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Dunfermline -V- Inverness CT


Scotty

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Good start to the game from us in the opening few minutes before Dunfermline took over. I can't recall too many clear cut chances for them but they had us hemmed in and if it weren't for some wasteful crossing they might have grabbed a goal before we opened the scoring. Cracking finish from Vigurs and his free kick for our second was made even better due to it thumping the bar on the way in.

Disappointing goal for us to lose in between those strikes. We didn't look to sharp at the back for large parts of the first half with some dangerous balls played in and around or own box and we struggled to clear the balls at times. Our inability to clear a corner led to the Pars equaliser when the ball found its way out to Higginbotham and he, for once, put in a decent cross for Greggan to thunder into the net. Decent goal.

In the second half we started to dominate a lot more but Dunfermline were still getting in behind us a fair bit, especially behind our full backs. We appeared to play with quite a high defensive line and both Tremarco and Raven were pushed quite far up and Dunfermline were sending quite a few neat passes in behind them to attack. On a couple of occasions the Pars player who got in behind our full backs was the furthest man forward and he had no one in the box to cross to.

Bit of a lucky third goal when King cut inside from the left flank and his shot was deflected over Hutton and our fourth also came from the wing when Tremarco (I think) crossed for Vigurs to complete his perfect hat trick with a header. Tansey had a long range effort strike the bottom of the post before Tremarco then bagged number five when he followed up a Tansey free kick which also hit the post but rebounded out and struck Tremarco in the face and ended up in the goal :laugh:

Good performances again from the likes of Mulraney and McNaughton. King drifted in and out of the game but at times we were too open (something Foran said after the match) and Dunfermline, had they perhaps found a better ball in the final third, might have nabbed more than just the one goal they did get. At times there is a lot of space in behind our full backs for teams to exploit but hopefully we can sort these kinds of things out in the next couple of weeks.

Certainly a lot to be encouraged about.

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we were scary at the back last year, scary at the back this year. BUT our pre-season fixtures don't really lend themselves to being tested. DUtd and tonight were really our first pre-season matches that really put the defence under pressure.  Ol' Kevin will help out there, a few more weeks of playing together and getting things sharpened up will help.

I am positive for the season, but I am being cautious with my expectations - a lot of teams around us will have made improvements also. top six would be great, but I don't expect it. Prove me wrong Richie and Co, lets get into Europe again please!!!

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6 minutes ago, ictfcsince94 said:

we were scary at the back last year, scary at the back this year. BUT our pre-season fixtures don't really lend themselves to being tested. DUtd and tonight were really our first pre-season matches that really put the defence under pressure.  Ol' Kevin will help out there, a few more weeks of playing together and getting things sharpened up will help.

I am positive for the season, but I am being cautious with my expectations - a lot of teams around us will have made improvements also. top six would be great, but I don't expect it. Prove me wrong Richie and Co, lets get into Europe again please!!!

These are not pre season fixtures but important matches in a national tournament in which we have done pretty well so far. Certainly, far better than the soon to be former holders of the trophy.

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3 hours ago, ictfcsince94 said:

we were scary at the back last year, scary at the back this year. BUT our pre-season fixtures don't really lend themselves to being tested. DUtd and tonight were really our first pre-season matches that really put the defence under pressure.  Ol' Kevin will help out there, a few more weeks of playing together and getting things sharpened up will help.

I am positive for the season, but I am being cautious with my expectations - a lot of teams around us will have made improvements also. top six would be great, but I don't expect it. Prove me wrong Richie and Co, lets get into Europe again please!!!

I think any football fan has to be realistic about the attack/defence balance of a team. While we would all love to have a watertight defence and an outstanding attack, the truth is that there is always an element of compromise. Richie has gone for a more direct route with genuine width and quick transition, whereas Yogi was very narrow with slow transition (and therefore more compact). While the defence might look "scary" in both instances, it is for very different reasons: last year it was because the ball was often stolen off players in the back third, while this yrear it will largely be because there are bigger spaces in front of the back four, who will be less protected.

Personally, I am prepared to accept a few more goals conceded in exchange for an exciting and potent attack - compare that to Yogi's bore-fest, with an overall aim of keeping possession rather than scoring goals.

