Inverness fail to turn up

Celtic brushed aside a lack lustre Inverness to go into the next round of the Scottish Cup. Inverness only managed one decent effort on target but big Fraser Forster dived full length to turn the ball round the post. Celtic dominated thereafter and cruised to victory with Georgios Samaras capitalising on an error by Ross Tokely to smash an angled drive through Jonny Tuffey who should have done better, and the game was beyond Inverness when once more David Proctor gave away a penalty, converted comfortably by Scott Brown.

A well below capacity crowd had little to shout about at the home end, in stark contrast the away fans were in a mood to party and conga'd the afternoon away. Seeing as the team couldn't be bothered to put the effort in, I can't be bothered to write a report.

Inverness fans were not best pleased by their sides contribution in this game and I will let them tell the story of the day we never turned up.

First up is Tichy_Blacks_Back who commented during the match:- Celtic don't look anything special on first half showing but just not too sure how Tel will change it to give us more bite. Tuffey looked to have misjudged Samaras's shot even though it moved in the air but not a whole lot. Thought Ross has worked hard and Hayes may just be trying too hard to impress.

Alex Macleod was still confident at half-time though:- Forty three minutes of good play and two minutes of madness puts us one behind. Repeat the forty three minutes with 110% concentration and we can still do it.

RiG observed:- I think that victory for Celtic was the definition of "routine win".

ICTPAISLEY was less than impressed:- I've been looking forward to that game for a while now and to be honest it bored me. Up until their first goal the game was going well and we were holding our own. Then a lapse from Tokely, Proctor and Tuffey means we concede a very soft goal. 2 minutes later and Tokely was at it again but this time he was even more stupid, rolling the ball back to Tuffey with Hooper in his way but luckily we got away with it. The goal in the 2nd half was just as bad, Proctors attempt to block Hooper and allow the ball to roll out evidently failed and Proctor in a clumsy panic barges into Hooper for us to concede yet another penalty this season. Hooper might have gone down easily but there can't be any complaints as there was definate contact, Proctor had no chance of getting the ball and was reckless.

We created a couple decent chances and had a claim for a penalty at one stage but apart from that this game was just going through the motions and was a very routine 2-0 win to Celtic.

I thought Nick Ross was doing fairly decent today and was surprised when it was him coming off and not Hayes who had a complete nightmare, I don't know if it was because he was pushed to far forward but he never got going in the match at all. A bit of hope came when Sutherland and Gnapka were brought on and Sutherland looked promising and for 10 minutes we looked like we might equalise but our pressure came to nothing. Gnapka had a very poor game and if i hadn't heard of all the hype from the last match i'd have thought he was a mediocre player at best.

Pass marks today are for Gillet and Shinnie but overall a poor performance from us. We went on a great run unbeaten so to lose today isn't really a surprise just a bit dissapointing to lose out on Hampden yet again. Maybe next week we can get the shock win we all crave

DavieB  was also not chuffed:- We gifted them both goals, and to be honest, we could still be playing now and wouldn't have scored. Our sole tactic in the first half seemed to be to just lump it up to Tade...who had no chance against their defenders. And surely Terry must realise by now that Tade is never going to be an out and out striker. He's alright out on the wing, but that's about it.

First goal was a total cock-up by Tokely. Mind, Tuffey should've still saved it. It might've had some power in it, and swerved, but it was straight at him, and seemed to just go through his hands. Second half...same as the first. We were totally outplayed. Proctor thought the ball was going out, it wasn't. Clear penalty. Game over.

Oh well, not that I really expected anything from the game anyway, but I can't remember the last time we made it so easy for one of the OF.

Even less happy was Hislopsoffsideagain:- Rubbish game, rubbish result, rubbish performance, rubbish weather, rubbish attendance.

Did I mention it was rubbish?

To be fair we were making Celtic work very hard until their first goal - I haven't seen the TV pictures but I had several texts from friends watching the game on Sky who also highlighted Proctor's failure to track Samaras for the first goal. However the fact is that Tokely made a complete dog's dinner of it and, for all the power and swerve in Samaras' shot, Tuffey seemed to get two hands on it. I'm staggered that, in a game of such importance, Butcher decided to use our second choice keeper. I don't care about keeping Tuffers happy - the cup is the only chance we'll ever have of winning anything (and even a replay would have been worth £££), so Esson should blatantly have been in goal.

After we fell behind, we seemed to switch to some sort of 5-4-1 system with Gillet slotted in as a third centre-back and Shinnie and Meekings as wingbacks...which was a foolish move as it just condemned us to being cramped in our own half. We never looked remotely like scoring in the second half. I didn't agree with the substitutions either - Nick Ross was having a much better game than most of his teammates, and I'd much rather have had Tade on the pitch than Sutherland.

The second goal was even more farcical than the first - initially Tuffey's throw out to Sutherland was risky at best, then Sutherland gave the ball away and put us in trouble, and finally Proc made a hash of shielding the ball out and bundled the forward over for a penalty. And that, as they say, was that.

Pass marks to Gillet and Ross, but that's about it. I felt quite let down by the lack of fight we showed in the second half. Opportunities for glory don't come around all that often for ICT players - and they well and truly blew their chance today to make a name for themselves.

Was thinking after the game about our centre half situation - for me, Hogg, Golobart and Williams are our best centre-backs (all of whom were injured), and Gillet is probably the next best. So today we had, for me, our 5th and 6th best central defenders on the pitch. I'd like to see any other SPL team keep out Celtic with their 5th and 6th centre backs on the field!

Doofers Dad was more philosophical:- What makes this so disappointing was that this was the poorest Celtic side I have seen at TCS, they were there for the taking and too few of the team seemed to be up for it. The match stats indicate that it was generally pretty even and in general I think that is a fair reflection with neither side really posing any serious threat. The difference was really two moments of defensive madness which led to the two goals. I simply don't understand why Esson was not playing if he was fully fit.

