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Ross County -V- Inverness CT - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
New Year Derby Day



It's derby time and Inverness head to Shadowland to first foot the Global Energy Stadium on New Years Day for the second meeting this season, the first ending in a 1-1 draw in early October.

The frost has set in this month and Inverness have hit the skids. Ross County seem to be frozen and haven't shifted much, but Inverness are on the slide and moving in their direction with three defeats on the trot and zero goals in those games which has seen us drop from second to fifth with St Johnstone about to overtake us. Happy Days!

It's four games since Inverness scored and won a game, beating Dundee at Dens by 2-1. Mckay and Christie were on target that day, but it was a less than convincing performance. Since then, three straight defeats, all winnable games, have seen us slide towards County in the table and confidence amongst the fans is low. Yogi's passing game has been well and truly sussed out and plan B has yet to materialise. The mystery against Aberdeen was why he chose to go with Tremarco at left back when Shinnie has operated there to good effect all season. James Vincent was overlooked for central midfield, a position many feel is his favoured slot. Another damning feature of that game was the reluctance to change it or make early substitutions when all around could see we were struggling to make headway. Whatever his reasons, he needs to sort it rapidly or we could be staring at four in a row.

County will be buoyed by their point at Parkhead where they ground out a no scoring draw. Unfortunately for them, they still hit the bottom with St Mirren winning. However, they always seem to up their game when they see us coming and get in our faces, similar to Partick Thistle and we all know the result of that.

Ross Draper misses his second game for his sending off at Perth and Richie Foran is still sidelined; so what's new?

I'll tell you what's new, the transfer window is about to open and the rumour mill is in full swing. Shinnie, Watkins, Mckay to name three have been noticeably off the pace in the last few games and it's just possible that the transfer speculation is getting to them. One or two have done it all before and Greg Tansey knows where the grass is greener. Others like Nick Ross have not progressed into Yogi's thoughts and might be better elsewhere and Hughes will start hunting in earnest at the prospect of losing some of our top players.

For the Staggies, there will be no Dingwall in Dingwall as the aforementioned Tony is out injured. Graham Carey and Michael Gardyne are both struggling to shrug off injuries. Jackson Irvine is a possibility along with Filip Kiss. He's never heard of Tain and he comes from sunny Spain, ohhh Reguero. The former Inverness keeper has been in the nets in recent games displacing another former keeper, Mark Brown.
 
They say that nostalgia aint what it used to be, but we could do with some of this on the 1st.
 


tm4tj prediction:- It's all adding up to a severe dose of unpredictability. I'm not brimming with confidence after our last three games and would bite your arm off at the offer of a point to help us get back on track. We need to be more clinical in front of goal and a direct approach might suit the County pitch better instead of faffing around at the back and gifting goals like nobodies business. If we can keep out County's eager attack, then my best bet is a goalless draw.

Happy New Year.
 
Here's wee tune to cheer you all up.................
 

 
By tm4tj in Previews 2014-15 ·

Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
The fire beckons the thaw
 
 
 
Aberdeen ran out today 1-0 winners thanks to a Peter Pawlett strike in the 12th minute, which moved the in form Aberdeen only two points behind Celtic as we approach the New Year.
 
Normally it would be a man in red who gives presents around this festive period, but as has been the case for the error prone ICT defence in recent weeks… it was a gift from a man in blue. Carl Tremarco, brought into the side to play in Graeme Shinnie’s left back role left vacant as Shinnie moved into midfield, inexplicably challenged team mate Josh Meekings which then resulted in the loose ball being picked up by Niall McGinn to set up Pawlett with a clear shot at goal. There was a valiant attempt to block the shot but the deflection only took the ball further into the corner of the net.
 
Following the early goal, Inverness exerted more pressure on the Aberdeen defence who were playing a very high line in support of the pressing midfield. This led to several chances where balls were played wide or behind colossus Ash Taylor who dwarfed his opponent Billy Mckay. A fantastic through pass from Ryan Christie managed to release Marley Watkins who fired directly at the imposing Scott Brown, where a shot across goal may have provided the onrushing Mckay an opportunity to pounce. Shortly after, Mckay outmuscled the young Aberdeen full back Murray and tried to curl the ball into the far corner when there were perhaps better opportunities to pass to in the penalty area.
 
