Inverness CT -V- Dundee Utd

[IBM]

1 hour ago, HawkeyeTheGnu said:

Yeah, that's what my maths says too. We are in the same position as Utd - we have both dropped 2 points (but they've played a game more)

Dundee United on 6 points plus 3 for a win in their last game gives them 9, we are on 4 and 2 wins will give us 10 so it is up to us.

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

5 minutes ago, IBM said:

Dundee United on 6 points plus 3 for a win in their last game gives them 9, we are on 4 and 2 wins will give us 10 so it is up to us.

They are on 7. Win on pens v Arbroath (2pts). Win v Cowdenbeath (3pts). Win on pens v us (2pts). That makes 7 points. 3 in their final game puts them on 10 - the most we can get. 

[+DoofersDad]

A slightly disappointing result but a much more entertaining game than we have been used to seeing for the last 2 and a bit years.  When we got the ball we are always looking to get forward and pressure the opposition.  We created enough chances to have won the game comfortably but we need to be more ruthless in front of goal.  Polworth and Boden should both have done better with chances they had.  

The new signings look very promising.  As others have said, McNaughton was excellent.  He may lack a bit of pace but he more than makes up for it in the way he reads the game and in his execution.  King was excellent too.  On that performance I am at a loss to know why Hearts have put him out on a season long loan - particularly to a side that might be challenging them for a European place at the end of the season.  Boden also did well enough.  I don't think he saw a lot of the ball and he appears to lack the movement and sharpness of Mckay, but he holds the ball up well and seems to have good vision.  A bit more sharpness and he could be a very good signing.  Mulraney also did well on his home debut.  He clearly has talent but needs to have a bit more awareness of the options available to him.  Richie seemed to have it right at the Q&A session when he said he was a raw talent who needs developing to realise his potential - a bit like Jonny Hayes when he first came here.  He's going to excite us at times but he's also going to frustrate us at times.  Hopefully fans will give him time and not get on his back on days when it just doesn't work for him.  It was good to see Mackay get a start in goal.  To be fair, he was never really tested but his distribution was good.  It's a shame he had a penalty shoot out to contend with but you can't fault him the outcome of that.  

Of the established players I don't think any of them had a particularly good or bad game.  One real positive was the use of  Tremarco's long throw.  Now that we don't have to worry that we may lose possession with a long throw, we can use it to create goal scoring opportunities.  Our midfield core of Draper, Tansey, Polworth and Vigurs were not as effective as sometimes but give credit to Utd here.  I thought they looked a lot sharper than the team that got relegated last season and they will certainly be challenging hard in a very competitive Championship this season.

It is difficult to judge much on a single game I know, but the impression I have is that whilst we may not be good enough for top 6 this year, we should be good enough to avoid relegation.  What I am far more confident about is that the football on offer at TCS this year is going to be far more entertaining than we have seen in a while.  My man of the match?  Richie Foran!

 

[12th Man]

An enjoyable game to watch. It's nice to watch good football instead of turning up out of sheer loyalty.

Didn't win the penalties but great experience for our young keeper and well impressed with the new signings.

The game should have been out of sight in the first half but will be on another day.

The new format gets a thumbs up from me too. 2 wins and it should be enough for progression, nice to finish top but remember it's 8 winners, 4 runners up and the 4 euro clubs all go in the mix for the next stage.

 

[12th Man]

34 minutes ago, IBM said:

Dundee United on 6 points plus 3 for a win in their last game gives them 9, we are on 4 and 2 wins will give us 10 so it is up to us.

To be fair not all media tables are up to date or even aware of the bonus point system, IE, X v Y and X wins on penalties aet. 

[IBM]

1 hour ago, 12th Man said:

To be fair not all media tables are up to date or even aware of the bonus point system, IE, X v Y and X wins on penalties aet. 

1		Dunfermline	2	6	6
2		Dundee Utd	3	5	6
3		Inverness CT	2	1	4
4		Arbroath	2	-3	1
5		Cowdenbeath	3	-9	0

The BBC have made an erse of this table then 

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

14 minutes ago, IBM said:

1		Dunfermline	2	6	6
2		Dundee Utd	3	5	6
3		Inverness CT	2	1	4
4		Arbroath	2	-3	1
5		Cowdenbeath	3	-9	0

The BBC have made an erse of this table then 

Pretty much. 

Why am I not surprised?

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

2 hours ago, 12th Man said:

To be fair not all media tables are up to date or even aware of the bonus point system

Yeah, I mean how can journalists actually be expected to understand what's going on before commenting?

[ICTGAZ]

Nice to see a more attacking side to the team, new signings  look positive when they settle fully into the team. McNaughton  reads the game very well and will be an asset.

I'd like to see at least another forward be brought in for more cutting edge up front. On the whole happy enough for the first home game.

[Yngwie]

So how are we treating this result, a draw or a defeat?! The CTO results page shows it as a defeat, but the fact that we got a point suggests it should be down as a draw. The shoot-out simply earned Utd a bonus point, they didn't get the 3 they'd have got for a win.

I guess we are seeing in most places that stats software is not geared up for this format, and the tournament is too minor for anyone to bother upgrading it to cope!

[tm4tj]

Plenty of room for improvement. Bright start but we fell out of it after the break, Simon Murray should have won the game for United when they were on top. Better end to the game by us but woeful spot kicks. I thought Ross Draper should have been sent off for at least a second yellow in a rash studs up challenge as should one of the United players. Mulraney looks like an interesting bag of tricks but needs to look interested more often. Boden given Betfred man of the match. I believe Betfred needs new glasses as Kevin McNaughton was superb as he strolled through this game. As said above, United should do well in their Championship battle. Simon Murray was lively and their new Dutch geezer looks promising. Big strong robust defence as well, will be difficult to penetrate for a lot of teams. 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Am I the only one who thinks that yesterday was a very, very important game to win outright, especially when playing at home, and the difficult away tie at Dumbfarmlife now becomes a must win. The result yesterday could herald our departure from the cup.

[12th Man]

We didn't win and there's not a lot can be done about it, If we played badly and still lost there would be a lot of moaning on here, we are still very much in it after our draw.

Funnily enough 6 out of the 9 SPFL clubs aren't leading their group 3 out of 9 have obtained the full points.

One game at a time as they say.

Edited July 24, 2016 by 12th Man

[DalgetyBayJaggy]

13 hours ago, HawkeyeTheGnu said:

Yeah, that's what my maths says too. We are in the same position as Utd - we have both dropped 2 points (but they've played a game more)

Apologies - BBC hadn't added Dundee Utd's bonus point to the group table when I did my maths! It's about time I accepted that the BBC isn't 100% reliable like it used to be!

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Feel like singing - "All we are saying is give Foran a chance"  I suppose that the one thing about the new format is that it is pre-season and gives every team a chance.

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

1 hour ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Am I the only one who thinks that yesterday was a very, very important game to win outright, especially when playing at home, and the difficult away tie at Dumbfarmlife now becomes a must win. The result yesterday could herald our departure from the cup.

It means that there is now no room for error - we have to win both games outright. 

[Alex MacLeod]

For accurate tables go here: http://spfl.co.uk/league-cup/table/

						Home						Away						Total
		Team	P		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		GD	Pts
1		Dundee United	3		1	0	0	6	1		0	2	0	2	2		1	2	0	8	3		5	7
2		Dunfermline	2		1	0	0	3	0		1	0	0	3	0		2	0	0	6	0		6	6
3		Inverness CT	2		0	1	0	1	1		1	0	0	2	1		1	1	0	3	2		1	4
4		Arbroath	2		0	1	0	1	1		0	0	1	0	3		0	1	1	1	4		-3	1
5		Cowdenbeath	3		0	0	2	1	5		0	0	1	1	6		0	0	3	2	11		-9	0

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

And scoring quite a few goals ... and not conceding many, if not any, goals .. and hoping that the Arabs v Dumbfarmlife ends in a draw or a favourable result.

[12th Man]

10 or even 9 should see us through. 8 is a big gamble.

[alternative maryhill]

Disappointing outcome in the end, but I was reasonably encouraged by the performance. In the first half in particular, King impressed far more than he did against Cowdenbeath, and looks like he will cause a lot of defences problems this season, while McNaughton was excellent throughout as a sweeper-style centre half. Polworth looked more comfortable and was more effective when moved into the centre of the park in the second half to accommodate Mulraney, and personally, I'd have him starting there and Mulraney in the starting line-up too, with Vigurs dropping to the bench: Vigurs simply doesn't match the work-rate of the rest of the team, which was excellent for most of the game yesterday. Mulraney looked dangerous again yesterday, as he did against Cowdenbeath, but it also looked like he went down a little too easily at times. Great to see Boden score, but for much of the game he looked a bit static to me, and with Fisher as currently the only alternative, we could do with getting in a more mobile striker who will be able to create more options for our wingers, if we can. In every other area of the park, though, it looks like we have a fair bit of quality.      

[tm4tj]

Old Caley Girl has penned the report for this game complete with Video footage. 

[Alex MacLeod]

8 hours ago, 12th Man said:

10 or even 9 should see us through. 8 is a big gamble.

At the moment there are five second placed clubs on 6 pts. All but one of those have 2 games to play. Only 4 best 2nd place go through so we have to aim to win the group and that means two wins and hope for a DU/Dunfermline draw

[12th Man]

1 hour ago, Alex MacLeod said:

At the moment there are five second placed clubs on 6 pts. All but one of those have 2 games to play. Only 4 best 2nd place go through so we have to aim to win the group and that means two wins and hope for a DU/Dunfermline draw

Just saying theres no need to panic. Groups A,C and D are quite likely to progress in 2nd place We don't need to worry about United winning both their games, if we win both of ours. If we had played the 2 smallest clubs in our group we would also probably be on 6 points and in second. Doesn't mean that much half way through the group stages what the other teams are doing.

[Eagle4Caley]

Surely if we don't progress from the group stage, some one will have to start a 'Foran out' thread!

[Guest Belfast Caley Philip]

Having seen posts on here and the match report from The Scotsman, I am really confident ahead of new season and tbh, am getting impatient lol, 2 weeks to long.

Sounds like McNaughton, Mulraney, King and Boden are great signings, think McNaughton was man of the match, correct me if i'm wrong.

One of the sentences from the scotsman article sounded promising too, it said "there is certainly not going to be a dull moment at TCS this coming season", the opening paragraph was "it is far to early to judge either Richie Foran's managerial potential or the new style of play he is seeking to play upon the distinctive and sometimes frustrating legacy of the John Hughes legacy".

The other positive sentence was "this was a far more positive first home managerial bow than the outcome ultimately suggested. Inverness not only dominated possesion they did it with a crisp aplomb and generated many more goalscoring chances, in an often eye catching and high tempo performance".