St Mirren V ICT - Preview

Can anyone actually remember the last time we played?? It feels like a new season after having 20 days of no first team football. Whatever you have been doing to keep yourself occupied, ignore it now because Inverness CT are finally back in action this weekend. Lets hope the players have recharged the batteries and are eager to get out there and bang in the goals!

New signing Dougie Imrie may feature at some point. Also it will be interesting to see if there will be any changes from the 1-0 defeat to Rangers. Perhaps Tokely for his miss in the last minute? What formation shall Brewster use? As long as we get the 3 points which are vital considering the 2 teams above us both play the Old Firm this weekend.

 

St Mirren v Inverness CT Saturday 9th February Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Referee: Calum Murray Others: George Drummond, Wes Boulstridge (Assistants), John McKendrick (4th official) FIXTURES Saturday 9th February: Dundee Utd v Hibernian (Setanta, 12:30pm) Hearts v Gretna Motherwell v Kilmarnock Rangers v Falkirk St Mirren v Inverness CT Sunday 10th February: Aberdeen v Celtic (Setanta, 2pm) Wednesday 13th February: Hibernian v Gretna (7:45pm) PREVIOUS RESULTS THIS SEASON

• Dundee Utd v Hibernian: (Dundee Utd 0-0 Hibernian; Hibernian 2-2 Dundee Utd)
• Hearts v Gretna : (Hearts 1-1 Gretna; Gretna 1-1 Hearts)
• Motherwell v Kilmarnock : (Motherwell 1-2 Kilmarnock; Kilmarnock 0-1 Motherwell)
• Rangers v Falkirk : (Rangers 7-2 Falkirk; Falkirk 1-3 Rangers)
• St Mirren v Inverness CT: (St Mirren 2-1 ICT; ICT 1-0 St Mirren)
• Aberdeen v Celtic: (Aberdeen 1-3 Celtic; Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen )
• Hibernian v Gretna : (Hibernian 4-2 Gretna; Gretna 0-1 Hibernian)

PAST MEETINGS The teams have played a total of 26 times (12 League, 4 Cup) with 71 goals (50 Inverness CT, 21 St Mirren) between them. Inverness CT: 15 wins (10 League, 4 Cup) Draws: 6 (6 League, 0 Cup) St Mirren: 5 wins (5 League, 0 Cup) A GAME TO REMEMBER For this weeks game to remember we take you back to the first ever match between the teams. It took place on the 10th of August 1999 in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Inverness CT won the match 1-0 thanks to an 88th minute Mike Teasdale goal. The attendance on the day was 1334. The teams were as follows: INVERNESS CT : Fridge, Mann, Tokely, Hastings, Golabek, Teasdale, Christie, McCulloch, Sheerin, Stewart, McLean. Subs- Robson, Shearer, Glancy. ST MIRREN: Roy, McLaughlin, Turner, Baltacha, Nicolson, Murray, Drew, Kerr, McGarry, Brown, Yardley. Subs- Mendes, Lavety, Ross. The referee was Garry Mitchell and there were no bookings on the day. Two Inverness players still play for the club. FACTS BETWEEN THE TEAMS

• All League meetings between the teams have taken place in the First Division or the SPL.
• Inverness CT have won all cup meetings between the sides.
• Inverness CT’s Paul Ritchie is the top scorer in the fixture with 8 goals. Next is Dennis Wyness with 7.
• St Mirren’s top scorer in the fixture is Yardley with 3.
• The biggest win in the fixture was when Inverness CT won 5-0 on 6/5/2000. McCulloch got 2, with Xausa, Wilson and Bavidge all getting one goal.
• Inverness CT were unbeaten in 9 games against St Mirren at Love Street until the earlier fixture this season. St Mirren beat Inverness 2-1 with Don Cowie scoring his first ever goal for Inverness CT.
• Don Cowie has scored in both encounters between the teams this season.
• Saturday could be the first time Craig Dargo will play against his old club since he left us last summer.
• Dougie Imrie could make his first ever appearance in the SPL and his first ever appearance for Inverness CT this Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH Marius Niculae (Inverness CT): The Romanian internationalist made his long awaited debut for the club back in August. He is looking to get back into the Romanian squad for Euro 2008 and to do that, he will need to continue banging in the league goals for the Highlanders and get a much needed victory this weekend. It took Marius 14 games to get his first league goal for the club, but a much improved December saw him awarded the player of the month award. Dougie Imrie (Inverness CT): The only signing Inverness made during the January transfer window, Dougie was bought from Clyde as what some people predict as a straight replacement for John Rankin. Playing Junior football only 3 years ago means that the SPL will be a big step up for the lad who has a habbit of getting booked in games. I am sure though, Brewster will work on his disciplinary record and get the best out of him. Good luck to him! Craig Dargo (St Mirren): Craig left us during the summer and joint the Paisley buddies in July. He is very prone to injuries but during his spell in the highlands he was very lucky and only had one injury that lasted more than a month. However he chose to leave us and what happens, he has been injured for 5 months, and has only returned to first team football since Christmas. He has featured in 5 games so far for the Saints and yet to score a goal, lets hope he makes it 6 games with 0 goals. BETTING ODDS St Mirren 5/4 Draw 11/5 Inverness CT 7/4