Graeme Shinnie drifted past several challenges in the midfield and produced a strong right footed shot which Brown parried away where the ball cut back to Ryan Christie drifted wide of the post.  There was then the muted appeal for a penalty as an Aberdeen defender and Meekings fell to the floor. Whilst there was an arm used to drag Meekings down, it didn’t help that Josh altered his direction to collapse theatrically over the opponent’s legs. The groans from the home end became more audible as we approached the half time interval, knowing that our recent inability to score and Aberdeen’s clean sheet record meant it could be a very frustrating afternoon.
 
One man whose frustrations were clearly getting to him was today’s panto villain Tremarco where he fired in a rotten challenge on right back Murray in the 31st minute. Going by the letter of the law, this challenge was not only reckless but it definitely used excessive force which was deserving of a red card. It seems Tremarco has one of these challenges each game he plays and it’s remarkable he hasn’t seen red for the club yet. Unfortunately his contribution never improved as the game went on with several misplaced passes and crosses further angering the home crowd.
 
Half Time 0-1
 
Aberdeen continued to let Inverness have possession, with the intention to try and closely mark the first half’s dangerman Christie whilst pressing the players who didn’t have a similar level of close control. An Aberdeen breakaway should have punished ICT further when Hayes missed a driven cross across goal from 12 yards out. Apparently his right foot hasn’t improved much since he left 3 years ago…
 
Inverness found luck continued to be against them with a Billy Mckay shot from a tight angle striking the bar with Brown stranded. Tansey then had a free kick saved by Brown who used his large frame to reach a ball that was travelling high into the net.
 
Luck was not the perpetrator for Aaron Doran though, he simply fluffed his lines when the ball broke to him inside the box some ten yards from goal. Unlike Pawlett, Doran miscued and the chance went well wide as he scuffed his shot; more anguish for the North Stand.
 
The final chance of the game went to Aberdeen who had a goal bound Rooney header that slammed against the hand of Warren. Cries of ‘unnatural position’ were directed to the referee, who thankfully knew the rules of deliberate handball much better than those wearing red.
 
Full Time 0-1
 

 
So where now for John Hughes? Fans left today’s game really disappointed at the personnel and formation selection, where natural centre midfielders like Polworth, Vincent and Horner didn’t enter the field; instead watching Shinnie have a fairly ineffectual game in their position. Mckay again looked like he was lacking support, whilst Watkins and Doran contributed very little. Let’s hope Hughes get things right in time for the New Year fixture against Ross County.
 
Difficult to select a MotM when so many in blue underperformed. Easier to stroke off those not getting a mention, starting with Shinnie, Tremarco, Doran, Watkins, Brill, Mckay, Raven and Meekings. So by default, that leaves Tansey and Warren as contenders, with Christie mustering pass marks for effort.
 


Date: 28.12.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 6614
Referee: Calum Murray
 
Inverness CT: 0
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Tansey, Shinnie, Watkins, Christie, Doran (Sekajja 86), McKay
Subs (not used): Esson, Vincent, Ross, Devine, Horner, Williams
Scorers: none
Booked: Tremarco (31)
Sent Off: none  
Aberdeen: 1
Lineup: Brown, Murray, Taylor, Reynolds, Considine, McGinn, Jack, Pawlett, Hayes, Goodwillie (Smith 85), Rooney
Subs (not used):  Langfield, Monakana, Robson, Shankland, Rose, Gibbons
Scorers: Pawlett (12)
Booked: Pawlett (30)
Sent Off: none


By Scotty in Reports 2014-15 ·

Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
The Sheep are on fire… pray for snow!
 
 
 
Sunday will see Inverness host Aberdeen where a win for either side will secure second position for now. An Aberdeen win will put them only two points behind leaders Celtic who slipped up by drawing at home to Ross County who hit the bottom again, despite this battling point at Parkhead.

Inverness have hit their customary Xmas slump, losing their last two fixtures whilst the Dons are on a bit of a roll with six wins in their last seven games, the only loss coming against Celtic. They will be looking to make it five in a row whereas Inverness will be hoping to stop the rot after two consecutive defeats.

Transfer speculation is rife around Inverness and Graeme Shinnie is the subject of most of it. Aberdeen are one of a few clubs allegedly putting a package together hoping to attract the Caley Jags vice captain to the East, but Birmingham City might be more lucrative for Graeme and the opportunity to join up with his brother, Andy in the English championship. Josh Meekings, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Marley Watkins and Billy McKay are all key figures at the Caledonian Stadium, but the January transfer window is looming large and that's always an uncomfortable time for selling clubs.
 
