. As is usually the case in Ayr the home side started very brightly. We often find ourselves under the cosh early doors at Somerset and today was no different with the windy conditions not helping. Ayr settled quickly and were soon stroking the ball around well looking to hit Walsh and McCowan on their respective flanks. The former, well known to ICT fans of course, was the main focus as he frequently cut inside Duffy on the left flank and looked to hang balls up to the back post for team mates to attack. Whilst Walsh was looking threatening on the Ayr left, on the other side the in form McCowan was being marshalled well by Harper with the Ayr player barely in the game until a tactical switch by Kerr later in the first half saw him move into the middle. Bizarrely the first chance of the game fell to the Ayr keeper Sinisalo when he launched a goal kick forward which caught the wind and almost had Ridgers scrambling to keep it out of harms way. Not too long after this Cammy Smith broke through the ICT defence and cut the ball back for team mate Moffat but the ICT defence was able to clear the danger. Most of our attacks were starting from long balls forward with Toddy displaying some deft control to take in these high balls and link with team mates to relieve the pressure on the Caley Thistle rear-guard. Carson, breaking forward, fired a low pass to the feet of Sutherland just inside inside the penalty area and he rolled his marker and shot straight at the United keeper. Ayr were next to threaten when Walsh, again cutting back onto his right foot, swung a high cross to the back post from the left where Michael Miller met it and found the net but it was correctly ruled out for a push on Harper. Todorov then had a chance with a similar effort to that of Sutherland a few minutes before as he also rolled his marker in the box but he too sent his effort down the keepers throat. Not long after this we opened the scoring with a crisp counter attack. Devine sent a controlled ball to the feet of Todorov who collected the ball and played it across to Sutherland on the Ayr right side. He then laid the ball off to the onrushing MacKay who strode onto it confidently and dispatched his shot beyond the despairing Sinisalo to open the scoring. Ayr responded with a tactical switch moving Walsh to the right, Smith to the left and let McCowan roam in the middle behind Moffat and it almost paid off when McCowan found himself just inside the penalty area in acres of space but he wasn't able to make the best of the opportunity and ICT were able to clear the danger. McCowan then almost scored again when his header from a Walsh cross was beaten round the post at close range by Ridgers. This was to be the last we would see of McCowan in the game as he was completely negated by Allardice and Carson in the second half and whilst Walsh continued to offer a threat on the Ayr right Smith drifted from the game on the opposite flank and this change really curtailed Ayr as a fluent attacking force. Only a few minutes into the second half and we grabbed a vital second goal. Todorov saw his effort blocked by his own team mate Sutherland and it was Caithness Cristiano who was first to the ball to fire it into the net with Ayr players claiming for offside. And it was almost three when Todorov bundled his way into the box and with MacKay unmarked in the centre chose to go it alone but saw his shot suppressed by a late challenge. Allardice was next to threaten for Inverness when he sent a free kick low under the Ayr wall as it jumped and it was partially saved by Sinisalo and United cleared at the second attempt. Again, the next best chance fell the way of ICT when Robbie Deas met a free kick from only a few yards out but his header was right at the Ayr keeper. Ayr almost got a goal back when Walsh, still causing problems for Harper on the ICT left, flashed a ball across goal which MacKenzie latched onto but he sent his low effort wide of the goal with Ridgers stranded. Walsh then had an effort at goal himself when he collected the ball at the back post and leathered an effort towards goal which Ridgers saved with his knee with Devine also lunging in to block. In the end though we hung on for a big three points after an excellent performance that probably should have seen us concede a goal but also should really have been much more comfortable given the chances that were passed up. Big call for Robbo to drop four players from Wednesday but they paid dividends with MacGregor, Todorov and Carson all impressing today. MacGregor offers a much more mobile link between our midfield two in front of the defence and the wide players / forward than Keatings does whilst Carson was tenacious alongside Allardice marshalling McCowan well after he moved inside and also breaking forward to support our counters attacks. Todorov showed some excellent touches holding the ball up and Ridgers pulled off some superb saves particularly from McCowan and Walsh in each half. As mentioned earlier I think Kerr's changes to the three behind Moffat disrupted the fluency of Ayr's attacks and whilst Walsh was still a threat McCowan and Smith were anonymous after the break. They didn't seem to have anything in the centre of the pitch to break up our counter attacks with Murdoch and Chalmers nowhere to be seen at times. Cheers RIG, great in depth report on the game and tactics in action And here's Bazza post match Date: 20/02/2021 Venue: Somerset Park Attendance: 0000 Referee: Peter Stuart Ayr United: 0 Manager: Mark Kerr Lineup: Sinisalo; Muirhead, Murdoch, Ndaba, Baird, Moffat, Smith (Hewitt 75), Miller (McKenzie 58) , Chalmers, McCowan, Walsh (Zanatta 86). Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Reading, Roscoe, McGavin Scorers: none Booked: McCowan (54), Muirhead (63), Ndaba (68) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: John Robertson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (B Mckay 87), Carson, Allardice, MacGregor (Welsh 75), Sutherland, Todorov (Storey 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Keatings Scorers: D Mackay (31), Sutherland (54) Booked: Todorov (35) Sent Off: none a

