The Queens Head North

It's an early chance for revenge after we were beaten in Dumfries nine days ago as Queen of the South visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon, having won 3-2 at Palmerston. They have climbed to third in the table with former Caley Jag Adam Brooks scoring for fun in recent games. Luis Longstaff has trained this week and if he shows no reaction he will be included in the squad. Queens could top the table on Saturday night should they win and other results go their way. Our target is a win over Queens with Annan failing to win and that would put the Caley Jags up to eighth. Plenty of incentives for both teams to do well and that should make for another entertaining encounter. 

Remember to try the new improved bus service for home games. 

For 3 pm kick offs, buses leave the Bus Station at 1 pm and 2.15 pm. Buses return from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and again at 6 pm. Stagecoach operates these journeys as normal bus services, open to all passengers, and at no cost to either the club or the Supporters Trust. Passengers holding Under 22 or Senior Citizen and Disabled Concessionary Cards will travel free on the service. For other passengers the fare is £2.40 for a single journey.

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Hospitality/Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar

Bus to game Sponsorship

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Over the years we generally held the upper hand over the Doonhamers with home advantage showing a greater chance of taking all three points. Administration has it's knock on effect though and this will be a tougher ask than previous years.

2 - 3 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 2 (A)

2 - 2 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

0 - 1 (H)

3 - 0 (A)

3 - 1 (H)

It's one win each so far this season. A 1-0 win back at the end of August with Billy Mckay notching a first half winner during the Ferguson era. The next game was re-scheduled, hence the two in nine days with Adam Brooks grabbing a brace. Alfie Bavidge and Keith Bray had pulled us level but substitute Jordan Allan nicked the winner ten minutes from the end. A long journey home with no points after putting so much into the game. Maybe we can repay them this weekend.

INVERNESS CT  The Season So Far

D L  D D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W L  

W W L  W 

Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot.  *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart his first. Up next a revenge mission at home to QotS.

*There were plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in last midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday and missed out again at Alloa.

Scott Kellacher on Luis Longstaff: “He’s back in contention, he’s trained a fair bit so we’ll see how he gets on. He got through training today [Thursday] so we’ll see how he is tomorrow [Friday] and take it from there. He’s been back training a couple of days so that has been ideal to get him back involved with the squad.”

Full Preview from Scott Kellacher

L  D W D W W  Queens recent run of form has lifted them up to third in the table.  A loss at Kelty was followed by a home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. There was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short and they picked themselves up to beat the Caley Jags in Dumfries in a five goal thriller. They then scored three again against Dumbarton. Adam Brooks has scored four in his last two games, five in the last six League matches and six League goals for the season. Meh! This was their starting XI against the Sons.  With Harry Cochrane and Kyle Doherty out there were starts for Josh Walker and Lewis O'Donnell. Taylor Charters, a 23 year old midfielder, has joined on loan from Carlisle United this week for the remainder of the season and goalkeeper Murray Johnson has returned on loan from Hibs. Forward Leighton McIntosh has now left Queens.

After the Wind

It's our third away game on the trot as we head for Alloa on Saturday should Storm Eowyn relent sufficiently to allow Alloa to host our League1 encounter at Recreation Park. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick off and is the shortest trip of the trio of away days which has given us one win at Annan and a defeat at Queen of the South so far. Nine points in the last six games for Inverness whilst Alloa have gathered seven points from their last six games.

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INVERNESS CT  The Season So Far

D L  D D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W L  

W W L  

Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot.  It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. Oh well, on to Alloa on Saturday...

Plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday.

We threw away a two goal lead on our last visit to Recreation Park after Conor Sammon came on and changed the game. Danny Devine and Calum MacLeod had put us in the driving seat but goals from Sammon and Luke Donnelly earned the Wasps a point. In November a Charlie Gilmour goal was the difference between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium as the Caley Jags took the points in a 1-0 win.

Inverness CT Latest Team News

Scott Kellacher talking at press/media conference:

On Luis Longstaff“ He got a real bad dead leg. He’s going to be 50-50 for the match this weekend. He was a real big loss for us the other night because he’s a big player for us.”

If he's giving nothing else away then that may be our major doubt, therefore expect us to be along similar lines to midweek against Queens. In fairness, we don't have much options available anyway.