RossP has taken time off from his Xmas duties to put together this excellent preview for us.........................
 
Inverness Caledonian Thistle host Aberdeen in this festive fixture, where both sides will be desperate to take advantage of title challenger Celtic’s Saturday slip to relegation fodder Ross County. Also with the good form of top six challengers Hamilton and St Johnstone, John Hughes and Derek McInnes really cannot afford to drop points this weekend.
 
Recent form
There’s not much of a pattern to the results between the two sides, each earning 5 wins in the last 13 games with the remaining fixtures ending in a draw (including the Cup Final in March).
 
Inverness CT had been sitting pretty with Celtic at the top of the SPFL a mere two fixtures ago… before a capitulation against Partick Thistle and further dropped points against the form team in the country St Johnstone caused a tumble down the table. Whilst some of the embarrassment from the Partick game was rectified with a fairly solid performance last weekend, fans will be worried that this slump is the start of our almost annual decline in results over the winter period.
 
Aberdeen could hardly be in better form going into Sunday’s game, where they have 7 league wins out of 8; all with clean sheets. As was the case last season many of their results were won by one goal, and with such a Scrooge-like defence if they go a goal up they will likely see the game out for a win. Their fans have also been excitedly looking at the SPFL table and predicted that two wins from their next two games would see them sit top of the league.
 
Dangermen
Rather than focus on Goodwillie and McGinn who have the most assists in the league, or the multitude of ex-ICT players now playing in red; I’ll instead highlight Ryan Jack who should be starring for Scotland according to the Dons fans (the same bunch that were incandescent at the exclusion of players like Anderson, Langfield, Reynolds and Pawlett from the national side). Despite their red tinted glasses giving them an unrealistic analysis of Jack’s ability it does need to be said that he is a very effective player and one that will cause Tansey significant worry in the middle of the pitch. Strong in the tackle, quick to move the ball and a great ‘football brain’ to find space to operate, he could play at English Championship level - which he will definitely have to in order to jump ahead of Scotland fringe players like Arfield, Bryson, McDonald, Bridcutt and Cairney who all deserve to be selected ahead of Jack in my opinion.
 
Shay Logan is a player who will probably spend more time in our half than his own and that is where his best strength lies. A fast and direct full back, He found great joy in the last fixture between ICT and Aberdeen counterattacking in the space that Shinnie left when stranded up the pitch. Had his crossing matched his shooting that day, the 3-2 scoreline could have been much worse for ICT. With Logan pushing up the pitch it will allow extra numbers of Aberdeen's attacking players to operate in the ICT penalty area - a worrying sign when all have already scored several goals this season.
 
Team news
Inverness have lost Ross Draper for two games due to a needless reaction in the St Johnstone match earning him a straight red card. Whilst many of his team mates came to his defence in the national press, it is increasingly apparent that his reckless challenges warrant the referee attention he’s been receiving. With Draper missing, Hughes has to decide whether to install Vincent, Shinnie, Williams, Polworth or Ross in the CM role next to Tansey. With his comments at looking to avoid ringing changes I would anticipate that Vincent will play in the middle instead of his usual ineffective position on the right of midfield, allowing Watkins to come back into the starting line up.
 
Aberdeen usually have an injury crisis when we meet, but on Sunday they will only be missing long term absentees Anderson, Flood and Low. McInnes has demonstrated a tactical masterclass in the forward positions, playing nearly all his players in ‘unfamiliar’ positions and still inspiring positive performances and results. This will probably continue with the only question mark being whether Goodwillie will pay for his petulant reaction after being substituted against Kilmarnock.
 
RossP Prediction
Many ICT fans commented last weekend that we are looking increasingly toothless up front and that the chances we were once creating are now increasingly harder to come by. Perhaps opposition teams have discovered if they press our defence and midfield whilst squeezing their back line forward, we are prone to errors similar to the short passback from Ryan Christie which led to the Brian Graham dive for the winning penalty. This will likely be on John Hughes’ mind when selecting his team and tactics for the weekend, where Aberdeen will at times be pushing Logan into wide midfield whilst the fluid attacking midfield of Pawlett, Hayes, Jack, McGinn, Rooney and Goodwillie are constantly interchanging positions. This may be a match where we have to surrender the possession play that Hughes craves in order to play a more direct game where Watkins, Mckay and our wide men look to challenge for the ball in the Aberdeen corners of the pitch – a tactic the team learned under former manager Terry Butcher. If this is indeed his tactic, expect the guile of Ryan Christie and Aaron Doran to be sacrificed for the energy and physicality of Danny Williams and James Vincent.
 