Credit where credit is due though. Samaras took his goal very sweetly and Celtic defended well. Our front players are being criticised here but to some extent they played as well as they were allowed to play. Celtic were very effective at closing down quickly and cutting out the through balls as soon as things got potentially threatening. Foran put in a tireless shift and tried to lift his team but with little effect. We only ever got half chances and nobody had the quality to exploit them or to create anything better.

I have been a bit criticical of Nick Ross in the past but for me he was our best player today and I was disappointed he was subbed so early. Apart from giving away the penalty I thought Proctor did well. It is easy to pillory players for obvious errors but the stats show Celtic had very few attempts at goal and that is a reflection of what was generally a pretty solid defensive performance from our team although Meekings was very poor when going forward.

One should always try to take something positive out of a disappointing situation. The positive today is that Jonny Hayes will definitely not be joining Celtic.

Renegade was a bit puzzled:- I have no qualms about that result whatsoever. ICT were poor and never got going at all. They weren't even beaten by the better team, just one that wasn't as bad. The game could be still going on right now and the score still begin with "Inverness nil". There was no bite on that team at all, with nobody who really looks like they are capable of scoring goals - but then what do expect of a front four that contains three wingers and a left full back? The selection itself was odd - where was Shinnie meant to be playing? He seemed to switch from sitting behind the striker, to left wing to full back. Why wasn't Gillet at centre back to cover Tokely with Shinnie at full back, with either Sutherland or Gnakpa playing out wide? Surely that would've made a lot more sense. I'm also of the opinion that Tokely plays best at centre back when he has someone alongside him who can act almost as a sweeper. Gillet would've been perfect for that role today.

Davie can have the final say:- That game was almost as disappointing as reading this forum. As a team, we didn't turn up. Never mind the individual errors, which have been done to death here, we didn't compete in midfield and the supply to the front was pretty well limited to long balls. What got me was that the best way for us to deal with Celtic was to play a high tempo game and disrupt them. Yet almost everything; crowd, pitch, weather, even the anouncer was so low key. Onwards and (hopefully) upwards.

So,there you have it folks, straight from the horses mouths, and almost unanimous about the dismal performance and likewise for top players, Nick Ross and Kenny Gillet escaped most criticism and Richie Foran worked tirelessly, but on a day when you need to be at your best, too few bothered to turn up.

Back to SPL business mext weekend and lets hope we get that game out of our system before then, as it's Celtic who are the opponents once more.

Boring, Boring, Boring !!!! the first half was invisible from a Caley Thistle point of view with St Mirren registering 4 or 5 chances, but the first five minutes of the second half saw quite a few chances for ICT, none of which were converted, and the only other action was a flurry of substitutions for both sides, the result of which was two attempts by new boy Claude Gnakpa, one which hit the inside of the post, and then a booking for him for alleged simulation ......

0-0 the final score ... 2 points dropped for sure, but on the bright side it was a third SPL clean sheet in a row, and seven games unbeaten. Bring on Celtic next week !!!!

Buddy Hell

Inverness managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory as they passed up a number of gilt edged opportunities to take all three points.

A beautiful January afternoon failed to tempt more fans down to the Caledonian Stadium and the game kicked off in bright sunshine, with a rermarkable skyline to the east. It looked as if someone had painted a straight line across the sky with incredible accuracy; a massive bank of cloud reaching down to sea level.

Butcher had to change his back line once more as a knee injury ruled out Steve Williams. Ross Tokely slotted into the centre back role, but the rest of the team remained the same as last week with new boys Winnall and Gnakpa securing a place on the bench. Swindon bound Lee Cox was absent. Jim Goodwin missed out for Saint's, but ex-Inverness wide player Dougie Imrie started with Hasselbaink and Teale as subs.

The first half was quite a borefest with Inverness unable to put their foot on the ball and string two passes together. It was the visitors that made most of the running in the early stages but if truth be told neither side turned up at all. Last week against Hearts, you could see the determination and quality that merited the plaudits. This had deserted the entire team in that first half, none moreso than the enigmatic Jonny Hayes. He looked jaded, and without that spark, Inverness struggled to create anything. St Mirren fared slightly better and Esson had to make a couple of routine saves to keep the clean sheet intact. Maybe the Saint's strikers could have done better, but they shot straight at Esson through Carey, and Thompson headed one into Esson's midrift when either side of him would have given cause for concern. Thompson almost caught out Ryan Esson with a looping header but he palmed the ball from under the bar and then gathered the loose ball comfortably.

What were Inverness doing meantime? Absolutely nothing. They could not bring the ball under control and a number of misplaced passes roused the sleeping fans in the North Stand. The only positives for Inverness in that first half was Man of the Match Kenny Gillet had Dougie Imrie in his back pocket and produced an outstanding French lesson for all to see. Just before half time, it was Gillet who almost broke the deadlock, he sidestepped the defenders but dragged his shot wide. Easy to see why he has never scored a goal before, but it was more promising from the home side.

Terry Butcher must have compiled a huge list for his half time pep talk after enduring that rubbish. It was so boring that we were reduced to watching a strange light on a hilltop in the direction of the Slochd. Many theories were put forward as to what it was, at least it was more entertaining than the football on display.

Half Time 0-0

Words were undoubtedly spoken in the dressing room and Inverness came out of the blocks with all guns blazing. Someone had woken Hayes up and all of a sudden we were lurking with intent around the visitors box. Hayes fizzed a ball across the box, unfortunately for Tade the ball had too much pace on it and he could not direct his toe poke into the net at the far post. He only succeeded in knocking the ball wide of the target and twisting his foot in the process. Tade turned provider soon after but his cut back went behind Ross and Hayes and another great chance was gone.

More neat play saw a chance open up for Tansey, but his shot from the edge of the box flashed inches wide of the upright when he should have made the keeper work. Inverness were still pressing the game and the Buddies were on the back foot as Foran cleared the North Stand with an effort from 25 yards, the ball landing somewhere near Munlochy.

St Mirren ventured upfield and Barron shot straight at Esson then the industrious McGowan inexplicably trundled a shot into a grateful Esson's hands from point blank range as Meekings stifled the strike.

New boys Gnakpa and Winnall were introduced for the less than effective Tade and Sutherland and it was Claude who looked the likeliest to open the scoring. He was waltzing past the St Mirren players with some dazzling runs, but the referee booked him at the end of a four man waltz for alleged diving. He was however causing the Saint's problems as he ran at them with skill and pace and his aerial presence offered us another dimension. He almost put the icing on the cake after he fired a low shot across the keeper, but it bounced off the post and along the face of the goal line before being scrambled away That was as close as it got, but no, hang on a minute.

Nick Ross missed an incredible opportunity to wrap up the points late on but he somehow managed to thump the ball over the bar from right on the goal line. He almost made amends right at the death but shot weakly at Samson from the edge of the box as he tried to curl one in.

Full Time 0-0

After a dull first half we came to life and should have won at a canter, but chances went abegging and we missed an opportunity to climb the table. A couple of positives though. That's seven games unbeaten now. Claude looks like an all round player, pacey, tricky and good in the air. Ryan Esson kept his third clean sheet in a row and Kenny Gillet had his finest hour and a half for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Josh Meekings was next best and Tansey came onto a game in the second half.

So, chance missed to stretch away from the bottom clubs, but with Dunfermline and Hibs both losing, it's not such a bad weekend after all.

We never did find out what the mysterious glowing light was on top of the hills, but thankfully the game picked up after the break and it was all forgotten about.

No highlights available

Celtic in the cup next Saturday, and it's an early kick off.

Caley Thistle clean sheets are like buses...

...you wait ages for one of them and two suddenly come along one after the other.

With todays 1-0 win over third placed Hearts, courtesy of a 49th minute strike from Shane Sutherland, Caley Thistle now go 6 games unbeaten, and are theoretically less than a game away from 6th spot !!!

Hearts Blown Away

Edinbrgh's finest were blown away by a whirlwind at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. They had no answer to the tormentor in chief, Jonny Hayes who showed them a clean pair of heels whenever he got on the ball, and not content with that he helped out in defence by tracking back and snuffing out any threat that Hearts wide boys might have posed. It was Hayes finest game for Inverness.

Terry Butcher had to make seven changes from the side that knocked Dunfermline out of the cup. the weather almost saved him the bother as torrential rain and gale force winds lashed the Moray Firth and brought about a couple of pitch inspections, despite covers masking the surface, and it was touch and go for a while before the game went ahead.

With midweek heroes Roman Golobart and Andrew Shinnie crocked long term and Lee Cox straining a calf, Butcher had to shuffle the pack big time. Thomas Piermayr, Ross Tokely and Graeme Shinnie were rested from the back line as well but Ryan Esson returned to his number one spot in place of the impressive Jonathan Tuffey. So, this meant a completely alien back five taking to the park. Josh Meekings at Right back, David Proctor and Steve Williams as centre-backs and Kenny Gillet returning to left back. There were starts for Nick Ross and Shane Sutherland with McKay dropping to the bench. Some of these changes were due to the hectic schedule recently and not risking players who are still not fully 100%.

Hearts were without Zaliukas red-carded against the Buddies; McGowan filled his boots, but Templeton, Obua and Santana only made the bench. Sutton was the lone striker, no doubt an attempt to unsettle the untried home sides back four with his battering ram style of play.

The game started amid fears that the prevailing anticyclone and heavy precipitation might eventually get the better of the playing surface. Thankfully the conditions were deemed good enough by referee George Salmond for the game to continue and off we kicked.

A bright start by Inverness who were looking sharper than their counterparts in the early stages and broke forward at pace, Jonny Hayes looking up for the challenge after having his throat felt in midweek by captain Foran. Hearts were looking sluggish in the swirling vortex, but Hammill tried his luck as the ball broke to him some thirty-five yards out. Esson was helpless as the sidewinder ball smacked off the crossbar and away to safety. A let off for the home side, but that was about all Hearts had to offer in the first half as Inverness took the game to them.

Our makeshift defence looked as though they had played together for years. The full backs dealing with the wingers with ease and Williams and Proctor handling the threat of Sutton comfortably and displaying great composure at times when the ball was lobbed forward. Williams looks an admirable athlete and strolled through this game untroubled.

Hayes was tormenting the Hearts back line and his darting runs were causing them some grief, so much so that they resorted to upending him at every opportunity with Darren Barr being noted by the referee inside ten minutes.

After nineteen minutes Elliot left the pitch to be replaced by the dangerous David Templeton, no doubt unable to take the jibes after his hilarious double foot fresh air swipe at the ball right in front of the north stand.

Inverness were well on top with Greg Tansey probing and dictating play in midfield and a number of balls into the Hearts box went unpunished. Some of this due to the ball getting tangled under foot and some down to poor finishing. In a rare foray forward, a Templeton free kick was comfortably saved by Esson, looking to keep his second clean sheet in a row.

Inverness did have the ball in the net, Kello blocking an initial effort from Hayes, and after a couple of goes at it, Gillet knocked the ball in but one of the three were flagged offsides. It was Ross who tried to nick the ball and he was the one breaching the offside rule. That did not stop the tannoy man playing the celebratory tune, much to the glee of the North Stand who appreciated the joke.

McGowan was booked nearing half time and Nick Ross had the crowd on their feet as he curled one agonisingly wide. Tade almost opens the scoring as he knocks one wide from inside the six yard box, but the half time whistle draws the game into the break.

Half Time 0-0

Inverness started the second half where they left off, pressing Hearts onto the back foot straight away and after some tidy passing play and tenacity from Jonny Hayes, he picked out Shane Sutherland in the box and his powerful header from close range went through Kello and squirmed over the line with the keeper helpless. Shane's first goal this season after spending plenty time on the bench and just reward for his perseverance.

This stung a lack lustre Jambo's into action and they realised they had to do something if they wanted anything from this game. A couple of fouls later and former Caley Jaggie Ian Black was carded, and not before time. Before seventy minutes had gone, Sergio's intentions were clear as he replaced Barr and Black with Santana and Obua. This injection gave them more pace and width as they tried to recover the game.

The wind in the final third at the South end was restricting Esson's attempts to clear the ball and he was only managing to reach about thirty yards as he faced the teeth of the gale. In fact the weather was more problematic than the Hearts strikers.

A more frenetic end to the game was probably more comfortable for the players on the park than the watchers in the stands. Although Hearts enjoyed more possession now, Inverness still looked more threatening on the break and a cross come shot from wide on the left wing from Sutherland was centimetres away from bouncing into the net as it struck the post with Kello stranded. Hayes spurned the best chance of the half after Tansey threaded him through on goal with ten minutes left. Unfortunately Kello was equal to the wee Irishman and as Hayes flicked the ball goalwards the Keeper blocked the shot to keep Hearts interested. Hearts were reduced to taking pot-shots from distance, but none of them troubled the keeper, and likewise Hayes and Tansey for the homesters. Hearts last fling was blocked comfortably by Esson and that was the final action after four minutes of added time.

Full Time 1-0

This was a great advert for summer football, the game was played out in horrendous conditions. Driving rain, blustery swirling wind that would cut you in half and a ball that floated around like a balloon in a tornado but it all made for an entertaining spectacle and the scoreline although unexpected considering our injury problems warmed the cockle of our hearts.

To be honest, there were no failures today and picking a MotM is unfair to some. Jonny Hayes tore the Hearts defence to shreds with some old fashioned wing play. They had no answer to him, even with two men keeping an eye on him and resorted to some rough house tactics to stop him. Hayes was on a mission though and had his best game this season. Greg Tansey pulled the strings in midfield, popping up in attack and defending in depth when needed covering every blade of grass, but my MotM goes to someone who covered every blade of grass twice. Richie Foran made his greatest contibution to the cause yet. He was everywhere, winning defensive headers, blocking shots and distributing from the back, what a performance from the captain. Special mention to Proctor and Williams who complimented each other perfectly and strolled through the game and Ryan Esson for another clean sheet. Josh Meekings also booked himself the right back slot and Gillet's pace is a huge asset at left back. Nick Ross used the ball well and was unfortunate with one effort, but at the other end he declined a shot on target electing to play in Tade. In the end it was neither, but promising display from young Nick. And to the scorer Shane who has had a traumatic week losing a close friend. It must have been difficult for him but he showed great qualities and scored a vital winner.

Headaches for Butcher now after that eleven produced the goods, despite the inclement weather.

St Mirren up here next weekend; onwards and upwards.

Calamity Smith is now player of the year at ICT

It was off to Fife tonight for what promised to be a gritty rather than pretty encounter between Caley Thistle and Dunfermline. The game was live on SKY and the sparse crowd, huddled into a single stand perhaps was an indicator of this.

Caley Thistle made three changes to the team that took full points at Fir Park on the weekend with Ross Tokely coming back into the side after injury replacing the suspended Kenny Gillet. Jonny Tuffey took his customary spot in goals for a cup game and Richie Foran was also back in the lineup with Nick Ross dropping to the bench.

TM4TJ provides this report .....

Calamity Smith is now player of the year at ICT

To further echo what Scotty has indicated in his preamble, Jonny Tuffey kept his Scottish Cup number one spot at the expense of regular keeper Ryan Esson, despite being the villain of the piece in the original game and Ross Tokely came into the back four to replace the suspended Kenny Gillet, with Richie Foran adding a bit of steel to the midfield. Nick Ross had dropped to the bench to accommodate the captain.

Neither side made any impression on the defences in the first quarter of an hour apart from Barrowman who forced Tuffey into a diving save early on as he went one-on-one with the keeper. That apart, the game resumed where the first one finished. A towsey affair with both sides guilty, but if anything Inverness were looking slightly slicker than the Pars. Misplaced passes were the order of the day as play became even more disjointed but Andy Kirk had the next strike on target after 22 minutes as he fired one straight at Tuffey, and he made a routine save.

This roused Inverness and after some neat possession play a Tansey effort from inside the box was stifled and Smith collected the loose ball easily. Defences were still well on top and with half an hour gone it was difficult to see past penalties deciding the outcome of this one. Surely there was better to come?

Cardle was upended by Ross Tokely on the edge of the box offering the Pars a chance to shoot from around 25 yards. Martin Hardie lifted the ball over the wall electing to go for placement rather than power but Tuffey was alert and plucked the ball comfortably away from the top corner.

Inverness were finding it difficult to get past the Dunfermline defence and you had to feel sorry for the watching Neil Lennon who would learn little from the poor quality on show from both sides. Oh what a shame!

Martin Hardie received a booking for tugging back Tansey, who took the free kick himself and fired it high and not so handsome. Like the first game, the ball was taking a battering.

However, embarrassment for the visitors as Cardle chased down a ball wide left, skipped round Foran and swung a cross to the back post where who else but Andy Barrowman climbed all over Shinnie and headed the ball down and into the net from two yards. Pffft

Inverness were now stung into action and forced their first corner and kept possession around the Dunfermline box but to no avail. Little was seen of Inverness as an attacking force in the last third of the park especially the enigmatic Jonny Hayes who had disappointed up to this point. Just on half time, Foran won a free kick 22 yards out but Piermayr's shot from the lay off was deflected into the arms of Smith with all the sting taken off the ball.

I fear for the players as Butcher must be fuming at that first half performance.

Half Time 1-0.

The interval break saw the result of Butcher's pep talk; Andrew Shinnie replacing Lee Cox and he almost made an instant impact as he sliced a twenty yard effort wide from a good position centre of goal. Better would come as the game wore on.

Piermayr still has not learnt the art of throw-ins taking an eternity to take a simple shy........ Andrew Shinnie broke on the left and he released McKay, but his angled drive was palmed without discomfort by Smith. The encouraging thing for Inverness was that the introduction of Andrew Shinnie was having an effect.

Lord almighty! Lightning does strike twice. Blunder keeper Chris Smith get's tangled with Rutkiewitz and the result of that is an extremely embarrassed but grateful Jonny Hayes who scores a replica of his goal in the first game .......unbelievable. It looks as though Ian Turner will have little opposition to him getting the number one shirt.

Tade did well as he turned the defenders inside out on the left wing but as he bore down on goal Dunfermline scrambled the ball out for a corner with two men in blue waiting for a lay off. Tade was now beginning to stretch the Pars defence and he flashed a ball into the box from the opposite wing but it was hooked clear. The game was now opening out.

One hour gone and Inverness were starting to turn the screw with the home defence getting more desperate. Scorer Barrowman was replaced by a mini nemesis, Liam Buchanan after 65 minutes, but it was the visitors who were playing any football on show. Chris Smith received a sarcastic cheer when he picked up a headed back pass; phew.

Buchanan broke on the right and drilled a low shot at Tuffey which he dealt with easily as the game entered the 70th minute.

Strangely enough, Richie Foran and Jonny Hayes fell out and both were booked by Euan Norris with fifteen minutes to go and extra time looming. I wonder if they were fighting over the captain's armband. Back to the football and some tidy interplay saw Andrew Shinnie sting the fingers of Chris Smith who turned his ferocious left footer over the bar for a corner. Dunfermline had weathered the storm though and were now crossing the half way line and forced their second corner as Mason tested Tuffey, but it was wasted.

Golobart produced one of his trademark arse clenching errors but Tuffey saved his blushes with an excellent block as the game swung from end to end now. Hayes fired a free kick into the box and Chris Smith punched clear but took a knock in the process and after some confusion, play resumed with a goal kick to the Pars.............I think.

Golobart was pushing his luck now but got away with it, almost, although from the following play the Pars hooked a shot just wide. The Pars were now believing in themselves and forced another corner as Thompson was thwarted on the edge of the box by a crunching Golobart redemption tackle. Oh lordy!

Nick Ross enters the arena as the ineffective Billy McKay is subbed with five minutes of regulation time left, but it's Dunfermline who now look the most likely to snatch a winner and Kirk is just short of reaching a ball into the box as three minutes of injury time is announced.

More distress for Butcher as Golobart takes a sore one and turns his ankle and is stretchered off in agony after an ill timed challenge from Willis.(wotchu doin boy!) David Proctor replaced the young Spaniard as the ninety minutes came and went and more injury time beckoned.

With the last kick of the ninety, Hayes floats a ball into the box but there is nobody near it and it's extra-time and all to play for

.

Ninety Minutes 1-1.

Another thirty minutes of football before penalties can be considered and Inverness start on the ascendency and no sooner had they taken the initiative when Tade out wide right fed Andrew Shinnie, and as he turned inside the right hand side of the box he lashed a sublime curling strike behind Smith who played no part in the goal this time. Tremendous goal eclipsing Tade's effort at the weekend.

A routine save by Tuffey from Buchanan after Shinnie is upended at the other end, but no free kick, and Ryan Thompson gets the break of the ball in the box but the defenders block well, it's all happening now. Hayes sprinted forward with the ball to ease the pressure from the Inverness defence but his pass is too heavy for Tade who had made a great run into space.

Martin Hardie is trying the refs patience as he upends Hayes right on the break.

Extra Time Half Time 1-2

Inverness start the fourth period with the same vigour and Hayes darts forward but the final ball to Shinnie is cut out. Piermayr was booked, probably for his rubbish throws........only kidding, and Tade once more turns the defender, but is baulked as he tries to sprint through.

Goal number three for Inverness and it's another cracker. Tade forces the error from a high ball and Nick Ross does brilliantly to keep it in play and pick out Tansey on the edge of the box who promtly guides the ball expertly behind an exposed Smith.

Dunfermline are not finished though and Tuffey has to save again as the Pars look to get a quick reply, but it's Inverness who have the extra class and look likely to add to their lead to the delight of the 54 Inverness fans who made the journey; big respect.

Fair play to Dunfermline as they went straight up the park after Tade almost scored number four and Tuffey had to stop another Buchanan shot with three minutes left. Jonny Hayes was now tormenting Dunfermline and they knew it. He was upended at every opportunity and the game was now beyond Dunfermline as the referee ended the contest with Inverness making the accountant happy.

Extra Time Full Time 1-3

This was the result that Inverness were looking for. Not just to get into the next round of the cup, but to send out an SPL warning to Dunfermline that the first division is not for the Highlanders.

It was a game that was disappointing until the second half was lit up with a goal fit to win the cup final itself. Shinnie curling a beaut into the rigging before anyone knew what was happening; stunning goal and worth the wait. After that it looked a long way back for the Pars and the third goal stroked in with applomb by Tansey was the icing on the cake. Chris Smith will no doubt be the scapegoat and he was culpable in both games, but Dunfermline's issues lie deeper than that and they look like a team destined for the next division down unless they come up with something special in the transfer window.

Motm for me was the half time substitute Andrew Shinnie, who has quite frankly been a revelation since he came here and despite a slow start is now a fans favourite. His goal tonight woud be fit to lift any cup and exudes quality.

