Friendly at Nairn

[+bughtmaster]

Win for ICT 1 - 5 With Farid El Alagui getting a hatrick full report on Nairn County official site

[CableGuy]

Hopefully he can do the same  when it actually matters 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Thank you Nairn and Graeme McLeid

FARID El Alagui’s hat trick at Station Park helped Inverness CT to ease past a hard-working Nairn County.

The visitors took the lead with just two minutes on the clock. Stephen Rennie’s in-swinging corner from the right was met by the towering figure of Farid El Alagui and he sent a header crashing beyond Dylan Maclean and into the roof of the net.

The game livened up again around the quarter-hour mark with Chris Moir’s square pass infield being picked off by Aidan Wilson before the Inverness midfielder drilled a low shot past the near post.

Almost immediately at the other end, Chris Moir attempted to round Ryan Esson but could only lift the ball inside for Jamie Mackay. His attempted volley spun up into the air and Wayne Mackintosh ran on to it but the County skipper’s drive was beaten away by Esson at his near post.

However, it was Inverness who struck again on 18 minutes. Jamie Mackay was short with his back pass from the right allowing Farid El Alagui to nip in and roll his second goal of the night under Dylan Maclean.

A diving save from Ryan Esson kept the visitors two goals in front on the half-hour. The former Scotland goalkeeper threw himself to his left to tip away a Kerr header off a Mackay cross from the right just as the ball looked to be creeping inside the near post.

Three minutes before the break, a neat interchange of passes put Aaron Doran in from the left but his curling effort was parried away by Dylan Maclean.

Maclean was called into action again eight minutes into the second half as he clutched a Josh Meekings header off a Doran free kick.

The busy Nairn stopper was beaten again in fortuitous circumstances on 58 minutes. A Doran cutback from the left was side-footed goalwards by El Alagui and just when it seemed as if Maclean was set to gather a simple shot at his near post, the ball deflected off the chest of substitute Jamie Wilson, as he found the net three minutes after taking to the field.

Esson was called into action midway through the second half as the goalkeeper stood tall to keep out a Dylan Mackenzie drive from 12 yards after the Nairn sub had been played in by Mackintosh.

The fourth goal arrived following the award of a dubious free kick on the standside touchline. Jack Maclean won the ball in a sliding challenge right in front of assistant referee Molly Alexander but the official flagged for a foul. From the delivery, Ali Sutherland knocked in his side’s fourth of the night.

Nairn can feel hard done by with the award of a penalty which led to a fifth Inverness goal on 79 minutes. Willie Barron attempted to usher a bouncing ball back to Maclean but was shoved in the back by El Alagui. That caused the Nairn defender to stumble, with the dropping ball striking him in the arm. Referee Ben Dempster awarded a penalty despite the apparent foul and Farid El Alagui stepped up to coolly stroke home for his hat trick.

But County grabbed a consolation goal three minutes from the end. A clumsy Jason Brown tackle on Jason Morganti just inside the Nairn penalty area led to a spot kick, which Wayne Mackintosh stepped up to blast home.

Nairn County – D. Maclean, Keogh (Morganti 76), P. Macleod, Riddell (S. Mackenzie 51), Mackintosh, C. Maclean, Kerr (Macrae 46), Moir, Mackay (D. Mackenzie 63), J. Maclean, Glenn Main (Barron 51). Subs unused: R. Macleod (gk).

Inverness CT – Esson, C. Brown (Gilchrist 55), Rennie, Meekings, J. Brown, A. Wilson (J. Wilson 55), Robertson (Stark 55), Macarthur, El Alagui, Sutherland (Smith 81), Doran. Subs unused: McRitchie, MacDonald, Hoban (gk).

Referee – Ben Dempster.

