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Hamilton -V- Inverness CT - Report

Return of the Mac fails to inspire embarrassing Caley Jags. 
 
Prodigal son Billy Mckay returned to Inverness as Richie Foran pulled off a signing coup to set the fans buzzing prior to this fixture and he went straight into the starting XI. Aaron Doran, Josh Meekings and Billy King all missed out for the visitors as Massimo Donati and captain Michael Devlin returned after suspension for the hosts. 
However, it took Accies only ten minutes to open the scoring when Alex D'Acol scored from a corner with the Inverness defence looking sheepishly at each other. Greg Tansey spurned an opportunity to level the score from the spot but Gary Woods saved. Grant Gillespie scored two minutes into the second half with Fon Williams not looking too clever. Rakish Bingham lashed in a third after more shoddy Inverness play.
Shoes have come off for less serious predicaments. It's time for some tough talking at the Caledonian Stadium.
Old Caley Girl witnessed this one and it's suffice to say that she was less than impressed with the display from the Caley Jags, despite the introduction of new signing Billy Mckay. Here's her report from the SuperSeal Stadium................
The Caleyaway faithful turned up at New Douglas Park with renewed hope following the morale boosting return of the prodigal son Billy McKay. However, this optimism was to prove short lived and misplaced with a Tuesday night horror show from ICT. Its 8 years since the infamous shoes off protest and to be quite honest if there had been another display of shoes this week it would not have been undeserved.
It was clear from the off that Hamilton were well aware how important this game was and it didn’t take us long to see which team was up for the fight and which wasn’t. Ali Crawford had the first chance of the game but shot over the bar and Billy Mckay had a good chance a few minutes later but shot wide. However, just a few minutes later Hamilton were ahead with D’Acol heading home from close range from a Crawford corner.
With 26 minutes played ICT were thrown a potential lifeline with Darian MacKinnon fouling Billy Mckay in the box and a penalty was awarded. There was a collective sigh of relief when our usually reliable penalty taker Greg Tansey stepped up, but this proved short lived. He fired the ball towards the right hand corner but Woods went the right way and saved.  At that point the writing was on the wall that it wasn’t going to be a good night for us. To be fair to Tansey, Woods did very well in saving his shot but that wasn’t much comfort to the travelling fans. At this point the heads went down and we resorted to punt after punt that rarely got anywhere near Anier or Mckay.  Tansey and Vigurs collected first half yellows and Crawford went off injured in 32 mins.
Half Time 1 – 0
If we thought things were going to improve second half we were sadly mistaken. Two minutes after the restart Hamilton were 2 ahead, Grant Gillespie firing the ball into the right hand corner of the net. In 58 minutes Draper was replaced by Cole and a few moments later Hamilton were three ahead, Bingham shooting from outside the box into the top right hand top of the net. Ebbe replaced Anier in 75 minutes but this was a shambolic display from ICT.  I can’t remember anything of note in any way positive in the second half from an ICT perspective at all.
Full Time 3 – 0
With the midfield missing in action and unable to get the ball effectively to the strikers and the defence having a collectively poor night then this had only one outcome. In fact I’d suggest it was the worst display I personally have seen from an ICT team in years. The players looked disorganised and tactics seemed non-existent, headless chickens at times.  Another worry, apart from now being adrift at the bottom of the league, is that Hamilton look more than capable of being up for a scrap but we seem to be falling more apart as the games are played.  Richie Foran sounded emotional in his post-match interview and was scathing of the players but at last seems to have admitted to himself that we are in a relegation battle.  With a four year deal a change of manager is not an option so we just have to hope that somehow Foran and his players can pull off a miracle and get us out of this mess. On this performance the jury is out that they can.
OCG MotM –  Ok, not sure anyone deserved this award at all but if I have to pick a player I’d have to go with Billy Mckay, who must wonder what he has done coming back to this shambles of a set up. My MotM tho is going to the guys and girls of Caleyaway, all 139 of those present on Tuesday night, who deserve much much better than they spent good money to watch. 
Here's the SPFL video from the SuperSeal Stadium. Parental guidance is advised as it's another horror show from the Caley Jaggies.
 