Should Auld Acquaintances be forgot... We travel to Somerset Park, Ayr on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off against the Honest Men and renew acquaintances with a couple of former colleagues, namely Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers. It's been a difficult few weeks for the Caley Jags with postponements in abundance although we did return to action in midweek after the big freeze relented. Unfortunately, despite dominating the game, we went down 1-0 to Queen of the South when Nortei Nortey scored his first goal for the Doonhamers. We seemed to lack composure or pick the right ball as we failed to unlock the visitors defence and resorted to shooting from distance which keeper Ferguson dealt with comfortably. Failing that, many of our efforts were blocked before troubling the keeper or blazed high and wide which meant a frustrating night all round for the Caley Jags and their supporters. Ayr have not played since losing narrowly to Hearts a couple of weeks ago, a Liam Boyce penalty the only difference between the sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW Ayr United PPV £12.50 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Ayr United going back to August 2018 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (H) Incidentally, that 1-0 defeat shown in the above stats for January 2020 was the first win for Ayr in 17 years covering 14 games. We drew the first encounter this season in the Highlands when Nokolay Todorove earned a point with an 86th minute goal after Innes Cameron gave United the lead around the hour. All fixtures on Saturday at 3:00pm Ayr United v Inverness CT Arbroath v Raith Rovers Dundee v Queen of the South Dunfermline v Alloa Athletic Hearts v Morton Latest Team News Robbo will be without the usual long term crocks, Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney (is he a real thing). Add Aaron Doran and recent loan signing Anthony McDonald to that list. James Vincent is a new short term casualty, another training ground injury. Good to see David Carson back on the pitch in midweek, his energy has been missed. Looks like more game time coming for our youngsters over the next few weeks which will see two games a week for the foreseeable future. Mark Kerr has defender Jordan Houston returning to the squad after injury. We know all about the dangers that Walsh and Chalmers possess but there's more to United than that. Former Aberdeen and Dundee United forward Cammy Smith will cause problems and never write off veteran Michael Moffat. Young keeper Sinisalo is also proving to be an excellent shot stopper. The team that night v Hearts: Sinisalo, Miller, Muirhead, Baird, Ndaba, Chalmers (McGavin 79′), Murdoch, Walsh (Moffat 74′), Smith, McCowan, Wright. Robbo talking ahead of the trip to Ayr...

Ring Rusty Caley Jags Hamered Doon. Despite the hosts having the better chances, including Miles Storey hitting the bar and Ferguson making some excellent saves, the first half ended goalless. The deadlock was broken just after the hour when Nortei Nortey ran through to score his first goal for Queens. Plenty of effort but not enough guile or composure and lots of misfortune saw Inverness take nothing from this game as the Doonhamers held on for all three points. That result leaves Inverness still second bottom although the table is a mess with postponed games. RIG has this report ready: The stunning lack of creativity in this team was on full display tonight. We might have been missing players but so were QotS so I am not having that as an excuse. Storey and Mackay, whilst willing and hard working on the flanks did not create enough throughout the time they were on the pitch to have us in a more comfortable position. A good cross by Mackay in the first half which found Storey who saw his effort deflect over / wide was as good as it got. When MacGregor came on later on and popped up on the left side he was continuously looking to cut back in on his right and with no support down the left side he was easily nullified. Keatings, despite a nice effort from a free kick in the second half, was largely anonymous and there was a huge gap between him as the 10 and the 6 and 8 at the base of the middle triangle. Defensively I thought we were mostly fine save for the moment that mattered. Grim defending and after that Queens sat back with 9 men behind the ball and challenged an insipid ICT, who had struggled to break them down for most of the game prior to the goal, to work their way through a superbly drilled defensive line. Needless to say it did not go well for us although Harper put in a nice ball for Toddy who probably should have scored. Apart from that though... For all our possession, as alluded to above, we did previous little with it and as such I cannot begrudge Queens the win. Maybe if we had created numerous great chances and Ferguson had pulled off a string of saves then I might feel aggrieved at being "robbed" but from the small number of really good chances we did have I cannot recall him being overly troubled. The action from Wednesday night... OFFICIAL MATCH REPORT FROM ICTFC Thoughts from CTO doofers dad: We've played worse than that and won. I thought we had some decent build up play and put them under a lot of