 

Written By: Graeme Macleod

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Farid El Alagui is on the lookout for a new challenge after a “mixed” two years with Hibs. The 30-year-old Moroccan managed only 21 appearances in an injury-disrupted stint at Easter Road. Despite his fitness problems, he insists he has no regrets about agreeing to become the second signing of Alan Stubbs’ tenure two years ago.“I’ve got mixed feelings when I look back on my time at Hibs,” he said, in conversation with the Evening News in a North Edinburgh coffee shop. “I was happy to be there at this stage in my career and it was a great place to be under Alan Stubbs but the big frustration was that I was not able to produce for a long period of time because of injuries. I feel like I did well when I played. I was feeling fine when I was fit and involved, especially when I first signed. I regret my injuries but I definitely don’t regret going to Hibs. I just feel, obviously, that I could have done so much more. “Even though I had a bad time with injuries, the fans have always been great with me. Apart from the injuries, I’ve got some great memories from my time at Hibs. The club will always have a special place in my heart.” El Alagui had scored four goals in his first five appearances for Hibs before a serious Achilles injury, sustained away to Alloa Athletic, effectively killed his chances of being a success at Easter Road. He eventually returned to action later that season, and scored in a 2-0 victory over Hearts, but he wasn’t playing pain-free. Surgery last summer to remove screws from his Achilles area, which he thought would cause minimal disruption, then had a debilitating effect on him for the first half of the season just finished. By the time he eventually rediscovered his fitness, his body remained prone to irritating niggles.“The big one at the start, the Achilles, was the worst,” the striker said. “In the second season, I had to remove the screws from the operation the previous season and I thought it would only take a couple of weeks to get fit again, but it took a lot longer for me to start jogging because it was painful.“I eventually started to feel really good from January onwards – that was as good as I’d felt for a long time. I was training a lot but I just couldn’t get a rhythm of games. It was on-off, on-off, so when I did come on I kept getting niggles. I started against Livingston in April then felt something in my hamstring which wasn’t related to my Achilles problem. We took a little risk to come back for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Dundee United a couple of weeks after that, but it unfortunately it didn’t work. I felt my hamstring again and that turned out to be my last game for Hibs.

El Alagui looks a picture of health and declares himself in prime condition fitness-wise. He knows that wherever his next move takes him, it is critical that he enjoys an injury-free summer as he strives to get his career back on track. “I need a good pre-season and a good run of games from the start to be fit for the long term,” he said. “Apart from the niggles at the end of the season, every time I played I felt sharp and feel like I contributed at Hibs. The good thing is that I managed to get fit just before the final, so I’m ready to start pre-season as soon as I get a new club. I’ve been out running and keeping in touch with the Hibs fitness coach, who has given me a programme, so I’m feeling 100 per cent. That will mean I can do pre-season like every other player. I’ve not played much recently so it is no good for me to take a month off over summer. I need to keep going. I’m a fit person naturally so I enjoy doing all the work.”

[WYNESS101]

Wish the club told fans this was happening could have went to it.

[ictfcsince94]

4 hours ago, WYNESS101 said:

Wish the club told fans this was happening could have went to it.

This.

It was a nice sunny night too 

[Renegade]

Even stranger, a few weeks back the club Twitter announced that a game down the Bught (presumably against Inverness City) had been cancelled due to rain. 

They'd never mentioned it was on beforehand. 

[ictfcsince94]

so much for 'engaging with fans' more. i know its hard enough to get people to a game at the TCS on a saturday afternoon, but some of us would happily watch the unders/reserves if local enough to get to.  

[old caley girl]

I think folk have unreal expectations about what our small media dept can do sometimes. These games were advertised on social media as some point as I saw them. I know that wont suit everyone but like in most areas resources do not allow for more extensive coverage.

[Renegade]

On 8/23/2016 at 11:57 AM, old caley girl said:

I think folk have unreal expectations about what our small media dept can do sometimes. These games were advertised on social media as some point as I saw them. I know that wont suit everyone but like in most areas resources do not allow for more extensive coverage.

A tweet and a Facebook status telling folk the game is on surely isn't too much to ask.  Especially given that they seem quite happy to tweet about all kinds of other nonsense like Pokemon and the Great British Bake Off.

[Ten4]

Page 2 of matchday thread Inverness CT v Ross Co, nobody clocked the mention of this game taking place in Nairn, then?

[tm4tj]

It's a question, the same as this one.