As an ICT fan who has lived and worked in Aberdeen for over a decade, this is the fixture I want to win most. Dons fans are a smug bunch (when things are going well for their team) and this year I’ve found it even more nauseating if you add in their slavering of reported target Shinnie. I unfortunately don’t see us getting a win in this fixture as the Dons are playing extremely confidently and with a big support backing them, it wouldn’t surprise me if they ran out comfortable winners by one or two goals. I’d love to be proven wrong though!
By RossP in Previews 2014-15 ·

St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
Criminal proceedings.
 
 
 
Inverness paid the penalty for one too many pass backs. Ryan Christie was the perpetrator, choosing the wrong option aided by poor execution, but the real sinner was Brian Graham who cheated his way to a penalty, diving as Brill came out to block his run. To rub salt into the wound, he took the resultant spot kick and hammered it into the opposite side of the net to where Brill had moved for what proved to be the only goal of the game. Who said that crime doesn't pay!
 
He was caught on CCTV and you can view the footage below.
 

 
This robbery has seen Inverness drop from second to fifth after the Sunday game which saw United beat leaders Celtic handsomely.
 
Inverness had won the previous four encounters with St Johnstone, but with the Perth side on a three game winning streak and Inverness smarting from a 4-0 thumping by Partick, this was always going to be a tight affair. And so it proved although Dean Brill was made to work much harder than his counterpart in the Saints goal, making a handful of excellent saves whilst Mannus was a part-time spectator.
 
Yogi rang the changes in his starting eleven with Ryan Christie and Aaron Doran starting ahead of Danny Williams and Marley Watkins. A strange one considering the impact Watkins has had this season, unless of course he was carrying a knock. As expected for Perth, James McFadden missed out and Lee Croft and David Wotherspoon filled in again, with Murray Davidson starting from the bench.
 
Enough from me, let's get down to the nitty gritty and dish the dirt on one or two.
 
The Sloth had slowly made his way to Perth with Caley Away to witness the robbery and here is his debut report....................
 
With Christmas jumpers and Santa hats being the main attire in the stands for the match between Inverness and St Johnstone, and Inverness fans on their Christmas day out, the Caley Jags were hoping to leave Perth with a win and all 3 points as an early Christmas present from the big man in red.

Inverness had a changed line up from the team that were beaten 4-0 by Partick Thistle the week before, with Marley Watkins and Danny Williams being dropped to the bench while Ryan Christie and Aaron Doran were slotted into the remaining space. St Johnstone only had one change from the game with Kilmarnock with Lee Croft being brought in for the injured James McFadden.

This unfortunately was not going to be the Christmas present that the Inverness fans were hoping for. The game began quite lively with large possession periods of the ball being kept by each team but at the end of the first half neither team were on top, however Christie and Shinnie came closest to giving the visitors the lead while Croft had the best effort for the home side.

Half Time 0-0

However, a moment of controversy in the second half tilted the game in St Johnstone's favour. In the 62nd minute, Dean Brill was alleged to have taken down Brian Graham within the Inverness box and the referee awarded the spot kick, although the decision didn't go without the voices of the Inverness players suggesting that he went down a little too easily, or as the fans saw it, a dive which Tom Daley would have been proud of. After winning the penalty, Graham converted as well, putting the ball in the net whilst sending Brill the opposite way.

It got worse for Inverness after a foul in the 66th minute by Ross Draper on Simon Lappin, where it was apparently seen by the referee that Draper threw an elbow out, Brian Colvin decided that it was a red card offence and sent him packing.

Although down to 10 men, Inverness didn't give up and in a scrappy end to the game, David Raven came closest by shaving the post in the dying moments, dashing all hopes of anything coming out of this game for Inverness.

Full Time 1-0
 
Here's the full highlights...........
 

At the end of the game, Inverness fans let their opinions be known on Colvin's refereeing performance. Just a hint, it wasn't the kindest of feedback. However, after a fantastic year so far, ICTFC fans won't let this result hang over them and will hopefully spend the upcoming days to the New Year happy whilst looking for a win over Aberdeen before the end of year. After that, along comes the first game of 2015, where we move onto the derby against our neighbour across the bridge on New Year's Day.
 