pressure, but too often we hadn't got the close control or inventiveness to create clear cut chances. Then when we did shoot, the shooting was woeful. Maybe lacking a bit of confidence and match sharpness, but we don't have anybody who looks as though they could score goals on a regular basis and that's a worry. Stirling Observer: Positive me thinks there is a decent team there and it's down to a lack of match practice and sharpness due to the fragmented number of games over the last 2 months. I am hopeful it will click into place and we will hit a run of form and climb table. Negative me thinks our central defence is worryingly soft, we have a lack of wingers to create anything, we have a lack of a goalscorer. We are in for a relegation battle or at best a low placed finish. There's also a lot of unhappy bunnies on the forums, only time will tell which faction have the right end of the stick. Date: 17/02/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: David Lowe Inverness CT: 0 Manager: John Robertson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (MacGregor 73), Welsh (Carson 78), Allardice, Sutherland, Keatings (Todorov )73, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Devine, Nicolson, Hyde Scorers: none Booked: Todorov (87), Allardice (90+5) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnston Lineup: Ferguson; Gibson, Buchanan, Breen, Maxwell, Nortey, Obileye, Jones (Goss 77), McGrory (McMahon 90+5), East, Dobbie (Joseph 60). Subs (not used): Rae; McKechnie, Camara Sylla. Scorers: Nortey (63) Booked: Maxwell (35), Obileye (87), Joseph (89) Sent Off: none a

Third time lucky This fixture is looking like it might beat the pandemic, snow, ice and water and is scheduled to be played on Wednesday evening with a 6:30pm kick-off. That is unless the strong winds force another postponement. The original preview is still mostly relevant apart from a couple of fairly serious injuries to a couple of Caley Thistle players. First the good news: We have signed Anthony McDonald on loan from Hearts and there is no pitch inspection planned......yet. Now the bad news: Anthony McDonald is injured and possibly out for most of the season with suspected knee cartilage/ligament damage. Aaron Doran has a torn thigh muscle. Both were injured in separate incidents during training on the artificial surface at the indoor facility and both will be out for a lengthy spell. With Kai Kennedy now at Raith Rovers, the new injuries leave us short on suppliers for the strikers. Maybe David Carson will be fit enough to start, but like most of the squad, match sharpness will be an issue. Plenty room for the young team to get back into the starting XI and give Robbo some food for thought. James Keatings was a casualty after 20 minutes of the Arbroath game, so he might be missing as well. It might be easier to check and see who is not fit...... Queen of the South are a different beast from the team we swept aside 3-0 at Palmerston back on the 4th December. Players like Dapo Awokoya-Mebude, Isaiah Jones, Ayo Obileye and Connor Shields are making the Doonhamers tick along nicely and have added a goal threat to the Queens attack. Not household names, but certainly giving the Dumfries side a lift, especially with goal machine Stephen Dobbie missing a few games through injury. Of course, Mebude might have a problem should his partying be deemed naughty. He might have to sit this one out. Up to the officials to sort that one out. Queens come North on the back of contrasting results. A 2-1 win over Morton, a defeat at Alloa by the same score and an excellent draw against Hearts where it took a 90th minute penalty for the Jambo's to rescue a point. We enter this game after a 1-1 draw at Gayfield followed by two postponements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV £10, (cheap at half the price) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously: Queens of the ice age frozen off...***GAME OFF*** (30th January) Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, rain, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

Blown Away Arbroath came off the foot of the table at the weekend after beating Morton, something Inverness had failed to do one week ago. Inverness were starting to flirt with the wrong end of the table after the Morton result. A windy encounter saw Jack Hamilton gave the hosts the lead right on the interval, punishing some weak defending to slot home. Just after the break Shane Sutherland headed Inverness level. This game was carried forward from 2nd January when a frozen pitch saw the game called off. John Robertson had to make some defensive alterations with Robbie Deas and Daniel Devine missing. In came Brad Mckay and striker come centre half Nikolay Todorov. Miles Storey returned to action up front with Doran, MacGregor, Allardice and Carson on the bench. Dick Campbell handed Jack Hamilton his home debut with bin man Linn the wide provider. Plenty experience on the bench as well with Gavin Swankie and Kris Doolan. A very windy but dry Gayfield met the sides as the game kicked off with Alan Newlands the man in charge. First big chance of the game fell to Jack Hamilton but he mishit a Bobby Linn cross from six yards when it looked easier to score. The strength of the wind was evident when big Mark Ridgers struggled to get the ball thirty yards up the park from a goal kick before the wind halted the ball. Gaston on the other hand had no problem getting the ball to land in Ridgers' box. Aye, we all knew the weather would be a problem, let's see who masters it best. A strong burst on the deck down the left was the best we mustered after fifteen minutes but Storey's cross went behind. The pace of the game was dictated