 
 
Date: 31/01/17  Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1745 Referee: Euan Anderson
 
Hamilton Acc: 3
Lineup:  Woods, Devlin, Gillespie, Imrie, D'Acol (Brophy 78), Redmond, Crawford (Adams 32), Bingham (Boyd 72), Mackinnon, Donati, McMann Subs (not used): Matthews, Seaborne, Watson, Cunningham Scorers: D'Acol (10), Gillespie (47), Bingham (61) Booked: Devlin (26), Redmond (31), Mackinnon (54) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0
Lineup:  Fon Williams, Raven, Warren, Brad Mckay, Tremarco, Draper (Cole 58), Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, Anier (Ebbe 74), Billy Mckay Subs (not used): Esson, McCart, Mulraney, Fisher, Boden Scorers: none Booked: Vigurs (29), Tansey (38) Sent Off: none a
By Scotty in Reports 2016-17 ·

Hamilton v Inverness CT - Preview

Time to get the finger out. 
 
Things are getting rather tense at the foot of the Premiership as we visit Hamilton Academical in what many fans consider to be a six-pointer with both teams propping up the League table in equal proportions, four points adrift of the nearest club Motherwell, yet only six points short of sixth placed Partick Thistle. Encouraging rumours that Billy Mckay has been suggested as a possible returnee and that will go down well with the home fans, but first we have Hamilton to take care of and Dundee at home this Saturday.
 
***** NewsFlash ***** Billy Mckay back on loan until the end of this season.
 
Old Caley Girl hits the nail on the head with this hard hitting Preview that will make us all sit up and smell the coffee.
 
He signs when he wants..........Billy Mckay, he signs when he wants.
 
Not sure where to start this preview to be honest except to say that nothing less than a win is going to pass muster. I watched Richie Foran on the STV news tonight and saw him appeal to the support not to lose faith and that he and the players know what is needed to get us out of the drop zone and up the league. Well to be frank Richie the support need some evidence that you and the players can do this and please can you start to show us soon!
On the forum pages this week there has been a bit of nostalgic chat re another away game to Hamilton 8 years ago. This game was the beginning of the end for Craig Brewster with the infamous shoes off protest. Tomorrow is a game just as important to ICT as that game all these years ago with nothing less than a win an option. It is a pity this game is not being played on a Saturday to beef up the away support numbers. However, on a January Tuesday night it is. This particular Tuesday also happens to be the one when the transfer window shuts and hopes remain high that new recruits may still arrive.
Our record at Hamilton is fairly decent but this is an important game for both sides. Our record on artificial pitches is also not too bad.
Owain Fon Williams was back to form against Partick and hopefully this will continue for the rest of the season. Josh Meekings remains out and the press are reporting Tremarco may be struggling as well as Tansey. A lack of fit defenders for this game is not ideal so we can only hope Carl recovers in time. This game was brought forward a day at both clubs request and in hindsight an extra days rest may have been a better plan given that there is illness in the team. With so much chopping and changing lately it’s hard to predict which team will take to the park but my personal preference is Anier up front.
Hamilton, have their own problems with talks for fan boycotts and Canning must be also feeling the heat. They do have some decent players however with the ever dangerous Ali Crawford up front and the tenacious Darian MacKinnon in midfield. We also shouldn’t forget how ex-ICT player Dougie Imrie loves a goal against us. I think a lot of Caleyaway would be more than happy if the infamous Hamilton young team are boycotting tomorrow night. Well we can hope.
OCG prediction – Nothing less than 3 points will do. A loss would cut us adrift by 3 points and cannot be allowed to happen. C’mon lads give us something to cheer at last! 3 wins in 22 games is relegation form and we need to change this ASAP. 8 years ago we couldn’t do it so let’s hope tomorrow night is different.
 
Great minds think alike and here is my take on the game tonight...............
 