MotM for Inverness has to be keeper Dean Brill who did his best to keep out the St Johnstone attack with a string of superb saves. A great comeback for him personally after a lapse last week.

Inverness, who now haven't won in two and now moved down into 5th in the table while St Johnstone remain in 6th. Inverness next play Aberdeen at home on the 28th of December while St Johnstone are hosting Dundee United on the 27th.

Merry Christmas to all ICTFC fans and I'll see you all at the Aberdeen game.

The Sloth
 
 
 
 
 

Date: 20.12.2014 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 2891
Referee: Brian Colvin
 
St Johnstone: 1
Lineup: Mannus, Mackay, Anderson, Wright, Easton, Croft (Miller 91), Millar (Davidson 54), Lappin, O'Halloran, Wotherspoon, Graham
Subs (not used):  Banks, McDonald, Caddis, Brown, McLaren
Scorers: Graham (pen.62)
Booked: none
Sent Off: none

Inverness CT: 0
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Meekings, Warren, Shinnie, Tansey, Vincent (Watkins 56), Christie (Williams 84), Draper, Doran (Ross 80), McKay
Subs (not used):  Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Polworth
Scorers: none
Booked: Doran (27), Raven (60), Shinnie (62)
Sent Off: Draper (66)

By Scotty in Reports 2014-15 ·

St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
Time to Regroup



Last weeks result showed that nothing is certain in football, and with an away trip to Perth on the cards this weekend then it would take a brave man, or woman, to be confident about predicting the outcome of this one. This encounter is traditionally a tight affair, although last October St Johnstone did what Partick did to us, hammered us 4-0.

It was a game to forget in the Highlands as Partick did their homework and pressed us so hard they squeezed the ball into the net four times in what turned out to be a disastrous afternoon for Inverness where nothing went right. It might have been different had Marley Watkins been able to take full advantage when he muscled into the box early on, but he shot across the keeper and past the wrong side of the post. It went from bad to worse and Dean Brill will have better days. In fairness to him, his defenders let him down badly and the retention passing game was non existent as we handed possession over to Partick. They needed no second prompting and deservedly cuffed us.

However, that was last week and Yogi has been busy trying to address the issues. Partick had our cards marked and their pressing game forced us to make errors. Maybe this week we might make one back pass less and that could help to raise the tempo. Whatever was the problem, I hope it's fixed before we take on St Johnstone with half the league bunching up a point or two below us.

Ryan Christie and Aaron Doran could make the starting eleven this week. They have been playing great wee cameo's recently coming on late in the games. We were crying out for some creativity and tenacity against Partick but by the time they entered the fray the game was lost. Carl Tremarco is another who could be pushing for a start.

Since that 4-0 defeat at Perth, we have won the last four encounters, scoring six and conceding only once in the process. We sit second in the table on 32 points, 9 points above St Johnstone in sixth place. Our goal difference is 10 better than Perth's, but another heavy defeat will eat into that quickly.

LAM, that's life after May, has seen the Perth Saints struggle to get into their stride at the start of the season. However, they are unbeaten in their last six league games, and three wins on the bounce has seen them clamber into the top six. They see this as a springboard to challenge for a European place with winnable games coming up over the festive period. Michael O'Halloran and Brian Graham are men on form right now scoring seven times over the last six games and will be looking to add to their tallies for the season. Murray Davidson is getting back into the swing of it after being out injured and St Johnstone will be looking to consolidate their place in the top-six.

Inverness are smarting after the Partick debacle and Hughes is threatening to shuffle the pack a bit to freshen up the side. Christie and Doran spring to mind as well as Tremarco, but others like Polworth, Devine and Ross could play a part. Dean Brill will be looking over his shoulders after last weeks poor performance and Ryan Esson is another who is experienced enough to play without letting the standards of the team drop.

Not much team news from Inverness apart from that age old story about Richie Foran being in rehab. More interesting information coming from Perth and the news that James McFadden is out with a hamstring strain. That has to cheer up the Inverness camp surely. Tommy Wright has no squabbles over his replacement though as David Wotherspoon has filled the role effectively, but he is hoping to have Faddy back for their Tayside derby next week.

tm4tj prediction:- If we have gotten over last weeks mayhem, then we could get back on track with a win at Perth. It's not one of our favourite grounds to take points from but without McFadden, then that's one danger man eliminated. However, I'll err on the side of caution and settle for a share of the points in a scoring draw. 1-1 should see both camps happy enough for Xmas.