by the conditions and a midfield battle ensued with some untidy tackles ending in numerous free kicks. one such incident saw Keatings replaced by Scott Allardice after 25 minutes. Ridgers had to grab a corner kick from right under the bar as Arbroath got two corners in succession, the second one swirling into the box dangerously, a third soon followed as Linn curled a ball across the box that evaded everyone. Similar to Hamilton's early miss, Storey swung a ball into the box and Daniel Mackay couldn't get enough contact under challenge and the chance evaporated. A slack clearance in our box offered a glimmer of a chance to the Smokies five minutes before the break, but the loose ball was eventually cleared. Most Inverness bursts forward were going through Storey but the final ball is not forthcoming. Just on the interval, Arbroath opened the scoring through Jack Hamilton. He held off a weak challenge on the edge of the box before cutting a low ball back across Ridgers and into the back of the net. The jovial commentators enjoyed that as they headed for half a coo and bread as the interval came along Half Time 1-0 Half cow scoffed and there were no changes at the break, but the visitors squared the game within three minutes when Shane Sutherland headed a Cameron Harper cross in from close range. Good pressure from the Caley Jags kept Arbroath hemmed in and ended with Allardice rifling a shot across the keeper and just wide of the far post. Sutherland found himself without a marker at the far post from a Harper free kick, but unfortunately he fluffed his lines and the ball trundled into the keepers hands. Hamilton missed a sitter from six yards when he headed a tempting cross well over the bar. At the other end a Sutherland shot was charged down then another effort was put behind by Gaston, the corner wasted. Allardice's tenacity saw the home defence make a couple of blocks as we looked to get our noses in front with about ten minutes left and Cammy Harper forced Gaston into a routine save. Kris Doolan does like a goal against Inverness and he almost snatched the win but his shot bounced back off the base of the post with Ridgers beaten. Let off for the visitors. A couple of late corners came and went for Inverness but to no avail and a share of the points it was. Full Time 1-1 A draw about right but Arbroath will rue missing the better chances. I suppose a point in these conditions is fair enough for the endeavour on the park and hopefully everyone avoided hypothermia. Highlights can be seen at ArbroathFCTV Robbo talking post match Date: 03/02/2021 Venue: Gayfield, Arbroath Attendance: 000 Referee: Alan Newlands Arbroath Fc: 1 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Thomson, Little, O’Brien, C Hamilton, McKenna, Craigen, Williamson, Hilson (Doolan 80), J Hamilton (Donnelly 80), Linn (Stewart 61) Subs (not used): Gallagher, Swankie, Gold, Whatley Scorers: Jack Hamilton (45) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: John Robertson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Todorov, Harper, Welsh, Vincent, Keatings (Allardice 22), Sutherland, D Mackay (Doran 71), Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Fyffe, Carson, MacGregor Scorers: Sutherland (48) Booked: Duffy (68) Sent Off: none a

As Robert the Bruce said.... If at first you don't succeed..... It's the second time of asking and we are due to play Arbroath at Gayfield on Wednesday night with a 7:45pm kick-off. This game was re-scheduled from 2nd January due to a frozen pitch on that occasion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PPV from Arbroath FC TV @ £12 Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be perfectly honest, our season is in absolute disarray at the moment with re-scheduled games in abundance. Add in Scottish Cup ties that were postponed, then put on hold, this campaign is a disaster for the Caley Jags. On top of that, our inability to attract players North during the pandemic is a cause for concern when all around us are strengthening their squads. It has certainly raised a few eyebrows and we could be in more danger of staving off relegation than pushing for a top four finish. One bright note is that Scott Allardice has signed on for another couple of years. He has been one of our better bargains and is well worth the contract. Last time out we drew 2-2 at Morton. That may have been seen as a decent result, but when you consider that we threw away a 2-1 lead against ten men for fifty minutes then it simply was not good enough. A point not lost on manager John Robertson who was unusually despondent after the game. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Arbroath. Click on scores to open out further options. 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (H) 7 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (A) We did manage to play Arbroath earlier in the season and eased to a 3-1 win in the Highlands. Dan Mackay, Scott Allardice and Nikolay Todorov were the scorers. Allardice's goal was his first for the Caley Jags and what a thumper it was. Kris Doolan scored the opener for Arbroath while Pixellot were following the linesmans head. The Red Lichties last outing was a bonus for them as they beat the very same Morton that we failed to beat at Cappielow. Loan signing Jack Hamilton opened his Smokies account after coming in from Livingston. That result lifted Arbroath off the foot of the table. Incidentally, that was Hamilton's 11th goal of the season, a man worth watching. He had previously been on loan at East Fife and did well up here in the League Cup group stages with the Fifers. Lichties two games before the win at Morton were draws with Dundee and Queen of the South.