Alloa Athletic: W L  L  L  W D 

A 2-0 win at Kelty was followed by three defeats on the trot to Montrose, Cove and Stenhousemuir (1-2, 2-0, 1-3). Highlight for Alloa would be their next game, a 3-1 win at Arbroath. They then drew 1-1 at home to Queen of the South last Saturday. Seven points from their last six League games.

Luke Donnelly is top scorer with six goals backed up by the vastly experienced Conor Sammon (5) and Luke Rankin (5)

Here's how Alloa lined up in the draw with Queen of the South last week. They have since added a couple of loan signings: Josh Gentles a striker from Rangers and Charlie Dewar a defender from Dundee United.

On the Road Again

As Canned Heat once said to me, we are 'on the road again'. It's the second of three away games in a row as we head to Palmerston three days after beating Annan Athletic at Galabank. After this and weather permitting, we are off to Alloa this Saturday. That's a tough schedule for Scott Kellacher and his young side, but they have shown that they are well capable of competing at this level despite administration and all the hurdles that come with it.

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Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus

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We generally have the upper hand over the Doonhamers although many of these encounters are fairly tight affairs. We lost our last game at Palmerston which was in the Championship in 2022 by 2-1. Absolutely Buffered! After a sloppy opening from the visitors who appeared bus-lagged, Queens opened the scoring through Josh Todd who took advantage of a poor defensive clearance to finish tidily. Logan Chalmers did likewise after Queens gave away the ball in midfield, his finish was stunning. Queens went back in front before the break, goal was scored by buffering. A great finish by East I am told. Half Time 2-1 and there was no further scoring after the break. Our aim was to get enough points to clinch third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. We failed to achieve that, on to the next game.

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 2 (A)

2 - 2 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

0 - 1 (H)

3 - 0 (A)

3 - 1 (H)

2 - 0 (A)

INVERNESS CT  The Season So Far

D L  D D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W L  

W W 

Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot.  On to Palmerston on Tuesday night (21st January).

Here's the table ahead of our game tonight, the only League1 game before Saturday

Inverness CT Latest Team News

Concerns over Luis Longstaff who came off injured at Annan. Luis is proving to be a valuable player this season with his trickery out wide and has been an important player in recent weeks. Other than that we are not aware of any other new injuries other than the longer term ones. 

Scott Kellacher talking to the media: On Charlie Reilly’s status “That deal has finished; the loan has expired and unfortunately, he is not under 20 so that rules out bringing him back. It was a shame because he’s a very good footballer, we’d have loved to have him back but if we are to take any players now they must be under 20.” On the other hand we have Alfie Bavidge “Alfie has been a breath of fresh air since coming in. He wants to score goals, wants to be in the right place, he anticipates things and he could’ve had a few more on Saturday if it wasn’t for their keeper pulling off some great saves.”

Team News: “We’ve got a few struggling; we’ve got a few injury doubts. They’ll be assessed today [Monday], and we’ll see where they’re at after that. We’ve got a few but we’ll try and get through it, manage them and see how they are.” Longstaff will no doubt be the major concern.

Queen of the South

Queens were knocked out of the Scottish Cup 3-1 by St Mirren on Saturday at Palmerston with this squad on the left. Brennan Dickenson scored a superb volley after the interval to pull it back to 2-1 before St Mirren bagged a late third. 

Queens last six League1 games: 

L  W L  D W D 

Defeat at Arbroath was followed by a win over Stenhousemuir but again a loss at Kelty followed. A home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. Last Saturday was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short.

One Week On

Inverness travel to Galabank Stadium Annan for this rescheduled game which was a casualty of the winter weather last weekend. With both clubs dumped out of the Scottish Cup, this free weekend comes in handy to take up the slack after last weeks postponement and it negates the need for an arduous midweek trip to the other end of the world in mid winter. It's the fourth meeting between the sides this season with Annan holding the upper hand so far with two wins, with one of those being an away tie in the League Cup. Incidentally, we won the last encounter which was Duncan Ferguson's last game in charge before administrators took over the running of the club.

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Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info

Queen of the South next game

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Here's our report of Big Dunc's Last Stand: 1-0 - With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in.
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A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well.
HALF TIME: 1-0
The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline.
FULL TIME 1-0

INVERNESS CT  The Season So Far

D L  D D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W L  

W  ? 

Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. Only a handful of League games across the SPFL Leagues this weekend and we are the only League1 game tomorrow. We also play Queen of the South away on Tuesday night (21st January)

Inverness CT Latest Team News

Nothing new coming out of our camp. One or two niggles but we expect the team to be along similar lines to the Dumbarton game. On the Transfer Window, Kellacher had this to say to the press: “There’s nothing going about at the minute, I’ve heard bits and bobs about clubs being interested and that’s what you’re going to get when boys are doing well. You want boys to be playing well every week and we’re getting results and that’s the main thing. As far as we’re aware, nothing will be happening in the short term.”

Annan Team News

Annan have signed midfielder Dan Carmichael from Dalbeattie Star since they fielded this side in a 1-1 draw against Stenhousemuir a couple of weeks ago. Tam Muir headed in the equaliser after Buchanan had given the Warriors the advantage just after the interval. Annan keeper Jamie Smith saved a penalty and there was a red card for Aidan Smith for his involvement leading up to the spot kick and he will miss out this weekend.

Luca Smith's loan deal has been extended for the season.

Last Six League Games: L  D W L  D D 

Only one win over the last six League1 games. That was a crushing 1-5 win at Dumbarton. Losses were against Montrose and Arbroath and also a surprise 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Fraserburgh. The draws were against Cove and away to Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir a fortnight ago. 

Happy New Year

I hope we will all have a great New Year and are looking forward to getting back to business as usual. For Inverness Caledonian Thistle that will be a case of steadying the ship, not dropping any further in terms of league positions, sorting out the massive black hole where the finances disappeared into, hopefully a new buyer with the interest of the club and the community at heart and the process of building bridges with the local business community and fanbase can be reborn and flourish. Alan Salvage, as we know him on here, has gone a long way to restoring the good name of the Caley Jags. There is, however, still a long way to go.

Duncball, relegation, reign of tyranny, oligarchy, lies, deceit destruction and administration. This last season has seen our darkest moments on and off the park and one that showed that Immortality is real as one of our legendary supporters moved on to a spiritual level to oversee our resurrection from the ashes of administration. It's been a difficult time for the club and it's supporters who now have one of their own, Scott Kellacher trying his utmost to repair the damage done over the years of mismanagement. So far it's been a steadying process and recent results have been encouraging as he adopts a more positive approach to the beautiful game, something that has not gone unnoticed amongst the fanbase who are seeing the improvements from a year of Duncball; all possession, relegation and limited entertainment. 

On Saturday, we face Cove Rangers at the Caledonian Stadium in the last game of our Annus Seasonal Horribilis. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick off before Dumbarton first foot us on 4th of January 2025 bringing coal, shortbread, their own administration and a wee dram. To be honest, I'd rather have the three points instead.

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Match/Ticket/Supporters/ Bus Info

Half Season Tickets

Administration Topic on CTO

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0 - 2 (A)

2 - 1 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

6 - 1 (H)

1 - 0 (A)

4 - 1 (H)

1 - 1 (H)

1 - 3 (A)

3 - 2 (H)

INVERNESS CT:  D L  D D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W 

That's our League1 season so far, almost half way through the campaign for us. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath before last weeks stirring late drama at Stenhousemuir where Charlie Gilmour was credited with the goal after full time. 

We have played Cove Rangers three times this season and it's one win apiece and a draw. Cove's win was a Scottish Cup tie.

1. Drab Draw: 1-1 Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and despite fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring.
2. Caley Jags Get Vital Win: 1-2 Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner.
   This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis.
3. Cup of no Cheer: 0-2 Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly, Connell Ewan and Lewis Nicolson were all missing for the The Caley Jags on Scottish Cup 3rd Round action at Balmoral Stadium, Cove. Fraser Fyvie was out for Cove. No scoring in the first half, not for the want of trying, but two very late goals, one from the spot after a dubious handball attributed to Danny Devine put Cove into the draw for the 4th Round. Substitutes Glass with the penalty and McGrath with a strike into the bottom corner sent the Caley Jags tumbling out of the cup after it was looking good for soooo long.

Latest Team News

Inverness have limited options as is the norm these days since administration. No new injury worries that we are aware of and Robbie Thompson will be available after his suspension last week. Charlie Reilly will hopefully be getting closer to a return. Jake Davidson will miss out. Kellacher is reported to have one or two niggles within the squad, we'll have to wait and see what transpires.

Cove Rangers Last Six League games: L  L  L  D D W 

A poor recent run by Cove saw them drop from the top spot but they had a good win last week as they beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 in front of a mere 323 fans at Balmoral Stadium to get back on track. This was their squad for that encounter.

Arron Darge scored his first goal for Cove with a header after twenty minutes. Substitute Myles Gaffney sealed the points in the second half with a couple of minutes to spare. Everyone is beating each other as Arbroath sneak their way to the top of the table. Cove are sitting in fifth place only six points off the pace. 

Ones to watch: Mitch Megginson (7 League ⚽), Adam Emslie (4 ⚽), Findlay Marshall (3 ⚽) Connor Scully and Fraser Fyvie along with Emslie are able providers.

Striker Mitch Megginson should be fit to return having missed the Alloa game, but Liam Parker and Blair Yule are still unavailable. 

Saturday will be manager Paul Hartley's 200th game in charge and it coincides with his 500th game in football management overall. Hartley is confident his team will be well prepared to mount a serious challenge for promotion in the New Year.

A view of the Ochil's for Xmas

An away day to Ochilview Park lies in wait for the Caley 'IOU' Jags on Saturday. With the creditors looming, the club still running at -£10K per week and Administrators already running up a bill of over a quarter of a million pounds, are we a viable proposition or are we running on borrowed time? The financial mess left in the wake of the ill fated previous regime uncovered by the forensic sweep over club accounts is staggering. It's embarrassing to be honest and shameful that the list of creditors still owed money has over 140 names on it. These range from a few £'s to £1.6m in the case of former Chairman Ross Morrison. In total the Caley Jags IOU total is standing at over £3.8m and rising daily. Morrison, Allan Munro and David Cameron alone are down £2,721,751. That's not a lot if you say it quickly. How low can we stoop. I hope they all paused for thought when they donned their red poppy in November, the food suppliers are owed over £26K! There's also a geezer called Scot Gardiner who is looking for £70K and O2 are £1.64p short. WTaF.

Meanwhile, on the Park Inverness have to pick themselves up after tasting defeat at home to Arbroath last weekend. The dismissal of Robbie Thompson means that he will miss out along with the injured Jake Davidson, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and Connall Ewan. 

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Not many games against the Warriors over the years. Prior to the earlier fixture this season that ended 0-0, our next most recent game was a League cup encounter in 2012 that ended 1-1 at Ochilview.  Our one defeat was back in 1997 at Ochilview. Match report by Ian Broadfoot can be read below. The rest of our meetings took place between 1996 -1998.

0 - 0 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

3 - 1 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

3 - 0 (A)

4 - 1 (H)

2 - 3 (A)

5 - 1 (H)

1 - 0 (A)

Stenhousemuir 3-2 Inverness: Aug30th 1997. The game started at a fast pace and the home side thought they had scored in 4 minutes when an Innes effort was cleared off the line. In 7 minutes an excellent McCulloch 20 yard shot was painfully blocked by a defender and it fell harmlessly into the arms of Alexander. Wilson had a great chance in the 11th minute - he was clean through after a good pass from Thomson but he dithered too long. Stenhousemuir took the lead in 18 minutes when a Roseburgh cross from the left was knocked in by Farrell from close range. The visitors fought back and in 26 minutes a Wilson corner led to an Alexander save from Cherry and a Teasdale header off the bar. The Warriors took control and came close in 29 minutes when a 25 yard blast from Fisher flew low past the post. On 45 minutes Fisher collected a pass 30 yards out, calmly drew Fridge and slotted the ball home. On 47 minutes the visitors came back into the game when Wilson was brought down and Thomson hammered home the penalty. The revival lasted for 3 minutes. MacArthur was judged to have handled in the box to the amazement of all who saw the ball hit his shoulder. The soft penalty was converted by Roseburgh. In 73 minutes Henderson had the miss of the season. He was one yard out when the ball came across the face of the goal but he failed to connect. In the 85th minute a 25 yard McCulloch strike was tipped over by Alexander. Ross took the corner and Addicoat forced the ball over the line with his chest to make it 3-2. Caley Thistle chased the equaliser in the last 5 minutes but could not penetrate the well organised home defence and overall the final score of 3-2 flattered the Inverness side.

INVERNESS CT:  D L D D W D D D L  / W L D W W W L 

That's our League1 season so far. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath last week. 

The earlier fixture against the Warriors ended in a Bore Draw (0-0) Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existent for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back.
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A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval.
Half Time: 0-0
The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way.
Full Time: 0-0
Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display..... That was Duncball for you!

Stenhousemuir Last Six League1 Games: L D W W W L 

The Warrior's form over the last six League games is a mirror image of our own. One of the big differences is they have scored plenty goals. 4-0, 3-0 and 1-0  wins over Dumbarton, Cove and Montrose are sandwiched between defeats at and Queen of the South and Arbroath with a draw against Annan  five games ago.

This was their line-up in the 2-1 defeat at Palmerston last week. Reece Lyon put Queens ahead early in the first half. And look who added a second, none other than Adam Brooks with a sharp first time hit from a low cross into the box. Connor O'Donnell reduced the deficit on the hour but despite Queens keeper being the busiest, it ended in a loss in Dumfries. Unfortunately, Matty Aitken will be unavailable after suffering a kidney injury at Dumfries and has been receiving hospital treatment. Greg Buchanan is over the bookings threshold but should be available for this one.

Matty Yates is top scorer with five and Blair Alston has four. Danny Devine is still our top 'striker' with three goals. Nat Wedderburn is still at Stenny.

Latest Inverness CT Team News

A disappointing defeat last week at home to Arbroath was not helped by the sending off of Robbie Thompson who will miss this clash at Ochilview. No news again from the Inverness camp but as we have heard nothing, can we assume we will be along similar lines with Keith Bray starting in place of Thompson. Talk of a new young striker in the New Year, but we need the goals now as Billy seems to have run dry. Missing last week were Davidson, Reilly, Ewan, Nicolson and Cairns.

No news from the gaffers this week again 

Smokies pre-Xmas fare

Arbroath are next up for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday as long as we can beat the frost. It's a 3:00pm kick-off as Scott Kellacher looks for his fourth win on the bounce in League1. Arbroath have edged their way up to third in the table, just two points off the pace with a game in hand over the top two.

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Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info

***Supporters Trust AGM***

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Ahead of kick-off and in Bar94, the Supporters Trust will hold their AGM

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Ltd
Notice of
Annual General Meeting
On
Saturday 14th December 2024 at midday
At Bar 94 – Inverness Caledonian Stadium
The Annual General Meeting of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Limited will take place at Bar 94 in Inverness at the Inverness Caledonian Stadium at 12.00pm on Saturday 14th December 2024
Please note – if you are unable to attend and you would like to nominate a proxy on your behalf - please forward the details to info@ictsupporterstrust.org
Also note :- The formal AGM meeting is expected to finish at 12.30

0 - 1 (A)

0 - 0 (H)

2 - 1 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (H)

3 - 2 (A)

2 - 4 (A)

2 - 0 (H)

4 - 1 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

We have played Arbroath twice this season. The first encounter was a no scoring draw in the league cup group stage where Arbroath won the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out. The League game played at Gayfield ended in a 1-0 win for the hosts when Gavin Reilly scored the only goal. Namesake Charlie Reilly who has on the treatment table since he joined us on loan from Dundee after debuting for the Caley Jags in that game.

Another Blank: 1-0  Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away.

INVERNESS CT:  Our Season so far...

D L D D W D D D L  / W L D W W W  That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher has won his last three League games since he started five league games ago with a 3-1 defeat at Dumbarton and he will be looking for a fourth on the trot against Arbroath. That run in November where we picked up seven points from a possible nine earned him the League1 manager of the month trophy. Let's not get too carried away with that, as cast your mind back to last November when none other than Duncan Ferguson won the same November accolade. Nonetheless, congratulations to Scott for picking up this award and let's hope the curse of the MotM does not strike on Saturday.

LATEST TEAM NEWS

Read Scott Kellacher's thoughts HERE. Remi Savage returned last week and Keith Bray made the bench. However, Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties.

No new team news available at present.

Arbroath fielded this team last week in a 2-1 win over Queen of the South thanks to a late strike from Calum Gallagher. Douglas had put Queen of the South ahead with the proverbial screamer twenty minutes from the end. A couple minutes and a couple of inspired subs later and one of them Innes Murray fired in his own screamer. Two minutes later the two subs combined for Murray to cross for Gallagher to secure all three points.

Arbroath were one of the bookies favourites before the season started and after a slow start they are now knocking on the door at the top end.

L W W D W W Last six League1 results

Highlights in this sequence were wins over Annan, Stenhousemuir, Cove & Queen of the South. A draw with Montrose and a disappointing 1-3 defeat at home to Dumbarton.