Golobart has been a standout recently and it was disappointing to see him stretchered off after making a superb defensive recovery but then taking a whack on the legs which turned his ankle. It looked nasty for him and something that Butcher will not enjoy as we have been thin on the ground for central defenders all season due to injuries, suspensions and departures. On the bright side, Steve Williams will be chomping at the bit to get a start and he is a big lad, so all is not doom and gloom in the back four, but we don't have our troubles to seek.

So as far as the cup is concerned, we now have a home tie against Celtic in February...............sounds good to me. This report comes to you courtesy of online streaming..........

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On the opening day...

Motherwell handed us our first defeat of the season, and although we have had a few more since then, there were a few other firsts in this game too .....

In the absence of Richie Foran and vice-captain Ross Tokely, Jonny Hayes captained his first SPL match, Steve Williams made his first appearance for the club as a late sub, Gregory Tade got back to first spot in the ICT scoring tables with the winning goal in this game, our first win in the last 9 attempts at Fir Park, and the best 'first' of all .... Ryan Esson achieved his first clean sheet of the season.

A final 'first' that deserves mention, especially after recent discussions on the message boards about referees, is that this was the first time this season, in any competition, where there were no bookings in an ICT match. There have been a few occasions where ICT players were booked, but no opposition players, and a single match where ICT had no bookings but the opposition did ( -V- Hibs way back in July 11), but this is the first cardless game ... so fair play to Bobby Madden, a ref who is not scared to dish them out (35 cards in 15 games)

Clean sheets help fans sleep better.

A first clean sheet of the season has eased the restless nights of the Caley Thistle support after Motherwell drew a blank against Inverness at Fir Park to ease the Highlanders further away from bottom club Dunfermline.

It may not have been a pretty sight, but it was certainly very welcome as a tremendous strike from Gregory Tade was all that separated the sides in a tense encounter where neither side were able to fashion too many clear cut chances as Motherwell showed why they have only scored seven goals at home this season with a languid display in the final third of the park.

This was a fantastic response by Gregory to social networking harrassment that tried to make life difficult for him the previous week, as he put that behind him and showed magnificent ability and power to lash a ferocious shot into the roof of the net from twenty two yards to silence the home fans and send the small but battle hardened band of followers into raptures.

Capital Caley was on hand to witness the days events and he recounts his day out for your pleasure...........

Well oh well oh well!

Well oh well oh well! It’s been a long time coming but we finally kept a clean sheet. This victory has taken us 8 points clear of Dunfermline. If we can get past them in the cup, and with the potential financial rewards at stake, this could turn out go be a great season! We’ve now gone over 1 month unbeaten and there looks like real team spirit and unity within the squad. Our defensive performance was first class on Saturday. Nothing could get past Roman in the gloamin. Gillet played a blinder and when we attacked, we really had Well on the ropes.

My day started badly when I was short changed by the ticket man at Central Station, losing a fiver. This will seriously eat in to my 10p bowling budget. The Fir Park Social Club was quite quiet for a change before the game – Dewsbury Dude couldn’t make the trip this time. The bar was filled with other Caley Away regulars such as Govan Jaggy, Immortal Howden Ender, Alternative Maryhill, martinskye, Red Card Gringo Jnr, CaleyD, BA, Snow and a few others. On approach to the stadium, we were informed that we were behind the goal for this one. Usually we grace the side of the main stand, but in order to get behind the goals we had to walk about a mile to get there. It was good to get the extra miles in for my Highland March training.

We started strongly and pushed towards Motherwells goal. We were playing good football but struggling to find that final lethal touch in front of goal. Billy McKay worked his socks off throughout and nearly put Caley Thistle ahead on the 29^th minute. His low angled shot just went wide after Gregory Tade played the ball through to him. Motherwell went on the counter attack and Thomas Piermayr did well to block an Omar Daly shot from close range.

We were edging towards an opener towards the end of the first half. A Tade shot and then a Tansey chance were both saved by Darren Randolph. But, just before half time, there was a scramble in front of Ryan Essons goal mouth and Tom Hateleys corner looked to be heading straight into the goal, but Esson managed to punch the ball clear. Other than this moment, we were pretty much on top of the game in the first half.

We started the second half similar to the first half. We continued to press the Motherwell defense, who made it difficult for our attackers at times. Tade nearly opened the scoring soon after the break but his shot was blocked by Randolph. Tade then put us 1-0 up on the 67^th minute. He collected the ball from far out, ran at the Well defence, opening up a gap and firing into the top corner from 22 yards out. A cracking strike that will be a contender for goal of the month. His celebratory dances are starting to be very common now!

Towards the end, Butcher changed tactics to try and secure the win. Off came Nick Ross for new singing Steve Williams. Then McKay came off for Proctor. The tactics in the last few minutes were straight out of a Craig Levein manual – effectively a formation of ‘10’. It worked, and we defended solidly. With every clearance you could feel the desire for the clean sheet. Motherwell never really troubled us though and we were worthy of the win. A fine performance all round. The Caley Thistle fans walked down to the pitch side at full time for some high fives with Tade. I thought Esson was going to throw his gloves into the crowd, he was that happy. We marched back to the Social Club to the tunes of Caley Away With Terry and Mo! 2012 has started considerably better than 2011. Things can only get better.

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Well, we are still in the hat for the next round draw, but only just.

This was a tale of two keepers, or to be more correct, a tale of two keepers errors. In truth this was in my opinion one of the worst games of football ever witnessed at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and neither side deserved to go into the next round. I was going to do a report on the game, but if truth be told, there was nothing to report other than two bloopers that led to both goals scored in farcical situations. The Dunfermline goal was even more incredulous when Gillet was given his marching orders for felling Andy Kirk after Tuffey committed blooper number one, and that was even topped off in style when the announcer said that Andy Barrowman was the scorer as the resultant free kick was palmed onto his bonce by Tuffey. Talk about adding insult to injury. Hayes returned the compliment in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Smith wildly sliced/fresh aired a simple rolling ball into the path of a delighted Jonny who rolled the ball into the empty net and that was blooper number two.

Hislopsoffsideagain has saved me the bother of trying to come up with a report about nothing, although I will add that our throw-ins have reached an all time low as Thomas Piermayr was twice halted by the refereee for taking foul throws within the space of a few minutes. What on earth do they teach them in Austria.

I think it's fair to say it is now official - 'Useless' Euan Norris is the worst official in Scottish football. Not content with screwing us over against Rangers, he appeared determined from the outset to allow our opponents to take liberties all over the pitch. The sending off of Gillet looked a bit fishy to me - Kenny appeared convinced he'd won the ball - and certainly there was plenty of protest that Barrowman was offside as he put Dunfermline in front.

Two incidents summed Norris up - in the first half he pulled up Barrowman for his umpteenth foul and clearly gave him a 'final warning' chat; a minute later Barrowman hacks someone else...and Norris stops him for a long chat again. Then, right on half-time Dunfermline's defensive wall refused to retreat for a free kick even when the ref stood where he wanted them to be. Instead of booking one of them, he gave up when he got them 8 yards...and then ignored the fact that one of them raced out so they were about 5 yards from the ball when the free kick was taken.

About the only thing that cretin of a referee got right was adding on six minutes for the obscene amount of time wasting the Pars did in the second half - though I don't know why he can't book the time wasters as well as adding on the time.

If I was a Dunfermline fan, I would be horrified and ashamed by their second half performance. They never had any control over the game, even against ten men, and seemed content simply to camp out on the 18 yard box and see the game out. Entire civilizations have risen and fallen in the time it took them to make one substitution. They managed all of two speculative efforts on goal in the second period, as far as I can recall.

As for us, we were pretty hopeless with eleven men, but I thought we did about as well as you can expect in the second half. Tuffers is the main villain of the piece - it was his horrendous air-shot on a backpass which led to the Gillet dismissal, and then he only managed to palm the resultant freekick straight to Barrowman. Frankly, he had fork all else to do for most of the game.

Our back four did a pretty good job today. Piermayr did well when tucked in at centre-half, though Coxy looked a bit uncertain when he was shunted to right-back. Once again, Golobart was superb. Barrowman took one look at him and clearly decided "I'm not up for taking him on" - so nothing has changed from when he played for us.

Most impressive for me was Foran, who I felt gave a real captain's performance today - he led by example with fantastic effort and seemed to be still urging everyone on even when all was lost. He's had plenty of criticism this season (much of it warranted) but since moved into midfield he has looked like a different man.

The big message to take away from this game is this: If Dunfermline are like this every week, then there is absolutely no chance we are going down.

Caley Thistle headed to Easter road for post-Christmas league duty hoping to heap more misery on Pat Fenlon who has yet to earn a point as Hibees manager. Perhaps the CaleyJags could also end the year with a cleansheet?

The cleansheet was gone early doors as Garry O'Connor opened the scoring with a great free-kick after 8 minutes, but not to be outdone, Jonny Hayes stepped up in the 41st minute, beat 3 or 4 men before unleashing a 22 yard drive into the net to equalise.

A classic game it was not, but either side could have grabbed all three points on numerous occasions but in the end the points were shared as it finished 1-1

Alternative Maryhill provides the match report ......

A trip to Easter Road is always one of the most enjoyable on the Caley Away itinerary, and with Terry Butcher’s team facing a struggling Hibs team on the back of two fine performances against Rangers and Aberdeen, and with peace, goodwill to all men and fair amount of Christmas and Boxing Day spirit probably still in the bloodstream, it was an unusually optimistic group of the usual away day suspects who turned up at Easter Road via the Brass Monkey and the Iona.

However, in truth this was a pretty patchy game briefly illuminated by two quite beautiful goals, and while a draw away from home is never a bad result, ultimately it was probably a frustrating night for Caley Thistle’s players, who dominated possession but never managed to kill off a Hibernian side clearly lacking in confidence and creativity.

Ross Tokely and Andrew Shinnie were again sidelined and despite having Josh Meekings available, Terry Butcher opted to go with the same line-up that defeated Aberdeen on Christmas Eve, with Kenny Gillet partnering Roman Golobart in central defence and Graeme Shinnie and Thomas Piermayr at left and right back respectively. Richie Foran was again deployed as a deeper-lying central midfielder alongside David Davis and Lee Cox, and Gregory Tade and Jonny Hayes performed the attacking wide roles, supporting lone striker Billy Mackay.

The early running in the game was made by Caley Thistle, in particular Gregory Tade, who was ruled offside in the first minute, then shortly afterwards created a threat when he ran onto a long diagonal ball from Thomas Piermayr and pressurised Hibs ‘keeper Graham Stack into fumbling as he tried to pick the ball out of the air. In the seventh minute, however, Hibs were presented with their first opportunity when Roman Golobart, who otherwise had an outstanding game, bundled Danny Galbraith over from behind twenty yards from goal. Garry O’Connor stepped up and swung a perfect free kick into the top left hand corner of Esson’s goal. Although in a pre-match interview one of the Hibs players had spoken of the team being ‘scared’ to take the lead, the Edinburgh side briefly seemed to take some heart from the early lead and were the better team for the subsequent ten minutes, forcing another couple of free kicks which, thankfully, did not trouble Esson.

As the game approached the twentieth minute, however, Caley Thistle began to take more control, with the midfield trio of Foran, Davis and Cox particularly influential in their willingness to outfight and outmuscle their Hibernian counterparts. A typical piece of determination from Foran almost brought the equaliser in the twenty-second minute, when he dispossessed Lewis Stevenson on the edge of the box and crashed a left-footed shot off the post. From the rebound, Cox, Davis and Hayes combined to keep the pressure up and Hibs were only granted a respite when Jonny Hayes curled a shot across the face of the goal and narrowly wide from the right hand edge of the penalty area. These two near misses signalled the start of a period of concerted ICT pressure: a Hayes free kick into the wall from just outside the area was deflected for a corner, with Hayes claiming that O’Connor had handled the ball; this corner was followed by two more in quick succession, as Hibs struggled to deal with Caley Thistle’s attackers.

Just after the half hour mark there was an incident that might, on a different night, have changed the game. Richie Foran won a header in the Hibernian half, and as he ran forward to try to bring the loose ball under control, Sean O’Hanlon brought his full weight down, studs first, on the ICT captain’s outstretched shin. Giving O’Hanlon the benefit of the doubt, he might simply have mistimed his challenge, but there is no disputing that it was a highly dangerous tackle that could have broken Foran’s leg and merited a red card. Somehow referee Steven Mclean missed it altogether and allowed play to continue, until it became clear that Foran was in real pain. From the restart, Billy Mackay gave possession back to Hibs; in hindsight, he would have been justified in taking a shot.

A few minutes later, Caley Thistle’s superiority was finally rewarded, in some style. Garry O’Connor, during a rare Hibernian attack, was dispossessed by Golobart, who passed to Piermayr, who in turn fed the ball to Hayes, midway inside his own half. The winger set off at pace down the right, evading a challenge from Danny Galbraith before cutting inside, weaving between Richie Towell and Lewis Stevenson and then, from twenty yards, steering a beautifully-controlled low shot beyond Stack’s outstretched left hand before the Hibernian central defenders could get out to close him down. Sublime.

Hibs did try to muster some sort response before half time, and made an appeal for a penalty when O’Connor went down in the area trying to control a high, dangerous long ball from David Stephens. The referee, however, thought otherwise and booked O’Connor for simulation, and the TV replays show that he probably got it right: while Gillet did have his leg across O’Connor’s body, O’Connor already seemed to be leaving his feet when the challenge came in.

The second half followed a pattern similar to much of the first, with Caley Thistle continuing to dominate the midfield and Hibs’ chances largely limited to a few long-range efforts, such as Danny Galbraith’s chip over the bar around the fiftieth minute, and an effort from Leith Griffiths that flew harmlessly over just a few minutes later. For all their superiority of possession, however, ICT’s players created very few clear-cut chances of their own: the team’s biggest shortcoming last night was its inability to bring the front men, and Billy Mackay in particular, into play more effectively. This was also true of the Aberdeen game, and it could be that the difficult weather conditions were partly to blame; certainly Tade, Mackay and Hayes showed they could link well as a front three against Rangers at Ibrox. Hopefully it is something that can be improved upon before we face St Johnstone at home on Monday, as it was this that probably made the difference between a draw and a win last night.

In the seventy-third minute Terry Butcher made his first change, with Greg Tansey replacing the impressive Lee Cox, and two minutes later Aaron Doran made his long-awaited return to first team action when he came on for Billy Mackay, with Tade moving into the central striker’s role for the final quarter of an hour. In contrast to some of his earlier games for the club where looked a little tentative, Doran immediately showed a willingness to get involved, but his first action almost cost the team, as he gave away possession in front of goal to set up a Hibs attack that the ICT defence managed to scramble clear. Normal time drew to a close with Jonny Hayes having a couple of long-range attempts that did not trouble Stack, then, as three minutes of stoppage time were announced, Hibs belatedly showed a real appetite to win the game, forcing three corners in quick succession and leaving the 250 ICT supporters chewing their fingernails. The second almost brought an undeserved winner as Sean O’Hanlon, who arguably should not have been on the field, directed a close-range header on goal, but Richie Foran, capping a fine performance, was there to block with his head.

Overall, then, it was a third consecutive Caley Thistle performance with much to admire, but one which still leaves a few questions unanswered about how the team will progress in 2012. After a stuttering first half-season, Terry Butcher seems to have found a system that suits the personnel he has at his disposal and has allowed the team to build more consistency in terms of performance if not necessarily results. However, two of the key players in this system, David Davis and Roman Golobart, see their loan deals expire in January, and it is still unclear how likely it is that either will be extended. If we lose both, will, say, Tansey and Tokely be able to slot into their roles without affecting the team’s performance, or will the manager be forced to do some rethinking? And although he has showed some neat touches in the box, is Billy Mackay really the right man to play as alone striker should Butcher stick with this system, or will the manager try to bring in a more physical striker? Finally, if a January bid comes in for Jonny Hayes, outstanding since his return from injury, will the ICT board be strong enough to resist it? I’m certainly a lot more optimistic about the team’s prospects than I was when I wrote my last match report just one month ago, but with January just a couple of days round the corner, it looks like interesting times lie ahead.

28/12/11 : Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh

Hibernian: 1 - O'Connor (8)

• TEAM: Stack, Booth, O'Hanlon, Stephens, Towell (Palsson 75), Wotherspoon, Galbraith, Stevenson, Sproule, O'Connor, Griffiths (Scott 63)
• SUBS: Brown, Murray, Welsh, Stanton, Sodje
• Booked: Stephens (25), O'Connor (44), O'Hanlon (87)
• Sent Off: none

I.C.T.: 1 - Hayes (41)

• TEAM: Esson, Golobart, G.Shinnie, Gillet, Piermayr, Cox (Tansey 73), Hayes, Davis, Foran, Tade, McKay (Doran 75)
• SUBS: Tuffey, Meekings, Ross, Morrison, Sutherland,
• Booked: Golobart (37), Davis (88)
• Sent Off: none

Referee: Steven McLean

Attendance: 6923