Queens of the ice age frozen off. ***POSTPONED*** Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV - Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

Ten man Ton grab a point An early goal from Sean McGinty was cancelled out in the fourth minute by a Shane Sutherland strike. Daniel Mackay put the visitors ahead after fifteen minutes. Morton were reduced to ten men with half an hour gone after Rabin Omar stopped a break forward and picked up a second yellow. That seemed to spur Morton on and they had a 'goal' chalked off for climbing ten minutes before the break. no surprise when Morton grabbed a share of the points when Cameron Blue knocked home after sterling work by Gary Oliver. No more scoring and a couple of points missed out on by Inverness against ten men for over half a game. After a prolonged break for various reasons, the Caley Jags played their first game since drawing with Dunfermline on 29th December 2020. The enforced lay-off meant that our match sharpness would be questioned by a Morton side that have played three games since then, drawing twice and losing their last outing at Palmerston. It was an early kick-off at Cappielow, 6:30pm with live streaming available from Morton TV. Miles Storey was one of the players who failed to make it and Brad Mckay was nowhere to be seen either. Daniel Mackay getting a rare start and Wallace Duffy returning to right back with Brad out. David Carson was on the bench along with regulars James Keatings, Nikolay Todorov and Roddy Macgregor. Anton McElhone had Orsi, Salkeld, Lyon and McAlister on the bench with McGuffie, Oliver and Omar stating tonight. The winter weather looked to have taken it's toll on the Cappielow turf, some areas looking heavy before a ball was kicked in earnest. We didn't have long to wait for the opening goal as Sean McGinty fired high into the net with only three minutes on the clock. The visitors replied immediately, if not sooner when Shane Sutherland slotted home a minute later. Daniel Mackay then put Inverness ahead with a fine finish after a through ball from Aaron Doran, easing round the keeper to score neatly. Disaster for Ton after twenty-eight minutes when Rabin Omar stopped Sutherland bursting forward in the middle of the park and picked up his second yellow card of the night. He was sent packing for his troubles. That seemed to inject some urgency into the hosts and from a corner Morton McGinty had the ball in the net again but climbing was deemed to have occurred and the Inverness defence breathed a sigh of relief. Robbie Deas saw a shot saved as the Caley Jags looked for a cushion before the break, and just before the interval it was Morton that were sighing as Inverness had a 'goal' ruled out as well. Half Time 1-2 No changes at the break and five minutes in Morton survived a penalty claim when it looked like an arm was used to bring the ball under control in the box. Referee Stuart saw it as accidental after a long hard look at the incident. With heavy drizzle dampening the occasion errors were always going to be a danger. A long throw in from Strapp was returned to him and he launched a fierce shot that fizzed over the bar. An Inverness corner caused some concern in the home box but it was scrambled clear by the defence before Sutherland found himself shooting from an offside position. Morton almost levelled from a set piece when a Nesbitt free kick to the back post was knocked back almost onto the goal line, and with our defence ball watching Ledger tried to force it home. It was scrambled clear and when we eventually made our way to the far end Sean Welsh rasped a long range shot over the bar. Both keepers made routine saves thereafter before Sutherland made a hash of striking goalwards from a good position on the right side. Plenty of life still in Morton as we looked uncomfortable dealing with balls into the box. No sooner said than done! A good burst forward by Gary Oliver saw Cameron Blues knock the ball home from his cross eight yards out. Twelve minutes to go and a dribbler of a shot from Sutherland is cleared from the Morton line and substitute James Keatings' follow up volley is cleared. Morton are working so hard it's difficult to know if they have actually had a man sent off. A lung bursting run from Lyon allowed Strapp to cause more havoc in our defence as Morton looked to get a winner with five minutes of the ninety left. A late corner saw another one given as the clock passed ninety minutes but Morton clear well before Todorov