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2 hours ago, ictfcsince94 said:

They are fixtures that are taking place before (pre) the start of the league season (season).

They are competitive pre-season matches.

The League Cup is part of the domestic Scottish football season. The season is underway albeit not for every side in the country so I can't see how these are pre season matches. 

It's not really a massive issue TBH anyway. A 5 - 1 win over a Dunfermline side which posed a real banana skin is an excellent result.

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2 hours ago, ictfcsince94 said:

They are fixtures that are taking place before (pre) the start of the league season (season).

They are competitive pre-season matches.

"Competitive pre-season matches" is to a large extent a contradiction in terms. The "season" for SPFL clubs comprises for everyone the League, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup and, where appropriate, the Challenge Cup and European ties. Any club's season therefore starts with the first game they play in any of these competitions so, by definition, these league cup games take place within the season so cannot be pre-season.

Given that most Premiership clubs are grouped along with lower league opponents, some may opt to treat these group games as part of the phase of their year when they are building up to full efficiency and may cut their genuine pre-season programme accordingly. As a result these group games, which are as much part of the competitive season as any other may, for some clubs, have certain of the features of pre-season friendlies.

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I know what you are getting at @ictfcsince94 but really, while the league season has not started, the season as a whole has started ... it started at Cowdenbeath in the first game in the new League Cup format. If you dont believe me, just ask Richie Foran who said something to that effect during the actual pre-season when the Q&A video was filmed ...... its a national competition, part of the calendar for "the season", and players stats and records will reflect that.

Was our foray into Europe last season not part of our season? It happened around the same time, and before the league season started too .....  

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jeesy peeps!

the point I was trying to make is that these are the first real challenging games we have faced this 'campaign'. playing highland league teams is great to break the guys in 'gently' and get their match sharpness up, but doesn't prove too stiff a test defensively; an area where we need to work on. we were and still are vulnerable from set-pieces. I'm not comparing anything between yogi/Richie, just saying that our defence was shakey and our defence is shakey, regardless of how the team are attacking the game.

I also made the point that I expect us to finish in the bottom half of the league - how does this equate to unrealistic expectations? :smfh:

#prideofthehighlands #ictfc

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  • Scotty unfeatured and unpinned this topic
On 27 July 2016 at 4:02 PM, Charles Bannerman said:

"Competitive pre-season matches" is to a large extent a contradiction in terms. The "season" for SPFL clubs comprises for everyone the League, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup and, where appropriate, the Challenge Cup and European ties. Any club's season therefore starts with the first game they play in any of these competitions so, by definition, these league cup games take place within the season so cannot be pre-season.

Given that most Premiership clubs are grouped along with lower league opponents, some may opt to treat these group games as part of the phase of their year when they are building up to full efficiency and may cut their genuine pre-season programme accordingly. As a result these group games, which are as much part of the competitive season as any other may, for some clubs, have certain of the features of pre-season friendlies.

It's a mystery to me how you ever won that Worst Poster Award :wink:

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They actually discussed this on Sportsound today ..... the debate about pre-season or actual season I mean, not Charles' status.

Richard Gordon and Willie Miller agreed that it was the season whereas a couple did not and Chic - on another planet as usual - thought we were playing for the coca cola cup ! In the end, it was agreed it was the real season and the only ones still calling it pre-season were a couple of condescending premiership managers who thought the opposition unworthy of them .... something I am sure Peterhead and Alloa are chuckling at whilst Dundee, County and Kilmarnock are not !

 

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On 26/07/2016 at 11:13 PM, old caley girl said:

Only worry is that we play on Sat and United on Sunday which could give them an (unfair?) advantage? 

At least the outcome is completely irrelevant now as we have qualified  either in 1st place or a very unlikely 2nd place runner up spot.

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2 minutes ago, 12th Man said:

At least the outcome is completely irrelevant now as we have qualified  either in 1st place or a very unlikely 2nd place runner up spot.

Agreed. There was a discussion on the radio on my way home basically saying next season all group games should finish on same day to protect sporting intergrity. 

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