 
By tm4tj in Previews 2014-15 ·

Inverness CT -V- Partick Th - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
OUCH!



Inverness fans took a sore one as they watched their team being dismantled by an energetic Partick Thistle in the battle of the Jags.

It was a day to forget for the Caley Jags side as their unbeaten home run was ended in spectacular style by a team that have sussed us out big time. While we tapped the ball around the back quarter in tentative style, Partick's cut and thrust won the day and they deservedly crushed us 4-0. Much of this was down to our own error ridden display, but take nothing away from Partick, they took full advantage of the situation and trounced us with their high intensity pressing game.

Two first half goals from Ryan Stevenson were added to after the break by Gary Fraser and Conrad Balatoni. Inverness had a couple of strikes ruled out for interference by Billy McKay from a Raven shot and a couple of interlopers who took to the field to relieve the boredom. (naughty boys, don't do this at home children).

Rig has posted this excellent report and it's too good not to use..................

That performance and result! How else can you react to something like that? Abysmal from ICT today and what a way for the unbeaten home record to go. Our normally reliant defence was all at sea today. Midfield never got going and we struggled to create anything up front. Every player, maybe except Tansey, should be pretty disappointed with how they played today.
 
First chance of the game went the way of ICT when Watkins sprang the offside trap but his low shot went wide of Gallachers right post. We perhaps started the better of the two teams but Partick took the lead thanks to a mistake at the back which set the tone for the day. Elliot was able to send a cross in from the ICT left side and as Brill waited to collect the low ball Stevenson stole in just in front of him and poked the ball into the net. Rotten goal from an ICT perspective but it was excellent anticipation from Stevenson to nip in and grab the opener.
 
ICT tried to get back into things but Partick were all over them pressing Inverness high up the pitch. Partick had clearly cottoned onto the desire to play the ball around at the back or, at goal kicks, short to either the centre backs or wide to Shinnie or Raven sitting on the left or right touchline. At one goal kick, when most players tend to congregate on one side of the pitch on the half way line, Partick had around six players inside the Inverness half anticipating a short ball from Brill to his defenders or a short lofted pass to the flanks. Time and time again Partick chased and harassed the Caley players who tried to pass it out from the back and each time the Inverness players were forced back or conceded possession.
 
The second goal was a direct result of this intense pressing game. A short ball from Brill to Warren was closed down and the ball won back by Higginbotham who turned and fed the onrushing Stevenson who coolly placed a shot beyond Brill. Having the luxury of watching the second goal again, I didn't realise that we had struggled to clear the ball so badly. I had initially thought we played it short to Warren but we were hemmed in by Thistle, ball back to Brill, clearance gets headed back towards our goal and Higginbotham wins a header which is then flicked into the path of Stevenson. Still not great from our point of view. For the rest of the half ICT were restricted to long range efforts with Tansey being denied twice by Gallacher. Brill then stopped it becoming 3 - 0 when he produced an outrageous save from a Seaborne header. it was a bit like the save Mikey Fraser pulled off in a win over Celtic.
 
Half Time 0-2
 
Into the second half and ICT started well but Partick made it 3 - 0 when a cross came in from the ICT left and Fraser leapt highest to nod in via the bar. It looked like Brill should probably have come to claim the cross as he didn't look too far away from it but that may be harsh as my view from the other end of the ground may not be the best. Game over.
 
Caley tried to at least get on the score sheet and there followed an incident packed couple of minutes. Draper burst into the Partick penalty area and tried to find a team mate to pass to but pressed on towards goal before tumbling over under pressure from a couple of opponents. It looked like a reasonable claim for a spot kick but I wasn't completely convinced and, more importantly, neither was Beaton and he waved play on. Tansey struck another wide range effort not long after which Gallacher was equal to as he sprang to his right and pushed it round the post. From the resultant corner Warren went tumbling over in the box and there were more claims for a penalty and again Beaton waved them away. The ball was cleared to Raven who smashed the ball into the net from about 30 yards but Beaton ruled that Mckay was offside and as he ducked out of the way of the ball he was interfering with play. Will be interesting to see that one again but alternative maryhill who was at the game said Mckay also tried to the flick the ball on so perhaps it was the right decision.
 
Partick grabbed a fourth with another cross from the ICT left which was headed in this time by Balatoni. After this the game pretty much fizzled out. Partick had done their job and sat back and defended for the rest of the game. ICT prodded and probed but struggled to break down the Partick defence. The only incident of note was when Gallacher tried to take a goal kick and two young ICT fans ran onto the pitch, one tried to pull down his shorts and the other 'scored' a goal. Gallacher seemed to take it well and when I asked him after the game what he thought of it he said that he was raging he hadn't kept a clean sheet.
 
Full Time 0-4
 
Partick just seem to have our number this season and I can't say I am looking forward to the Cup game in February. We need to try and find a way to combat the apparent high intensity, pressing game that they employ against us otherwise we will be getting thrashed again in a couple of months.

   

Rig has it spot on. We were the architect's of our own downfall. Brill won't want to see some of the goals again although he did pull off a tremendous save just before half time. Our only threat, albeit from long range was Tansey who struck at least four on target that Gallacher was able to keep out and he get's my MotM, just ahead of the two rogues who 'invaded' the pitch.
 
 
 


Date: 13.12.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 2723
Referee: John Beaton
 
Inverness CT: 0
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Vincent (Doran 65), Tansey, Draper (Christie 65), Williams, Watkins, McKay
Subs (not used): Esson, Ross, Devine, Tremarco, Polworth
Scorers: none
Booked: none
Sent Off: none  
Partick Th: 4
Lineup: Gallacher, O'Donnell, Balatoni, Seaborne, McMillan, Osman, Bannigan (Wilson 82), Elliott, Fraser, Higginbotham (Lawless 74), Stevenson (Eccleston 80)
Subs (not used):  Fox, Craigen, Lindsay, McDaid
Scorers: Stevenson (12, 40), Fraser (49), Balatoni (56) 
Booked: Elliot (35)
Sent Off: none


By Scotty in Reports 2014-15 ·

Inverness CT -V- Partick Thistle - SPFL

Teaser Paragraph:
Tale of two Jags



Inverness face one of only three teams to have taken all three points off them so far this season. It's the Harry Wraggs who come North, weather permitting on Saturday for week 16 of the SPFL Premiership campaign, almost half way to the dreaded split.

The league table does not normally lie, but Partick sit ninth on sixteen points, exactly half the total of their hosts tomorrow. That's hard to explain really, considering they gave us a doing at Firhill in September. Aaron Doran had given Inverness an early lead but ten minutes later Partick turned that around to go 2-1 ahead with goals from Steven Lawless and Abdul Osman. Partick were buzzing around and despite Inverness getting to grips with the game in the second half, they fell further behind from a stunning strike by Kallum Higginbotham. They even threw away the opportunity of a fourth when Kris Doolan missed a late spot kick. What made this result hard to bear was the fact that Inverness had not conceded any goals in the previous five league games since the start of the season, but Partick destroyed that run in what was an excellent result for them.

Since then, we have gone on a decent run, winning six and losing two (Dons & Celtic away), and a derby draw with County. Partick have lost five league games over the same period, the lowlight being a 3-0 defeat at Rugby Park. They also suffered badly at the hands of Celtic in the League Cup quarter final, losing 6-0, but they fared better in a recent premiership game losing 1-0.

Partick on their day can be as adventurous as the best of them, their Achilles heel has been defensive frailties which is something Inverness can capitalise on, especially at home. We are unbeaten at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this season, the only blemishes being the draw with relegation candidates Dross County, and the midweek draw with Dundee. One complaint from the home fans is that it usually takes half a game to get into top gear, but early goals in the cup replay against St Mirren showed that we can start early and finish strong as well.

Inverness' only concern is the permanently injured Richie Foran.

Partick Thistle  have worries over defenders Frederic Frans and Jake Carroll. Jordan McMillan is back training and Nathan Eccleston looks set to return.

John Hughes has been singing the praises of his squad after his subs made an impact at Dens Park and his main conundrum is whether any of the substitutes warrant a start ahead of the regular X1. It's a luxury we have not always been afforded, and having explosive guys like Aaron Doran and Ryan Christie on the bench is always a plus agaist tiring defences. Yogi has also been fending off other clubs who are reported to be showing an interest in hot property, Ryan Christie. Not for sale is the message from Yogi.

tm4tj prediction:- I'm taking Inverness to exact revenge on the Harry Wraggs with a reversal of the September scoreline. We have been consistently solid at home and our second half surges are getting reminiscent of the olde Pele days. Home win for me, by 3-1.
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2014-15 ·

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