appeared to miss a tap in as the ball bounced past him. McAdams did well to tip a deflected cross come shot away for a corner which ended the contest in a draw after more climbing at the back post was penalised. Full Time 2-2 A couple of points dropped against the ten men as we managed to get on a pitch for the first time in a month. Good to get amongst the goals but we looked vulnerable when Morton came forward. Maybe conditions and the lay off played a part but there's no rest for the wicked as Queen of the South come North at the weekend Here's what was said on BBC Sport Morton manager Anton McElhone: "Tremendous performance from the guys. It shows the determination, hunger and desire. "We knew that on the transition we could catch them out and the run from Cameron Blues was excellent. We are trying to strengthen; we've got a few more days and we are trying to do stuff." Inverness CT scorer Daniel MacKay: "It was good to get back in the team and get the goal - it was a brilliant ball through from Aaron Doran. "But it's about the result and from it nearly being a really good three points, to it just being the one point is disappointing." Match highlights can be seen here Date: 27/01/2001 Venue: Cappielow, Greenock Attendance: 000 Referee: Peter Stuart Morton: 2 Manager: Anton McElhone Lineup: McAdams; Ledger, Fjortoft, McGinty, Nesbitt, Oliver (Salkeld 79), McGuffie (Millar 63), Strapp, Blues (Lyon 73), Colville, Omar Subs (not used): McLean, McAlister, Muirhead, Orsi. Scorers: McGinty (3), Blues (66) Booked: Omar (19), Oliver (74) Sent Off: Omar (28) Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine, Harper, Doran (Keatings 70), Welsh, Allardice (Todorov 70) Vincent, Sutherland, D Mackay (MacGregor 83) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Carson. Scorers: Sutherland (4), D Mackay (15) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

If at first you don't succeed It's the second time of trying to get this match played (postponed from Boxing Day) and that will be the same for another handful of games as a combination of snow, ice, Scottish Cup and covid19 have decimated our campaign. We will be playing catch-up for the foreseeable future with postponed Championship games against Arbroath, Queen of the South, Raith Rovers and Alloa to come, not to mention cup games against Buckie Thistle and possibly Ross County. Our last game was a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline on 29th December. Almost one month ago. Morton drew at Ayr that day and the same 1-1 scoreline at Alloa four days later. They have drawn with the Pars since(0-0) then and went down 2-1 at Dumfries last Saturday. Not the most profitable period for Morton, but at least they have been active. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Streaming from Ton TV £14 Kick Off 6:30 - Cappielow Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 Competitive Meetings 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 0 - 2 (H) Latest Team News Kai Kennedy is now at Raith Rovers and he will be a big miss. Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie are not ready for action after long term injuries. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of new niggly injuries that may require rest with a busy schedule coming up. I wonder if Wallace Duffy, Aaron Doran and David Carson might have benefitted from the enforced lay off and will be looking to get involved with the squad. Places up for grabs now, it's up to those given the opportunity to impress to make the most of it and stake a claim for a regular start. Morton Manager: Anton McElhone Morton team v QotS: McAdams, Ledger, Fjortoft, McGinty, Strapp (Oliver 78′), McAlister, Lyon, Salkeld, Colville, Nesbitt, Orsi. Championship table ahead of tonight's game at Cappielow After losing to Raith Rovers on Saturday, the Jambos gained ample revenge by pumping Raith 4-0 at Stark's Park last night. Regan Hendry of Rovers was sent off five minutes before the break with Hearts already two up. New striker Armand Gnanduillet added a late double. The Dundee v Ayr United game was frozen out. Given the amount of Previews wasted recently, that's all your getting but a tweet from Cappielow at 11:05 AM · Jan 27, 2021 sounds promising. ***In light of enquiries; tonight's match against @ICTFC is on. KO 6.30pm*** What could possibly go wrong

Weather & Covid permitting... Another one bites the dust...... Frozen area of pitch. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware!