Another top two battle
It's a biggy this weekend as we travel to Kirkaldy to take on second place Raith Rovers at Starks Park on Saturday. Standard 3:00pm kick-off in this one which could be a massive indicator as to the outcome of this campaign. John McGlynn has slowly assembled a squad very capable of challenging for the Championship title and I expect Raith to be in the mix come the end of the season.
Raith are in fine form at the moment after a sluggish start to their season. Recent wins over Arbroath, Kilmarnock, Partick, Morton and Queen of the South have catapulted them into second place, five points behind Inverness. They are the form team over the last five games with four wins and a draw.
SUPPORTERS BUS LEAVES STADIUM 10:00
| Venue - Head 2 Head | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Agst | + / - |
| Home | 17 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 13 | +23 |
| Away | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 16 | +10 |
| Neutral | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 62 | 29 | +33 |
| First Competitive Meeting |
| Sep 25th, 1999 | League | (H) | 0 - 2 |
| Most Recent Competitive Meeting |
| Aug 7th, 2021 | League (Championship) | (H) | 1 - 0 |
| Last 10 Competitive Meetings |
 1 - 0 (H) |
1 - 0 (A) |
 0 - 0 (H) |
2 - 0 (H) |
3 - 3 (A) |
4 - 1 (H) |
2 - 1 (H) |
1 - 0 (H) |
4 - 3 (H) |
4 - 0 (A) |
| Biggest Victories |
| Jan 12th, 2002 | League | (H) | 5 - 0 |
| Heaviest Defeats |
| Aug 26th, 2000 | League | (A) | 1 - 4 |
| Highest Attendance |
| Apr 3rd, 2010 | League | (H) | 3,562 |
| Highest Home Attendance |
| Apr 3rd, 2010 | League | (H) | 3,562 |
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts | ||
| 1. | Inverness CT | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| 2. | Raith Rovers | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 17 |
| 3. | Kilmarnock | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 4. | Partick Thistle | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 15 |
| 5. | Arbroath | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 15 |
| 6. | Ayr United | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 11 |
| 7. | Queen of the South | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 9 |
| 8. | Hamilton Academical | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 21 | -12 | 8 |
| 9. | Morton | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 6 |
| 10. | Dunfermline | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 5 |
We have a great record overall against Rovers with only five defeats from thirty games. Three of those have come at Starks Park, the most recent was...... erm, as Don McLean said, "A long long time ago, I can still remember how Raith beat us". It was back in the days when buffalo roamed the plains, Delerium were top of the Pops with Silence and flares were still in fashion. Raith won this encounter in Kirkaldy 1 - 4 when we were still finding our feet in the big boys leagues. Surprisingly that was their second last ever victory over the Caley Jags in all competitions over ninety minutes. The last defeat was in the same season almost 21 years ago to this October day. Mind you, they had some great players in their team back then.
Other Fixtures all Saturday at 3:00pm
Arbroath v Ayr United
Kilmarnock v Hamilton Academical
Partick Thistle v Dunfermline
Queen of the South v Greenock Morton
Reminder, we play Arbroath at home on Tuesday 26th October in a full night of fixtures. Kick-Off 7:45pm
Last time out
Raith beat Arbroath 2-1 in a Championship game at Starks Park. Dylan Tait scored an early goal and they went two up just on the interval when Ross Mathews headed in. Arbroath notched a goal deep into stoppage time but that result was enough to put Rovers into second place in the table.
Inverness edged out Morton 2-0 in the Highlands. Billy Mckay and Michael Gardyne scored either side of the break as we extended our lead at the top. It was a not overly convincing performance, but it was another three points in the bag.
In the first meeting between the clubs this season, Inverness won thanks to a solitary goal from Roddy MacGregor in a tight affair in the Highlands. And what a goal it was. Boom!
Latest Team News
David Carson is possibly still absent after a family bereavement. Michael Gardyne was patched up to finish the game against Morton after getting a gash on his head. Manny Duku has still to get off the mark and might find it difficult to dislodge Billy Mckay from the strikers berth, but he will be keen to show his former club he has what it takes to make the grade. It's an artificial surface at Starks Park which might limit some of our options. We are thin at the back and Cammy Harper has a groin injury.
James Keatings will not be in the Raith squad as he is on loan at Montrose. Dario Zanatta will be a threat and keeper Jamie MacDonald, Christophe Berra and Kyle Benedictus add plenty of experience to their defence.
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