Things are getting rather tense at the foot of the Premiership as we visit Hamilton Academical in what many fans consider to be a six-pointer with both teams propping up the League table in equal proportions, four points adrift of the nearest club Motherwell, yet only six points short of sixth placed Partick Thistle.
Inverness drew level with Accies at the weekend thanks to a goalless draw with Partick and Accies going down 3-0 at Perth. There was nothing on show at the Caledonian stadium to suggest that the Caley Jags are in any hurry to leave the basement after another inept performance and had Owain Fon Williams to thank for the point they earned. Hamilton are in the same boat after they were trounced by St Johnstone and there's plenty of unrest amongst the support at the Superseal Stadium.
The clubs have an almost identical goal difference, achieved in different ways. Our goals for is greater than Accies by five goals, but our defensive record is six worse off. Four points and no wins from our last eleven League games does not make for good reading. When you check Accies stats, they are almost on a par with ours, no wins in twelve Premiership games and a mere six points from a possible thirty-six, no wonder the natives are getting restless at their respective Stadiums.
Hamilton have taken on Greek defender Giannis Skondras until the end of the season as they look to turn round their season. He comes in from PAOK Salonica but might not have the clearance to play against Inverness. Michael Devlin and Massimo Donati will return to the squad after suspension.
Inverness are still waiting to reap the rewards of their January sales signings, Henri Anier and Dean Ebbe. Manager Richie Foran has bemoaned the fact that a virus has hindered his preparations over the last couple of games and further injuries are hampering his efforts to get his side away from the relegation battle. Carl Tremarco missed training and Greg Tansey and Gary Warren suffered against Partick. Josh Meekings could be out for a month with a knee injury and Billy King misses out although David Raven made an appearance on Saturday. And, Billy small k Mckay could play tonight subject to clearance. Wooohooooo.
tm4tj prediction:- Anything less than a draw for either club will be a crisis. After the weekend games, it's hard to see where a victory will come from and both sets of fans are steeling themselves for life in the Championship. We have a good record at Hamilton, but with only three wins in 22 games there's little confidence around, and the same goes for Accies. The first encounter was a surprisingly entertaining draw in the Highlands, however, I will go for a complete and utter shitfest of a game played out in freezing conditions in front of a paltry crowd as Accies fans begin to boycott the Canning experience and Inverness fans are losing the will to live, especially for a Tuesday night game in deepest South Lanarkshire. Going for a Score draw, probably 1-1.
 
By old caley girl in Previews 2016-17 ·

Inverness CT -V- Partick Thistle - Report

Clean Sheet, but no wins in eleven. 
 
Inverness and Partick served up a bit of a borefest with a no score draw at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium at the weekend. If anything, Partick just shaded it and the only positive for Inverness was our second clean sheet of the Premiership Season.
Partick had the better of the clear chances but Owain Fon Williams upped his game after recent lapses with a tremendous display to deny the Firhill Jags. In his post match interview, manager Richie Foran mentioned some players were struggling with fitness and that showed as we struggled to create enough clear opportunities. The only other positive worth mentioning was that we pulled level on points with Hamilton at the bottom of the table and Tuesday nights encounter with the Accies is being labelled a six-pointer this early in the season.
Full Report to follow.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHJSYsrPdk
 
Date: 28/01/17  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2823 Referee: Stephen Finnie
 
Inverness CT: 0
Lineup:  Fon Williams, Raven, McKay, Warren, Tremarco, Draper (Doran 80), Tansey, Polworth, Cole (Mulraney 60), Doumbouya (Vigurs 37), Anier Subs (not used): Esson, Ebbe, Boden, Gilchrist Scorers: none Booked: Warren (65), Anier (72) Sent Off: none Partick Th: 0
Lineup:  Cerny, Booth, Welsh, Lindsay, Erskine, Lawless, Barton, Elliott, Azeez (Doolan 66), Keown, Edwards Subs (not used): Ridgers, Dumbuya, Amoo, McDaid, Nisbet, McCarthy Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
By Scotty in Reports 2016-17 ·

Elgin -V- Inverness CT - Report

PerfICT provides the concise report from Saturday's game at Elgin
The game kicked off in beautiful sunshine, with ICT facing into a low, irritating sun. Caley Thistle started brightly, with a spell of reasonable pressure culminating in a decent strike from Tansey from the edge of the area which was well parried by the keeper. Elgin responded with some pressure of their own, which was ultimately rewarded with a goal. Vigurs picked up the ball in the deep, but dithered and got dispossessed. In trying to win it back, he made a clumsy challenge, resulting in a free kick on the edge of the box, right of centre. Nicholson hit the free kick low at the right end of the wall. From where I was standing, it went under the last man in the wall and OFW failed to keep it out, despite getting his hand to it. Caley Thistle responded almost immediately, with Doumbouya meeting a great cross to power into the net, but the goal was disallowed, presumably for a push. Undeterred, ICT continued to press and Cole burst into the box down the left, cut in and placed a beauty in the right corner to equalise. Further chances came ICT's way late in the half, with Doumbouya, Cole and Warren all going close. HT 1-1.
The second half was altogether more comfortable for Caley Thistle, with long spells of possession, with Elgin restricted to hitting on the break. Cole was bossing things with pace and tricks aplenty - Elgin had no answer to him. Doumbouya spurned several good headed chances, one well saved, one off the bar and one glaring miss. Vigurs nearly atoned for his mistake, with a great free kick off the bar. Finally, Doumbouya connected with a great cross from Doran (I think) and squeezed it into the net, possibly courtesy of a deflection. While ICT continued to dominate possession after the goal, Elgin looked increasingly dangerous on the break. Anier came on for his debut, with the inneffectual Boden making way. Anier controlled a tricky ball well and hit a good effort straight at the keeper from the edge of the area. In the dying minutes, Elgin created several decent chances, but Warren in particular excelled in blocking close-range shots during the last minute stramash!
FT: 1-2!
 
Date: 21/01/2017  Venue: Borough Briggs, Elgin Attendance: 3624 Referee: John McKendrick
 
Elgin City: 1
Lineup:  Waters, Cooper, McPhee, Mchardy, Nicholson (Stewart 29), Reilly, Dodd (Reid 64), Cameron, McLeish, Sutherland, Moore (Gunn 73) Subs (not used): Watson, Bruce, Cullen, Wilson Scorers: Nicolson (25) Booked: McPhee (53), McHardy (78) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2
Lineup:  Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Polworth, Doran, Vigurs, Tansey, Boden (Anier 76), McKay, Doumbouya, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Ebbe, Brown, Sutherland, Gilchrist, MacLennan Scorers: Cole (32), Doumbouya (66) Booked: Doran (76) Sent Off: none  
By Scotty in Reports 2016-17 ·

Elgin City -V- Inverness CT - Prevew

Teaser Paragraph:

Scotty gives a preview of the 4th round Scottish Cup tie against Elgin City 

I have to say I am somewhat rusty at all of this !!! I dont think I have done a match preview or report for several years ! TM4TJ continues to do a stellar job motivating the volunteer reporters to create our previews, match reports and other content so when he ups sticks and heads offline for a month its a bit of a culture shock to find yourself in at the deep end again. But here goes ...
Coming into this match we dont have our problems to seek ! No wins in 10 games since October 26th and only one win in the last 14 games. November and December saw us grab just two points against Hamilton and Kilmarnock and we rounded out the year with three straight losses to Rangers, Motherwell, and then the mob from over the bridge on Hogmanay. Here's hoping 2017 brings something better.
Elgin on the other hand are faring a bit better. They sit 3rd in Scottish League2 after 20 games and former Caley Thistle youngster Shane Sutherland tops the league scoring charts with 15 for the season so far. They have played 3 games already in 2017 with a 2-2 draw against Forfar and 3 goal outings in the 3-0 win over Montrose and 3-2 game versus Annan. 
The only meeting between the sides - other than friendlies over the years - was a 4th round Scottish Cup tie at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium back in January 2011. Despite controlling things from start to finish, Caley Thistle made very heavy weather of most scoring attempts with the goals not coming until injury time in the second half when Dani Sanchez (92) and Adam Rooney (94) netted for the home side. Only Ryan Esson remains as part of the current ICT playing squad from that day although Richie Foran is now manager and Shane Sutherland who came on in the second half for Eric Odhiambo is of course now playing for the Elgin side ! There's a few survivors from the Elgin side from that day too, such as Jamie Duff and Brian Cameron.
Since the Hogmanay defeat, Richie Foran has made 2 new signings and also extended the contracts of David Raven and Larnell Cole (loan). Henri Anier is only 26 - but for some reason I thought he was older when reading his career bio - and has previously featured for Motherwell, Dundee Utd and Hibs in the Scottish league as well as clubs in Estonia, Norway, Germany and most recently Kalmar in Sweden. He has 34 caps for Estonia. At the other end of the spectrum, Dean Ebbe has signed from Bluebell United, an amateur club in the Leinster Senior League in Ireland. Personally I see parallels with Dougie Imrie here who had impressed in the juniors at Lanark and worked his way to ICT via Clyde. Imrie was pretty decent for us and still plys his trade in the premiership with Hamilton so it can be done, lets just hope Richie picked a good 'un.
Richie was quoted this week as saying Dean is ready to play but Henri may not be risked as his last game was in October. I think we may see Ebbe on from the start with Anier replacing him in the second half. With the winter break for the premiership, there is little team news available as yet, but it is expected that Raven, Horner and MacNaughton are all still out. We will update this list as and when more info is available.   
Travelling to the game ?  Additional train services will be in operation for this match.  The outbound train will depart from Inverness at 13:35, arriving in Elgin at 14:20.  The return train will depart Elgin at 17:27, arriving back in Inverness at 18:14.  No alcohol will be permitted on these trains or on the 18:57 Elgin - Inverness service. In the event of a draw, postponement or abandonment of the original fixture the match will be replayed/take place on the evening of Tuesday 24th January.
 
 
 
 
By Scotty in Previews 2016-17 ·

Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Report

Not a Happy New Year
 
Just when you think things can't get much worse, we fail to win at Dingwall for the first time in six games and extend our winless run to ten games, the worst in our history.
It's not looking good for Richie Foran as another defeat anchors us at the bottom of the pile and makes us favourites for the drop at this stage of the season. Liam Boyce scored a double and Martin Woods added a third with Carl Tremarco and sub Alex Fisher scoring for Inverness in an all too familiar tale of too little too late.
Inverness benched Liam Polworth and started with Aaron Doran, the only change from the defeats against Motherwell and Rangers. County, as expected had Kenny van der Weg back after suspension and gave Ryan Dow a start ahead of Paul Quinn and Craig Curran.
A healthy away support gave Inverness all the backing they needed from the start, but it's a pity the team failed to return the favour.
It took County only two minutes to breech the suspect visitors fragile defence. Liam Boyce, who scored a hat-trick in the first meeting knocked home from close range, the ball adjudged to have crossed the line by Bobby Madden. Not the start the away fans were hoping for and we were left chasing the game inside 120 seconds.
County were buoyed by this explosive start and Alex Schalk hit the side netting soon after. Inverness could only muster a shot from Larnell Cole that cleared the Jail End on it's way out of the stadium.
To their credit, Inverness gradually worked their way into the game and began to control most of the play without any real cutting edge, the final ball eluding them as has been the case all season.
Schalk went close with a header as County broke the monopoly, but it was Inverness that deservedly pulled themselves level when Carl Tremarco headed home his sixth goal of the season after Warren had made a nuisance of himself in the County box just before the half hour.
No more than we deserved at this stage of the game but County re-asserted themselves soon after, Fon Williams being equal to a Martin Woods effort. They took the lead again on thirty-five minutes and it was that man Boyce once more. Fon Williams did well to turn away another strike from Woods, but as Inverness could not clear the ball, Boyce struck the ball well enough and it ended up in the back of the net, Fon Williams looking sheepish again as the ball missed his hands on the way into the net.
Boyce was once more a handful for the visiting defence and could have had another hat-trick inside the first half but he missed the target this time and at the other end Cole went closer than his previous attempt but Fox was alert enough to deny him.
Half Time 2-1
Iain Vigurs was spotted on the park early in the second half when a minor dust-up was intervened by the ref who lectured the players for offending.
King and Fisher were introduced to try and lift Inverness but it was County that stretched their lead when Woods added a third after Schalk fed him through.
Billy King was lurking with intent though and it was from one of his shots that Alex Fisher benefited from to score our second goal. A slick forward move saw King turn and strike from twenty yards, Fox blocked but Fisher reacted first to dink the ball behind the keeper.
With ten minutes remaining, Inverness piled forward but an equaliser eluded them, Aaron Doran coming closest with a low drive that Fox pushed away.
Full Time 3-2
I'm sure the County fans would have enjoyed their Hogmanay celebrations better than the Inverness contingent. Never would they have been expecting to be gifted goals so easily. Owain Fon Williams was suspect again, deceived once more. The annoying thing was that the second goal came after two superb saves, then the innocuous shot/cross from Boyce went straight through him. Shocker from the artist. I doubt he will be painting that scene any time soon. 
Once again ( how often have we said that), we were cut open too easy, offered too little in attack, squandered what little opportunities came our way, gifted needless goals, were error strewn across the back and lacked the ability and tactical nous to alter the outcome.
There's no doubt that County overall deserved to win this encounter, with a little help from ourselves.We did have better spells, but these were unsustainable due to our own frailties. A lot of tough talking to be done during the winter break. I'm sure we won't all like the result, but if it changes our fortunes, so be it. If not then it's Championship for us and a bleak future, that's the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. Ten games without a win does not make for good reading, it's not all down to misfortune.
tm4tj MotM:- Tommy Tremarco continues to give. Another goal, his sixth of the season and willingness to get forward when required makes him my MotM. To be honest it was not a difficult choice as others around him disappointed. Owain Fon Williams may still be struggling with spasms, something must be affecting the way he has performed recently is beyond sloppy. Iain Vigurs was again poor, but he was not alone. Billy King showed signs of improvement when he came on, as did Alex Fisher. Other than that, the rest need to take a long hard look at themselves. The young team tried their best to lift spirits on the field but were let down badly. Some investment is needed if we are to get out of this, but the stats tell us otherwise.
Anyway, Happy New Year.  Enjoy the break.
Highlights from SPFL Website
 
 
Date: 31/12/16  Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5111 Referee: Bobby Madden
 
Ross County: 3
Lineup: Fox, Fraser, Davies, McEveley, van der Weg, Woods (Franks 71), Chow, Routis, Dow (Dingwall 91), Boyce, Schalk (Curran 62) Subs (not used): McCarey, Quinn, McLaughlin, Tumilty Scorers: Boyce (2, 28), Woods (61) Booked: McEveley (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2
Lineup:  Fon Williams, McKay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Cole (King 56), Vigurs (Boden 73), Doran, Doumbouya (Fisher 56) Subs (not used): Esson, Polworth, Mulraney, Sutherland Scorers: Tremarco (28), Fisher (81) Booked: Warren (46), McKay (92) Sent Off: none a
By Scotty in Reports 2016-17 ·

Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Derby Day to end the Year

If ever Inverness needed an away derby win it's tomorrow. Sitting bottom of the pile as we approach 2017, you could say it's not been the best season so far for the Caley Jags, or Richie Foran the rookie manager given the job of keeping this club in the position it has earned over the years.
The Highland derby takes on a rather sinister desperation tag with neither club able to establish a clear gap to safety, although defeat in Dingwall will be more damaging for Inverness than it would be for County at this stage of the campaign. County have been flirting with the top-six for a few weeks now, but only one win in their last six and defeats in their last two have seen them move down a couple of notches to eighth, albeit only four points above bottom placed Inverness who are without a win in nine games now. 
We are in a poor run of results recently, three points from a possible twenty-seven is relegation form and the bookies are starting to lean towards us as Championship contenders. In saying that, some of our performances have merited more. We played Rangers off the park at Ibrox a couple of weeks ago and lost 1-0, mainly due to our inability to capitalise on the opportunities created. We were a touch unfortunate to lose at home against Motherwell. Dominating for long spells, we hit the woodwork twice and had a decent penalty claim turned down whilst Motherwell scored a freak wind assisted goal and a breakaway to steal the points. Unfortunately that has been a consistent theme throughout our season so far which has gained us only three wins from twenty league games. County are in no position to scoff, they have only four wins, but that's enough to keep them above us at the moment.
County's last two games ended in defeat at the hands of Hamilton and Celtic. Those defeats came off the back of an excellent 2-1 win over Aberdeen. Our stats are worse, six defeats in eight games and only two draws. However, despite all that, we have scored more goals than County but we have also conceded more, and that makes County's goal difference one worse than our at minus fourteen.
County did win the first fixture this season by the odd goal in five at the Caledonain Stadium. Nine yellow cards and five goals, ye cannae whack a local derby. A Liam Boyce hat-trick did the damage with Inverness doing the usual too little too late routine replying through Scott Boden (who???) and Ross Draper. 
With the bulk of last season's squad still playing for Inverness, the focus is turning to Richie Foran as the fans begin to question his suitability for the job. It was an appointment met with enthusiasm by most, and trepidation by a few. Brian Rice was kept on as his number two and we all hoped that would help to keep a bit of continuity. However, the stats don't lie and we find ourselves in the midst of our longest winless run for ten years. One clean sheet is not ideal either, and a stat that is doing the rounds is that this is the lowest points total that we have accrued after twenty games in any season in our entire history. These observations and statistics tell me something is wrong and not a lot has been done about it so far, either before, during or after games. The last time we were in this predicament we left it too late to avoid the drop, don't let it happen again, for it won't be so easy to bounce back again. 
We started against Motherwell with the same narrow selection we used successfully at Ibrox. We normally apply a bit of width at home but kept Doran, Mulraney and King on the bench whilst deploying Polworth in a wider role than he is best suited to, with Vigurs similarly on the left of midfield. I'm no Alex Ferguson, but surely we need to employ wide players if we are using a target man as our main striker. Here's hoping we get our tactics better at Dingwall and get the result we need.
Richie Foran is still waiting to hear back from Fulham regarding an extension to Larnell Cole's contract. It would appear that the young loan player would like to remain here for now, but Fulham have not replied yet, so clarification required there. Foran also wants to hear no more talk of luck: "There's no more mention of luck from me. You make your own luck. We're bottom because we deserve to be. You need to be ruthless and clinical, which we haven't been."
Ross County look set to be without Chris Burke (virus) and Michael Gardyne, both struggling for fitness and Ian McShane is still out. Kenny van der Weg will be back in contention for a start after suspension. Young midfielder Reghan Tumilty got an airing at Parkhead and did very well using his pace to good effect.
Inverness CT have no fresh worries, but long term outs are Kev McNaughton, David Raven and Lewis Horner. Goalkeeping issues are still prevalent but Owain Fon Williams will play through the pain with Esson still struggling with his groin. Alex Fisher came on as a sub against Motherwell and is maybe due a start alongside Lonsana Doumbouya who is finding the lone striker role difficult with nobody around to help him. Greg Tansey has openly stated his desire to leave at the end of the season, but he has also stated that will not affect how he handles himself while playing for ICT.
tm4tj prediction:- It does all sound pretty drastic at the moment, but it only takes two or three good results and then we will be able to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. The downside of that is another couple of defeats will point us in the wrong direction. However, the winter break is looming, as is the transfer window so it could all change quickly. On top of that we have an excellent record at Dingwall in recent years. We have won the last five fixtures at the Global Energy Stadium and I'm backing us to do it again, maybe without a clean sheet, but it's points that matter just now. 
Happy New Year to you all. 
By tm4tj in Previews 2016-17 ·

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Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.